When I dig through my trunk, I find all sorts of stuff. I have a couple of large nylon bags, one on either side of the trunk. In the the left side bag, I have a complete set of hoses and a serp belt. A change of fuel filters. Assorted bulbs and relays. A vacuum gauge. Rope. On the right, a scissor jack, a socket set, a quart of oil, quart of transmission fluid, gallon of windshield fluid, waterproof windbreaker, spare hat. Then in the wheel well, the stock jack and lug wrench, a set of jumper cables, and a length of pipe which fits over the lug wrench. In my door pockets, I have maps of everywhere, in case I get lost somewhere. Flashlights. Extension magnet. Six way screwdriver. Air pressure gauge. A rag. Leatherman tool. In my ashtray, I have assorted fasteners, fuses, and dash bulbs. In the glove box, spare headlight bulbs and an extra set of glasses . Rubber gloves. Napkins. On my keychain, a mini Leatherman. A few loops of hookup wire. I'm never anywhere without tools and spares, but I tossed the tire chains in '82 and never bought another set.

My father was like this, too. Aside from tools and such, he was an avid camper and kept a tent, Coleman lantern, and assorted knives and axes in the trunk at all times. His chemistry set would have included a can of Cristy Dry Gas and a gallon can of Prestone. Just the other evening, I found the "perfect handle" screwdriver from his '36 Airflow in the bottom of my toolbox.

This guy seems to be on the same track, I bet a lot of you are as well:

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/12/30/dads-trunk-how-road-tripping-a-model-t-taught-him-to-carry-plenty-of-everything/?refer=hccweekly

Might be time for a pair of air shocks...

This is a good thread .

I use milk crates with empty copier paper boxes inside them, fits *perfectly* .

Pops loved camping and taught me to love traveling no matter when nor where, just be on the move .

OTOH, he couldn't ever quite grasp anything mechanical and I watched him drive quite a few cars straight into the ground, frustrating as I've been working on cars since I was in short pants .

I agree that tools and supplies are important, I rarely need them for my vehicles but they come in handy every where I go .

If you take the time & effort to experiment, you'll wind up with a small yet comprehensive toolkit that contains the same tools you use for routine maintenance, they'll fit and work well for most roadside needs .

No need to buy fancy expen$ive tools either, I like good tools but do have a few Chinese tools in there along with some Japanese tools from the 1970, very good quality stuff .

Having the complete factory tool kit in a W123 means you can change alternators and so on, by the side of the road .

Times have changed, I don't think modern vehicles need much in the way of tool kits .

Spare tires ~ I like to have a really good, new or near new one as I travel long distances but any tire that's not showing cords nor age cracks in the side walls will do fine ~ I'm always amazed at how many vehicles have no useful spare~ flat or underinflated, no jack, lug wrench, so on and so forth .

I harvested small folding wheel chocks from wrecked Japanese cars in the 1970's, almost never used but handy as is a chip of wood for the jack when / if you get a flat where there's no pavement .

Remember to slide the spare wheel under neath the car when you jack it up as a safety ! .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I realized I was becoming my father the second time I tripped over my sons' bicycles they had left in the driveway. Yup, a month's grounding from their use just as my dad did to me. It worked on them as it did on me especially when my dad told me it'd be scrap the next time!

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Airshocks,I wish they'd come back.Love to fit some on my w140 for heavy loads,or towing.

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

Mike ;

You don't make it clear that you did a good thing there.....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better