Long trip prep

[CowboyTrucker]

Hello all. Although work continually seems to get in the way I plan on doing a several day trip on forest roads once I get the chance, but I am not 100% on what I should bring for the truck.

I know I need to make sure the spare tire is good and bring a little extra oil, but aside from that I don't know if there are any spare parts I should bring since I am not going to find replacements at a small town parts store.

Anybody have any ideas?

[Cal_Gary]

Wow that is a loaded question!
Most guys take what they might need, relative to the length of the trip. Locally, CELL PHONE(!) WITH CONTACT NUMBERS, license, registration, insurance papers, spare tire, jack, lug wrench to start. Longer, like in your current area code, add a cell phone charger, multimeter, duct tape, full set of hand tools, BFH, grease gun. Change of clothes. POL (petroleum/oil/lubricants) . For the "all alone, getting away from it all trip", add an emergency first aid kit with consumables like water, etc., shelter, sleeping bags, atlas/maps, winch if so equipped or attachable, and some carry an extra fuel pump, coil, spark plugs/wires, jumper/slave cables, towbar/chain, big and small U-joints, bulbs/sealed beams, wheel bearings/races with the octagonal 2 9/16 wheel bearing socket. Finally, if you had to be flat-towed, the drag link socket for undoing the steering mechanism would aid in steering the front wheels as it's being towed.

Not to scare you but the list is endless and I'm sure some others will weigh in.
Gary

[NAM VET]

lug nut socket, as sometimes rescue trucks don't have one that will fit. Spare fluids. In case some wire gets torn, extra wire and connector and crimp toolss to splice in a fix. Brake fluid too. Fan belts. Wrench and socket set.

Don't forget toilet paper too!

Have fun and report back on your adventure, HC

[CowboyTrucker]

Thanks for the ideas!

I would have forgot some brake fluid and would have never thought about being prepared to undo the steering mechanism. I will also be ordering a couple more spare parts from that list Gary.

My normal kit already has a radio, traction boards, extra water and fuel, sockets, breaker bar, screwdriver, wire snips with some extra connectors and lengths of wire, jack/lug wrench, tp, change of clothes, and a basic medical&survival kit from previous adventures in my tacoma, I just think this truck will be more fun.

[Cal_Gary]

Happy to help-enjoy your trip!
Gary

P.S. Nam Vet (Hal) looks like we covered it pretty good!

[RMS]

pre and post trip inspections are a must. complete nut and bolt check. grease all 32 fittings. check levels. carry all the tools and supply's that were needed for the pre trip inspection. make sure your jack will fit under the axle with a flat 4ft jackall is too small to lift the back chainsaw to the rescue
I was a good boy scout years back and would pack the truck with 300lbs of gear. 90% never got used but if a job came up it was better to be prepared. here is a trip report from my thread slow old and green. http://www.g741.org/PHPBB/viewtopic.php ... slow+old+a

That picture on the waters edge is outstanding!

we had so much fun exploring around Britannia that on Saturday morning we set out for another day of exploration. it was a brisk morning with frost cover as i fumbled through a pre-trip inspection, a coffee in one hand and a grease gun in the other. as i stood sipping my joe waiting for the truck to warm up and my coffee to cool down i could see the exhaust billowing in the morning air. i looked around and the roof vents on the out buildings were issuing steam same as the cars passing by on the road, winter is coming. greased and heated up we hit the road.

we were joined on the highway by some friends and in no time we were on gravel with hubs locked. we spent the morning checking out smaller trails. most led to old cut blocks or were cut short by washouts, but some led to great views half way through the day while heading down a decommissioned trail my buddy stopped. i thought he was checking or messing with his gps until i saw his hood pop up on his Cherokee. thinking we would be stoped for a wile i shut off the m37 and went to find out what the hold up was. electrical gremlins had found there way into his jeep. the wipers were turning on by them selves and the electric windows no longer worked. we checked out the fuses and relays but could not find the fault. the engine management system seemed to be fine and with no replacement smoke on hand we would not have been able to fix it .

i jumped back into the 37 feeling thankful that i had no such complications, fired up the M and there was a miss. i quickly wrote it off to the hot start because she cleared up in no time, boy was i wrong, because when we got to the pelton wheel the cause of the miss became very evident. ............. being in this position before i popped the hood and removed the rad cap. looking in the rad confirmed it i could see bubbles. i called an end to the day and in minuets we were back on the trail heading for the highway and the long drive home. at the end of trail we said our farewells unlocked the hubs and checked the coolant level. dusk was making its presence known as i merged onto the high way. every thing seemed to be doing fine the temp was sitting at 180 and the power was good till i had to slow because of idiots not knowing what yield means as i approached the second narrows bridge. my heart was in my throat as the power continued to droop off as i made my way up the bridge deck. relieved that i made it over the top i knocked her into neutral and coasted to the nearest exit. at the next set of lights it got real bad as i fogged out the intersection. i could see a gas station in the distance and as i rolled in the temp peeked at 220. not wanting to just shut her off i got the woman to get me a gallon of hot water. i slowly poured the water in hoping to get the temp back down but to no avail it was just pouring out the tail pipe at this point i had no choice but to turn her off. within no time the head was off a close inspection reveled the gasket had let go between 5 and 6. being a good boy scout i grabbed the spare old school asbestos type head gasket from behind the battery box. with help from my lovely assistant the gasket was changed and head torqued down in half an hour. knot having a strait edge with me i could not check the head or the block and i was skeptical that it would hold. crank crank sputter cough is all i could get. crank crank a blip of choke and she finally fired. running ruff i kept the rpm low and made the slow trek home.

and that beat up head gasket that lived behind the battery box for many years gave me 8 years of service. till last week when it gave up the ghost pulling up the steep alex fraser bridge on hwy 91.... thought the guy passing in the bmw sprayed my windshield with his washer till i hit the wiper and saw green ribbons.