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Your vehicle should be near the top of your list when evaluating your emergency preparedness, especially if you travel a lot. Whether commuting to work, running errands, or heading on vacation, an accident can happen at any moment.
Use this guide as a starting place to prep your car with the necessary tools and resources, ensuring you’re always prepared for the unexpected. Travel with peace of mind, knowing you’re ready for whatever the road brings.
What Items To Pack in Your Car for Emergencies
Having essential supplies in your car to handle common troubles makes getting back on track much faster and less stressful. Here, we’ve listed some of the most integral emergency items.
Flashlight And Extra Batteries
You might miss this if you’re building your kit during the day. But if your car breaks down after the sun has set, having on-hand flashlights makes fixing it much easier. Of course, pack extra batteries with them just in case.
Bright LED light bulbs or headlamps are best. Lager flash flights can double as self-defense, while headlamps free up your hands to perform repairs.
Road Maps
A handheld GPS or an app on your cellphone works most of the time for navigating new places. Paper road maps are handy when the signal is spotty and these electronic devices glitch. It’s a little old-fashioned, but you never know when there will be a network outage.
Grab some maps or printed directions for long road trips. Having detailed road maps for your county and city is a good idea.
Ice Scrapper And Snow Brush
If it snows where you live, always have an ice scrapper and snow brush in your car during winter. Sudden snow storms can leave your vehicle covered and immobilized. An ice scraper and snow brush on hand ensure you can quickly remove the snow and get back on the road safely.
Portable Power Station
A portable power station is essential for having reliable electricity when away from a traditional electrical source. EcoFlow RIVER 2 Series Portable Power Stations are the perfect portable batteries to have on hand if your car breaks down. The EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max weighs only 13.4 lbs but still packs lots of power with 512 Wh.
You can keep essentials charged, like your cell phone, during emergencies. These portable power stations are great emergency home generators, providing reliable electricity in outages.
Jumper Cables
Jumper cables are insulated wires with alligator clips on the end. They connect one car’s dead battery to another car’s battery, allowing it to be jump-started. Jumper cables are useful if your car battery unexpectedly dies, such as when you leave the headlights on. Other times, someone might ask to borrow your jumper cables, and now you can easily help them jump-start their battery.
Water And Snacks
Spare water and snacks are great to have when stranded or stuck in standstill traffic. If your car breaks down on the side of the road, it’s inevitable that you’ll need to wait for help. While being hungry isn’t an emergency, it makes it harder to deal with an emergency. Standstill traffic can last for hours, leaving you stuck on the interstate.
Whether from a crash or weather, stay energized and wake up with a quick snack on hand.
Hidden Cash
You never know when you may lose your wallet or purse, and only some businesses take digital payment options through your phone. Extra cash hidden in your car can be helpful in a pinch for getting gas, food, or water if your cards aren’t working. Don’t keep too much in there—around $100 in smaller denominations is enough to buy an essential you need to make it to safety. Keep it hidden out of sight to avoid burglaries.
Small Toolkit
Small toolkits have enough tools to handle minor repairs. Consider having socket wrenches that fit your car. Specific repairs require socket wrenches to remove and replace parts. The toolkit often contains screwdrivers of different sizes, multitools for versatile functions, and wire cutters for dealing with electrical issues.
These tools make it easier to address unexpected problems, keeping your vehicle running smoothly.
Electronic Tire Inflator
Flat tires are unexpected but frequent enough to consider having an electronic tire inflator on hand, especially for long car trips. An electronic tire inflator is an electrically powered air compressor that inflates tires to the correct pressure. It’s a great addition to a car emergency kit, making airing up tires stress-free.
It’s especially useful during season changes, as tires tend to decrease internal pressure as temperature decreases. Power it with the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro, which boasts a battery capacity of 768 Wh. You’ll need to evaluate how much AC output the inflator needs and compare portable power stations.
Blanket
A blanket is multi-purposeful. In the summer, you can use it as a picnic blanket for outdoor activities. In the winter, if your car breaks down and won’t start, it cannot generate heat to keep you warm. In this situation, a fleece blanket provides extra warmth while you wait for assistance.
Keeping a blanket in your car keeps you prepared throughout the year.
Car Jack With Lug Wrench
If your vehicle has a spare tire, you’ll need a car jack and lug wrench. Newer cars come with these items stored with the spare tire, but take time to double-check. If they’re missing or your car doesn’t come with them, you’ll need to purchase them.
These tools are necessary for changing tires. Knowing how to use these tools when changing a tire is helpful. The parts are good, but it’s pointless if you don’t know how to use them.
Rags Or Paper Towels
Keeping a roll of paper towels or old rags is always a good idea. They are useful for cleaning up spills, crumbs, and other messes. Additionally, if the oil needs to be checked, the dipstick must be wiped off for an accurate reading. Paper towels or rags can save you from using your t-shirt or hands.
Heavy Duty Tape
Strong tapes, like Gorilla Tape or Duct Tape, should be kept in your emergency stash. It’s useful for temporary repairs. Fender binders, loose side mirrors, and cracks can all be taped up before you head back out on the road. Duct tape won’t stick forever, so you’ll need to get repairs eventually, but it’s great when you’re in a pinch.
Cooler
Take water in your car to the next level during hot summer months with a cooler. On long car trips, have cold drinks ready to go. It’s also nice to have cold drinks for those working outside, playing sports, or overheating.
The EcoFlow Glacier Portable Refrigerator offers up to 40 hours of electrically controlled fridge and freezer space. It can also charge your phone and other small electronics, perfect for emergency power.
First Aid Kit
Keep a well-stocked first aid kit in your vehicle. It doesn’t need to contain supplies for every emergency, but enough to handle small cuts, sprains, and burns. There are prepackaged kits for cars, or you can build your own.
Make sure it contains bandaids of various sizes, ice packs, antibiotic ointment, alcohol wipes, gauze, bug spray, and burn cream. Restock it after use, and keep it in an easy-to-reach location.
Final Thoughts
Keeping your car well stocked with essential emergency items is a practical step towards ensuring safety on the road. Whether dealing with a flat tire, unexpected weather, or a mechanical issue, having the right tools and supplies can make all the difference.
Equip your vehicle with blankets, jumper cables, flashlights, first aid, and toolkits to stay prepared for unforeseen circumstances. Upgrade your car’s emergency preparedness with EcoFlow Portable Power Stations, providing reliable power wherever you travel.