What gear is in your truck...

[Andy the Aussie]

I did this on another forum some years ago and it made for interesting reading, it also said alot about the different enviroments in which we live/travel.

Here is a list of the gear that lives in/on my truck all the time......

spare belts/filters
basic tool kit
spare h/light and d/light globes
fuzes
cyalume sticks (red green and blue)
disposable overalls
orange safety vest (so as not to get run down changing a tyre, we do't wear 'em shooting here)
Glock folding shovel
small axe/large Fiskars axe
folding bush saw
tread plates
various folding knives (no fixed blades due to silly laws)
cam cream
water/food for about three days
Milbag filter/water purification tablets
thermal blanketx2
large tarp
hootchie
hexi stove and fuel
small fry pan, steel canteen cup/canteen
concentated disinfectant
basic (to match my skill level) first aid kit plus additional wound dressings
snatch strap
3000kg drag chain, hooks and shackles
Wallaby Jack (on external rack)
Winching kit for the jack
Wallaby Jack adaptor (conects wallaby jack to bullbar or rear bar)
small compressor
toilet paper, several rolls and single packets (beats the hell out of leaves and sticks)
matches (in bulk) including waterproof/windproof type
Para (550) Cord x 50m
Hootchie Cord x 100m
cheap nylon 6mm rope 50m
Couple of torches and spare batteries (Magcharger Torch in charger when on a trip)
Wet/Antiseptic wipes (for when bathing is out of the question)
Antiseptic soap
eye/ear protection
condoms (my other 1/2 looking over my shoulder noted these were out of date)
playing cards (a sign of a man who has been up "that" creek without his paddle in the past...!!!)
M65 Jacket, gloves, balaclava, socks. Belleville boots
towel
pillow
sleeping bag (US modular sleep system complete)
tubeless repair kit
100 CDs (these complement the playing cards when stranded, other 1/2 just noted music selection was crap....she has been directed back to the kitchen)
Duct tape, insulation tape and cloth tape
a second spare tyre and rim
telescopic fishing rod and reel plus associated gear
bush shower bag
lots of large plastic bags
unfilled sandbags
arktis patrol pack
riggers gloves
nomex gloves
insulated beenie
gortex jacket (British DPM)
fire extingusier (cage mounted)
canvas swag

Sounds like heaps I know, but it all resides in the side compartments of my "Crusier", under the back deck and in a medium size sealed top plastic tub in the cargo bay.

Due to the laws out here there are no firearms/ammunition carried except when I am going away hunting or to the range


Andy :cool:

[Andy the Aussie]

An old pic of the gear laid out.....a few more things are in and a few out ... ;)

[GOVT1911]

That's a great list Andy! You carry a bit more than I do, but then you spend more time in the bush than I do.

Here's a list of what's ALWAYS in my rig. I'll add a list of additional items I throw in when I plan on being in the woods.

TOOLS:
toolbag with basic tools
bailing wire
electrical wire
electrical tape
"100 MPH" tape
hose clamps
zip ties
fluids (trans fluid, eng oil, brake fluid)
1 gallon gas can w/ sta-bil
can WD-40
Hi-Lift jack w/winch kit
spare tire
LG truck "fix-a-flat"
tire plug kit
K-bar knife w/stone
US Mil E-tool
hatchet
folding bow saw
leather gloves
10' chain
30' snatch strap
2 shackles
2 30 min road flares
6 chem-lights-red, green, blue
jumper cables
spare fuses, belts and radiator hoses
bolt cutters
2 padlocks
baby wipes
roll of TP (saved the day several times with this!!)

SURVIVAL:
4 MRE
1 gallon water
water filter and purification tablets
AR-7 .22 rifle w/100 rnds
poncho
sweatshirt
socks
wool glove liners
knit hat
magnesium firestarter
2 disposable lighters
200' 550 para cord
flashlight w/spare bulbs & batts
notebook and pencil
gallon ziplock bags
several large thick trash bags
first aid kit (includes 2 500ml I.V. sets, pressure dressings and HemCon bleeding control sponges)
2 small ABC fire extinguishers (mounted on either side of the roll cage)
small Tactical Tailor 3 day "assault pack" to carry junk


This all fits in various locations around the Jeep, mostly into 2 40mm ammo cans I have strapped in the back. I removed the rear seat for more room, but can put it back in in less than 5 minutes. I have the first aid kit in a bag that hangs on the back of the driver's seat for easy access. There is usually alot of other "useful" stuff in there, but this is the main kit I have packed and it's sealed into the ammo cans and the cans are strapped down with ratchet straps.

