Small preps can really save the day. So much of what we and other preppers concentrate on is for big “Stuff Hits The Fan” (SHTF) moments and the specter of The End Of The World As We Know It” (TEOTWAWKI). That can lead to overlooking the small, day to day type preps that can both help of lead a better life now, and also serve us if the SHTF.
The following I present as an example of how small, normal, everyday preps can turn a bad situation into an simple annoyance.
Small preps saved the day for me today
Today was one of those days that can really drive a person to distraction. Because I had my automotive preps all lined up before hand, however, it turned into no big deal.
I was driving along, out in the country when my car’s “low tire pressure” light came on.
Sigh.
This car is a 2015, so it’s modern enough to have a tire inflation notification system. Unfortunately, the system in my car isn’t sophisticated enough to tell what tire it was.
I started to look for a place to turn off of the two-lane rural highway. The road is far enough out into the sticks it might be anywhere from a couple of minute to half-an-hour between vehicles, and there’s absolutely no shoulder.
I was on a long straight section of blacktop that allowed me to see a mile in each direction. After I checked all around for traffic (there was none) and stopped the car in the middle of the road. I hopped out and looked to see if any of the tires were nearly or completely down.
They all looked OK, so I got back into my car and drove along slowly to find a safe place to pull off and address the problem… with my hope was that the tire would last long enough to pull over in a convenient spot.
Finding the problem
At the next gravel road, I pulled over and started the procedure of working through the problem.
I turned into the mouth of the road, leaving plenty of room for vehicles to pass (not that there were any, but one needs to leave room).
I reached into my car Ever Day Carry (EDC) car kit, grabbed the tire pressure gauge that’s in it, and walked around the car checking the pressure. Of course, it was the fourth tire I checked that was low (they all looked OK. The other tires were at about 38 PSI, while the low one was about 18 PSI).
One of the things that I did when I got my car was to test the low-pressure tire system, so I know that the low pressure light comes on when a tire drops below 20 PSI.
Spice and I are very careful about keeping good, safe tires on our cars and we replace them long before they become unsafe.
I was pretty sure that I had picked up a foreign object in the tire, one that mostly (but not completely) plugging the hole. I felt all around on the tire to see if I could feel something sticking out, but there was nothing extending beyond the treads.
The culprit, this thing was stuck deep into my nearly-new tire.
My pre-prepared auto preps for a flat tire
Here is a list of my pre-prepared auto preps for a tire losing pressure/going flat. These are presented in no particular order.
- A full-sized spare tire (one that’s connected with the car’s inflation notification system. if the spare pressure gets low, the light comes on to the dashboard just as if it’s one of the four mounted). This is checked by hand every time I do an oil change. My car didn’t come with a spare, at all, or a tire changing kit, so I had to buy them separately. I bought a matching rim from a salvage yard, a new stem and a brand new tire of the same type that is on the car.
- A tire gauge.
- A jack and a 4-way lug wrench. The special socket used to take off the anti-theft lug that a previous owner put on this car (that I really should remove but haven’t yet.)
- One spare valve stem (non-monitored) to use in case one of those fancy sensor valve stems goes bad again (yes, again… I’ve had one go bad and cause a flat).
- A can of Fix-A-Flat. Yes, the stuff is nasty, but it’s also something that can get your vehicle to a repair shop if you get two flat tires at once. Yes, I’ve had that happen when I hit a bunch of nails spilled the highway.
- A good quality 12-volt portable air compressor (not one of those cheap, junky plastic ones).
- Road marker triangles.
- Road marker flashing lights.
- Multiple waterproof light sources (for illumination if it’s night, and raining).
- A paid membership in AAA Premier, which not only gives roadside service to most locations, but also gives one tow of up to 200 miles and three others up to 100 miles. (If you live out in the country, long distance tows are an important deal).
- A cell phone.
Isn’t that a lot of stuff to carry?
It may seem that way, but all of the stuff (other than my phone, which stays with me) fits into the spare tire compartment of my small car.
I’ve added to the car kit over the years because of personal experiences of traveling down long, empty country roads at night in bad weather. I’ve used every single one of these prep/safety items at one point in time or another (well, OK I used road flares instead of the newer, safer LED flashers, but you get the point).
So what did I do, what preps did I use?
Since the drop in tire pressure was not severe, and since it was on a back wheel (one of the least likely to cause control problems), I decided to try using the air compressor and driving it for a bit to see if it was a severe leak or just a slow one. I drove for a couple of miles, pulled over and checked the pressure with my gauge, and found that it had only dropped a slight amount.
