We all know how difficult it can be to take a car for a long-term road trip or holiday, especially in current world circumstances. However, even in the best possible situations and conditions, there’s no guarantee that your trip will go smoothly: all it takes is one small mistake to force you to the side of the road so that you can make repairs.
However, no matter how serious the problem is, it can be incredibly difficult to repair damage if you don’t have the right tools for the job. Preparing a proper kit, or at least bringing some useful tools with you, can make things much less of a hassle if you break down.
Prioritize Useful Tools
It doesn’t matter how much of a car lover you are or how expensive your vehicle might be: always put useful or necessary tools before anything that will add more flair. Once you have the basic tools ready to use at any given moment, then you can start thinking about the niche equipment that you might be buying as more of a gift to yourself. A cheap torque wrench will serve you better than no torque wrench at all, so you have no excuse not to own at least one for emergencies.
This is especially important for cars that might not have much storage space, or if you prefer to travel light. It can be tempting to maximize how much room you have by taking out tools that you haven’t had to use, but you never know when you might suddenly need them again. A toolbox on the back seat may take away some of the style from your vehicle, but at least you won’t be stranded if something important breaks.
Focus on Accuracy and Results
A torque wrench can be one of the easiest comparisons to use when talking about car repair tools, since they show that durability isn’t everything. A strong torque wrench isn’t just one that’s durable, but one that can provide a high level of accuracy while making repairs or tightening bolts. If you have a really valuable car that has taken a lot of time and money to personalize, you don’t want to attach bolts inaccurately, after all.
The same can be said for other tools and equipment: you always want to get the best results possible, even if that means that the tools themselves aren’t exactly perfect. A kit of equipment that can help you remove and replace a tire will all be designed to work together, which may make it more practical than buying each component separately: there’s no guarantee that the kit is high-quality, but each piece has been designed to work with each other piece.
Consider your Car’s Design
The best way to keep your car working is to buy tools that will work well for those specific models. This might sound strange, but it’s one of the simplest ideas you can keep in mind when you’re putting an emergency toolkit together. If a certain item (again, like a torque wrench) won’t easily fit into certain important areas to handle nuts and bolts, then you’ll be making the process much more of a struggle than it needs to be. If you have one that can easily fit into that space, the repairs take hardly any time.
Be Over-Prepared
Regardless of whether you have a really valuable luxury car or a cheap one that’s just been bought as a second-hand deal, you want to be ready for anything. Damage to your car can sometimes be a threat to the driver or passengers inside, especially if it’s a significant type of internal and external damage. A squeaky motorized window? Not a problem. A wheel that might come loose at any moment? A serious problem. Even if you’re only expecting the former, prepare for the latter as well.
There’s no downside to being carefully prepared other than the extra weight of the tools you bring. If you aren’t able to prevent a certain type of damage, then you can at least be sure that you’ll have a way of repairing it. Without a good set of tools, such as a strong torque wrench, you might end up suffering vehicle damage that leads to a serious injury further down the line.