Due to my work, I usually have a Level IIa concealable vest, an Interceptor Body Armor vest (w/ 7.62 plates) and a kevlar helmet tossed in the back, along with various other bits of Mil gear.


I've had people ask why I carry so much "junk" with me, but then I'm the guy my buddies ask when they need something.



I think this is a very good topic and I'd like to see what others carry in their rigs. I'm constantly re-evaluating my packing list and adding/deleting stuff.

[Andy the Aussie]

I just noticed your fire starter, I also have a magnesium jobby as well as one of the Swiss "firesticks", some have asked why these if when I have plenty of matches (I do) but all here know I am sure that one does not make the other redundant.

Looking at the list I also have;

jumper cables (stopped carrying the APU when I got the second battery).
Which extension strap
tree trunk protector
chamois (cleaning windows and also makes a useful "towel" for me if I need to pack out)
candles (both full size and "tea light" kinds)
army KFS set
lighters
zip ties (and something that looks remarkably like flexi-cuffs ;) )
black window socks (pull ove rthe upper door frame to creat a shade effect, lest you sleep with the windows down without getting attacked by bugs/squitos)
EPIRB


Since the trip away this year I also have the full length steel roof rack, I don't leave in on all the time though. This is great for carrying bulky (but soft) items like tents, sleeping mats etc. It is the natural place for watter and fuel Jerrys. These only come out if I am planning a trip away as opposed to be "caught out" by circumstances.

In summer if I am leaving town at all I carry MUCH more water than usual. Here on the east coast fuel is not a problem (given the range my dual tanks give me) but water can be.

[Andy the Aussie]

I sometimes get asked why I carry all this “junk" around with, well I guess it is just in my nature generally but there is one situation that sticks in my mind as reinforcing it…

I got "caught" without anything in the truck back in '93. Sydney was ringed by large bushfires and I was traveling home to my place in the country (3 hours north). It was just prior to Christmas. The main north/south freeway (F3) was closed right in front of me due to fire and smoke. At this time there was NO place that you could turn around and return to the city. I and several thousand others (being a Friday afternoon everyone was taking off for the weekend) spent the night there on the freeway in the summer heat. It was an interesting social experience, water was a real issue, in hind sight I am still amazed that *I* was not carrying any. I think it was a case that having come from the bush down to the city I was trying to “tone myself down” a little. How one little bit of the world can be so different in a short period was amazing, there were some “entrepreneurs” that used an old service road to drive out some wheelie bins full of cold drinks and ice who then tried walking them down the km/s of parked cars (families and kids for the most part) wanting to sell them for ridiculous prices….they ended up giving away all their stock for free…. ;) Then there was a guy who owned a little convenience store near the start of the freeway who (with a little help from Police) loaded all his transportable stock into a car and trailer and drove down the long lines of cars GIVING it away, especially to the kids. I and a couple of others collected up some clean containers from the group around us and walked down a few kms through the (already burnt) bush to an abandoned service station and loaded up on tap water. There were a couple of cases of heat stroke just near us that we managed to arrange (CB radio as of course mobile phones were not at all common then) ambulances for. What the whole deal left me with was a bad feeling deep down, knowing I had the gear and know how to have made the whole thing much more comfortable and safe I didn’t have it with me… :) so therefore it was useless. On the other hand I could tell I was in a much better state psychologically than many who found a “night out” like this was something to fear…some went to water. I was in no great peril, although the fires flared nearby once. I make sure now that summer or winter I can spend a few night in something which actually approaches comfort … ;)

[Andy the Aussie]

To bounce this back up a little...a coupl eof views of all the gear in back as it rides around..:D ....

[Windustsearch]

No Ray Bans?

[GOVT1911]

No Ray Bans?

I carry a pair of Oakleys and an extra cheapo pair just in case I end up in NM. You know, to leave out in the open as "bait".

[Andy the Aussie]

Sorry....yes...one pair of black Ray Ban Aviators.....just like the pair STOLEN in NM... ;)

[Andy the Aussie]

Just for you two....