junk in the trunk
 

in my trunk theres...a 4-way lug wrench...a gallon of Rotella 15w40...jumper cables...1 million CP spotlight...a queen-size inflatable mattress in a box...a couple of blankets....two audio amplifiers,and a big ol' 15" subwoofer

Not much. Golf clubs and bag, golf shoes, and a pair of black Bass Weejuns I forgot was in there.

A gallon of water (potable...since I'm in Texas) and my 8 or 9 golf discs and bag.

I only carry what I think the car came with. Including the original (german print on the packages) first aid kit. Because the wheels were changed to bundt cake, I do keep a set of lug nuts for the original spare tire and wheel:D

P.S. I have to add that I drive my old diesel less then 1,000 miles/ year

Right now I keep a comfortable pair of boots and rain coat in case I have to walk home in the rain. I have a feeling something in my 300D's engine is eventually going to break because the mystery noise in the engine (not t-chain nor vlaves) seems to be getting louder. Its a mystery noise because I don't know what exact internal component is going bad since tearing it apart, finding the bad part and fixing it will cost more than what this thing is worth. It otherwise still seems to be running good so I'm just gonna drive it till it dies.

What's not in the trunk would be a better question. In a milk crate are gallon jugs of engine oil, pre-mixed antifreeze and washer fluid, small jugs of brake fluid, transmission fluid (ATF), rear end oil and fuel additive, a spray bottle with washer fluid, and spare fuel filters and oil filters. Another milk crate contains the spare belts and water hose segments, jumper cables, coveralls, gloves, old ball cap, a wheel chock, and a tow rope the few times I remember to put it in there. One coffee can filled with rags. Then there's the toolbox: I think it would take a 4x8 sheet of plywood to lay that out - and it's a small toolbox. A paper towel holder that daBenz's original owner screwed to the inside of the trunk lid - that was a neat idea. I suppose all together the stuff weighs 40lb and fits nicely against the rear seat with room to spare on top.

Wagon:

1 spare tire
1 bag full of wrenches (open and socket ones), assorted screwdrivers, pliers (long nose and the regular stubby ones), cutter, wire splicer, duct tape, tape meter, assorted screws and nuts and bolts, single contact bulbs, a pair H4 bulbs, some wires, extra fuel lines, an old aux fan, an extra set of ATE brake pads,
1 2-ton hydraulic jack
1 OEM MB jack
1 1L ATE DOT4 brake fluid
1 1 gallon water
1 1L SAE40 motor oil
1 1L (or less perhaps) Mobil 1 ATF
1 Badminton racket
1 tube of shuttlecocks
1 set of clothing
1 sleeping mat


Sedan:

1 spare tire
1 metal toolbox full of tools (much like the ones in the wagon)
1 Makita drill set (drill bits, circular saw, buffing stuff) - cant seem to remember to bring it down.. ehheeh
1 OEM MB jack
1 1 Gallon water
1 1/2L ATE Dot 3 brake fluid

What is in your trunk? (survey)
 

In addition to many of the items mentioned, I always make sure that we have a spare KEY (either in the hands of the "co-pilot" or hidden but accessible from the outside of the car.) Especially on the newer cars it would be almost imposssible to get a duplicate key to replace one lost while visiting East Podunk!

SDL - Umbrella, quart of oil, ice cube relay, old newspapers and plastic grocery bags.

Just today I popped the trunk to show an MB Diesel head the ice cube relay. We both saw the oil leaking onto some newspaper (whew!). He wittily said - I thought you said Mobil 1 doesn't cause leaks.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

And a partridge in a pear tree.......

In our '85 300D, I carry a minimal amount of the usual fluids. What my wife puts into the trunk, that's another story: stuff for recycling, treasures for the thrift store, various items to be delivered to someone someday, and any number of postponed decisions. Ah well, it's her car.

In our '84 Euro I keep the tools and some materials of my trade, marine wiring. It's my rolling tool box and retail outlet. I used to be what locally is called a "tailgater" until I sold my stationwagon and bought the Benz. Bless the 123 design team for the size of the trunk.
On the starboard side, I keep the emergency supply of engine fluids.

All OEM equipment and manuals that came with the car, a BCAA (AAA in the USA) Emergency Road Service membership card. So far, 191,000 km. later, other than the use of the spare tire, I have used nothing else.:D

At 177,426 km., BCAA towed the car to the transmission shop after I've lost all forward gears. :(

AA, these cars are reliable, no one is doubting that. At the same time though they are on an average 15+ yrs old. Also, most of us here are DIYers and like to be prepared and not have to have someone else fix our machines. The only time I carry spare fluids/parts is when I am traveling out of my local area on a trip. The spare fuel filters people are mentioning is in the event you get some bad diesel from an unfamilar gas station. Again this would be when you go out of your "local" area. The blankets, well with winter coming, it is always a good idea to have one in the event your car does break down. Sure you can call AAA, but that doesn't mean they will ge tto you in 15 mins. Most of the item poeple are listing are what is recommended for any make of car. Unfortunately if you carried all the "recommended" items, you wouldn't have any real trunk space left.
You would be amazed at how many people get stranded on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck $$$$$$, simply because they were not prepared. Granted there is a point where you have to say enough is enough. We could all go "...well this could happen so I'll bring this spare part, well then this could happen, so I'll also bring this.." Before you know it you a spare drive train in your trunk. Again, for my routine driving I carry just jumper cables and a blanket, plus what the car came with from the factory. When I go on a road trip, I bring spare fuilds, fuel filters,a phillips screwdriver, a basic volt meter and my coveralls. Some people bring extra engine belts, but I keep a good eye on these. If any of them begin to be questionable, I replace it before hand.

Fuel filter question
 

some people mentioned carrying spare fuel filters in the car in case of bad diesel.
how does changing the filter help if the bad fuel is still in the tank?

"Bad diesel" is diesel that has algee and other garbage in it from sitting in the ground too long. This stuff will eventually clog your main filter, inturn, starving your engine of fuel. It is at that point you have to change the filter. Because of this potentionally happening, it's always best to buy your diesel from a place that sells alot of it, or at least on a regular basis.