I determined that this was safe enough to drive to a tire repair facility and get it fixed, so that’s what I did.
So all those other preps were a waste to carry?
Absolutely not. In this situation, I used the compressor and the tire gauge.
Had the leak been more severe, I would have found a good place to park and changed the tire. As it turned out, I would have had some trouble doing this because the wheel was really stuck on the brake drum hard (the man who fixed it had a hard time getting it off the vehicle and had to used a rubber mallet.
Yep, you guess it, now that I know these wheels can stick like that, I’m adding a rubber mallet to my kit.
Had I been unable to get the wheel off (honestly, on a jack it would have been REALLY hard) I had the option of calling AAA and getting assistance (even out here in the sticks they cover our whole area… sometimes it may take a couple of hours for the person to reach you, but they do eventually come).
I had food in the car, I had water. If the day had been cold I have a blanket. I have a change of clothing and full rain gear in case I got wet.
Preps. Small preps.
It’s what we do.
Preps go a long way,never know when you need them,but glad that you have them.Way to go Salty
I have had lug nuts that wouldn’t break loose, even with a good lug wrench. I keep and have used a quality socket, breaker bar and a length of pipe as wide as the trunk! I’ve had to jump on it to break some nuts loose after mechanic over tightened and salt corrosion set in. Also used the pipe on tire instead of mallet to break it loose.
ditto on the 18″ breaker bar and impact socket >>>> especially more important and useful if you need to insert that special adapter for security lug nuts …
I have been including a hydraulic jack replacement for the OEM jack for decades now – a 6′ X 8′ blue tarp and wood blocking go along as part of that tire changing kit ….
The breaker bar/impact socket is a great idea, I will be adding those to mine.
Very good points Salty. I try to educate open minded friends about what I call practical prepping. Or “Awe *hit” supplies. End of the world talk generally turns most folks off but talking about a “Awe *hit” fund for replacing a tire or brake job or some extra food for the next time a Nor’easter stops the trucks sparks interest. Given the amount of damage the hurricanes did to the poultry growers in the Carolinas and the flooding damage to spring plantings my strong suggestion to friends is prepare for food prices to climb soon.
Americans who have not lived on the “economy” outside America do not realize how cheap our food supply is and most do not know there is NO US Government Grain Reserves anymore. Flooding has gotten a lot of the silos worth of feed stock for our animals from what I have read.
Best of all if you buy what you eat and eat what you buy Your NOT out anything if somehow food prices stay the same (Fat Chance). Lot’s of ordinary foods with two years plus Good By dates today. Do we need Joseph to speak to Pharaoh of 7 Fat Cows and 7 Lean Cows…
Maybe my winter grow buckets of potatoes will become cost effective? I really hope not as I like modern comforts. Now it’s just a gardening hobby later may become the American Dacha as food systems get stressed. Enjoyable even today to dig and eat fresh baby potatoes when the wind and snow is howling and is my stress reliever. Spring in Eastern Europe is still remembered as the “Starving Season” when stored crops are almost gone and soon to be planted crops months from harvesting food.
It’s not time to call your Insurance Agent about fire insurance when you smell smoke friends.
One item that is a MUST have for any car kit in cold climates is a toilet paper heater. For less than $5, a heat source can keep passengers warm enough all night.
Interesting. I’ve never messed with one of those, it’s definitely on my list of “things to try out.”
If the wheel sticks to the drum/hub due to differential metal corrosion one can separate them by loosening the wheel nuts a few turns and then drop the vehicle off the jack. The weight of the vehicle (you might need to gently) rock it sideways) will break the weld.
I have done the same and had mixed results. I have even loosened the lug nuts and driven it a few feet hitting the brakes or turning when on the front wheel without it breaking loose. Anti-seize is the only thing that has seemed to help.
Rotating the tires regularly helps as well..
What brand/model portable air compressor do you have?
Karl, Salty’s going to have to take a look at it. He’ll reply once he’s had a chance to check it out.
Thanks!
One suggestion I would give is to add hose to the compressor to get to the tire, not add electrical wire to get compressor close to tires. That is the case with any air compressor, but especially with a 12V compressor. You want to avoid voltage drop. A prep I keep in my vehicle is an air hose with an air chuck at each end. One end needs to have a lock to stay on the valve stem. The hose needs to be long enough to reach opposite corners of the vehicle. If the hole in the tire is plugged, or has a slow leak, or sealer added, you can rob a little air from each other tire including the spare. That could be helpful if the wheel won’t come off, there is no safe place to jack up the vehicle, spare tire holder is too rusted to remove, etc.