How much time each week do you spend in your vehicle? If you have a long commute to work, or often travel or run errands on the weekends, you may be spending many hours behind the wheel. On top of this, consider all the time you're spending away from home. During these hours spent at work, at school, or shopping, your vehicle is both your escape route and your gear cache.

If your vehicle is damaged or breaks down, the gear inside can help you quickly repair it and get back on the road.

It's only a matter of time until an emergency will occur in the vicinity of your vehicle, so you should prepare accordingly. This is why it's wise to build a kit of essential vehicle emergency gear, and keep it in your car or truck at all times.

The kit should encompass automotive tools — jumper cables, tow straps, work gloves, wrenches, pliers, and so on — as well as food, water, and other survival supplies you might find in a bug-out or get-home bag.

Subscribe Today and Save!

Get the Mag

TinMan Bushcraft is a YouTube channel based in central Europe, and focused primarily on wilderness survival and bushcrafting. In the following video, the host shows off his vehicle emergency gear, which is separated into three tiers:

• Tier 1 – small items, accessible from driver's seat
• Tier 2 – basic automotive emergency tools, accessible even when the trunk is fully-loaded
• Tier 3 – more tools and gear for long-term survival, stowed under the trunk floor

This three-tier system is an interesting approach, since it provides the fastest access to items that might be necessary in the first seconds after a collision, such as a flashlight and seatbelt cutter. It also translates to almost any type of car or truck — while an apocalypse-ready bug-out rig might be useful in some situations, even the most ordinary commuter cars can (and should) be fitted with emergency kits.

What does your vehicle emergency gear consist of? Let us know in the comments what you'd add to or remove from this YouTuber's loadout.

Written by Patrick McCarthy