The core kit
Everything here fits in one lidded bin, costs about $100 to assemble and covers a dead battery, a flat, a minor injury and a long wait.
- Jumper cables at least twelve feet long, or a portable jump starter, will handle a dead battery.
- A tire pressure gauge and a 12-volt inflator will get a slow leak to a shop.
- A flashlight or headlamp with spare batteries beats a phone light that drains the phone.
- Three reflective triangles warn traffic far better than hazard flashers alone.
- A basic first-aid kit, work gloves and a rain poncho make roadside work bearable.
- A gallon of water and a few sealed snack bars cover a three-hour wait.
- A charging cable and a small power bank keep the phone alive if the car's battery is not.
- A multi-tool, a roll of duct tape and a few zip ties hold loose trim and hoses together long enough to reach help.
Winter and summer additions
From November to March in snow country, add an ice scraper with a brush, a folding shovel, a bag of sand or cat litter for traction, a wool blanket, and a hat and gloves for each regular passenger. In hot regions, double the water and add a sunshade, since a disabled car in July becomes an oven within minutes.
Paper and small things
Keep the registration and insurance card in the glove box with the owner's manual, a pen, a notepad and twenty dollars in small bills. Write your roadside assistance number and policy number on a card, because a dead phone holds no contacts. A seat belt cutter with a window punch belongs within reach of the driver's seat and is no use in the trunk.
What stays out
Never keep the car's title in the car, since it helps a thief sell it. Leave out spare house keys, anything with your home address attached to a key, medicines, which degrade in heat, and aerosol cans, which can burst in a hot cabin.
Keeping it alive
Go through the bin when the clocks change in spring and fall. Recharge the jump starter and power bank, which lose charge over three to six months, replace the water and snacks, test the flashlight and check the spare tire's pressure. Replace anything you used.
Tip Pack the bin so the triangles and flashlight are on top. They are the first things you need, usually in the dark, and you should not have to unload the rest to reach them.
