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YOU ARE HERE: HOME / SUPPLIES / 21 THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE IN YOUR VEHICLE AT ALL TIMES

21 Things You Should Have In Your Vehicle At All Times

BY  NICHOLAS OETKEN
 6 COMMENTS ✓ THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS*

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If you didn’t already understand the importance of preparedness, the current COVID-19 situation
should have taught you. As little as six months ago, would anyone have predicted that we would
be facing a massive pandemic?

The same logic goes for when you’re driving. You never know when something bad may happen.
What if you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere due to engine failure? What if the grid collapses
and chaos envelops your neighborhood while you’re away from home?  
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This is why you need to always be prepared, and part of this preparation means having
emergency items in your car. But which specific items should you have in your car at all times?
That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

1. Backpack
Keep most of the items on this list in a backpack so you can evacuate your vehicle with
everything if you need to. Make sure your backpack is well made, rugged, has comfortable and
adjustable straps, and has neutral colors that will help you blend in and not stand out. 

2. Blanket
Keep two blankets in your car at all times. The best one to get will be wool blankets or
reflective heat blankets. Both will work well at keeping you warm. Avoid cotton blankets
because they do a very poor job of resisting water.

Make sure that both blankets can pack down nice and compact so you can stash one or both
away in your backpack if you need to bug out from the car. 

3. Cash
Keep at least $100 in cash in your car at all times. This should be divided up into $20, $10, $5,
and $1 bills. Keep the cash in a Ziploc bag for convenience and to help create some barrier in
between it and the outside elements. 

4. Cat Litter
For winter survival situations, you can spread cat litter on ice to make it easier for you to walk
over. 

5. Clothes (Extra)
Always keep an extra change of clothes in your car. Have one pair of hiking boots or shoes (you
don’t want to evacuate your vehicle in sandals or flip flops), an extra pair of cargo pants or jeans,
an extra shirt, a jacket, extra pair of socks, and gloves. 

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6. Fire Starting Devices

Plan on having at least three different fire-starting devices in your car at all times – matches, a
magnesium flint striker, and a lighter will represent your best bets.

While you’re at it, include items that are easily flammable so you can get a fire going quickly.
Cotton balls soaked in Vaseline or fire sticks are good options here. 

7. First Aid Kit

Always keep a complete first aid kit in your car, and keep it separated in its own pack for ease
of organization and transportation. This pack could then fit inside your backpack if you needed it
to. Make sure to fully familiarize yourself with the inside of your first aid kit so you know all of its
contents.

For this reason, it may be wise to buy all of the components separately and make your first aid
kit truly customizable. It’s one way to make sure that you know everything that is included in the
kit. 

8. Flag (Red or Orange)

A brightly colored red or orange flag can be tied to the outside of an immovable vehicle during a
winter snowstorm. This way, you should be visible to other cars coming by so you can hopefully
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be rescued.  MISC
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9. Flares
Flares can also be used for signaling for help, such as if your vehicle becomes stranded, and
from much farther distances than a red flag can. Have at least three in your car. 

10. Flashlight
Always keep a good flashlight with an extra set of batteries in your car. This will make it easier
to inspect your vehicle or to leave the car at night or in darkness if you have to. The best kind of
flashlight to keep in your vehicle will have a powerful LED beam, but will also be small and
compact so it can be easily carried around. 

11. Food
Keep enough food in your car to help you survive for at least three days. You need food that is
small, portable, long-lasting, and come packed with nutrition.

Simple protein bars or energy bars would fill this bill nicely, but nothing too chocolatey or it will
melt. You can also include MRE’s or similar food items where all you need is water and some
heat to cook them up. 

12. GPS Device

Keep a GPS device in your car with spare batteries. This can help you to navigate while you
drive, and to navigate if you are forced to leave your car and bug out on foot. 

13. Gun
This one is optional. Some people are uncomfortable at the thought of keeping a firearm in their
car under the fear that someone may break into their vehicle and steal it. It has happened before.

The best solution is to keep your firearm secured, such as in a car safe in between the seat and
center console or underneath the driver’s seat. Just make sure that the firearm is easily
accessible so you can defend yourself from the driver’s seat if need be. Have extra ammunition
as well. 

14. Knife
Keep two knives in your car at all times – a fixed blade knife and a folding blade knife that you
can keep clipped to the inside of your pocket. If you already keep a knife clipped in your pocket,
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The fixed blade knife will be used for more heavy-duty tasks such as defense or shelter building
or splitting wood, while the folding knife will be used for more precise work.

15. Jumper Cables

Even people who don’t keep a survival kit in their vehicle will usually at least understand the
importance of keeping jumper cables in their car. If you don’t have jumper cables in your vehicle
yet, change that. 

16. Medical Mask

This would probably be wise to include just because of the current COVID-19 situation. Aside
from that, a medical mask can also keep particles such as dust out of your mouth and nostrils
too. As an alternative option, you could also go with a well-made bandana. 

17. Paracord
Paracord truly is one of the most versatile survival items ever invented. Keep at least one to two
hundred feet in your car at all times. You can use it for shelter building, rappelling down a steep
edge, making fishing line or a clothesline, or in the worst-case scenarios, for tying somebody up.

18. Personal Hygiene Kit

This is one of the most overlooked survival items to have in general, but it’s important (especially
if you get stranded many miles away from the nearest town or city).

A complete personal hygiene kit has everything from hand sanitizer to soap to toothpaste to
toothbrushes to a mirror and so on. It’s important to keep yourself clean. 

19. Prescription Medications

Keep at least a three days’ supply of prescription medications in your car at all times too –
especially if you really on these medications to stay alive or in good health.

20. Shovel
A shovel will prove its worth to you on more than one occasion. You can dig trenches and
latrines, use it for defense, or just dig holes as needed.

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A full-size shovel
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work for the back of a pickup truck. For a sedan or SUV, however, you
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can go with a smaller foldable camping shovel that will be much smaller and more portable.  

21. Water
Keep enough water in your car to survive for a minimum of three days. Preferably, keep it in a
metal water canteen rather than plastic containers. This way, your canteen can be used for
boiling water over a fire should you run out. It’s also more durable and will resist puncture hits
much better.

While you’re at it, also include a water filtration device (such as a Lifestraw) and water
purification tablets so you can make water you find safe to drink as well.  

Conclusion
The above items belong in any vehicle, regardless of whether it’s a truck, SUV, van, or a sedan.
Of course, feel free to add or subtract items based on how you see fit and on your
circumstances and environment. Your end goal should be to have the very best car survival kit
that you can get. 

Here’s some additional reading:

18 Tips For Bug Out Vehicles

Top 10 Vehicles for the Apocalypse
17 Emergency Foods You Should Keep in Your Vehicle

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Comments
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Rick Palmer says

June 3, 2020 at 10:43 pm

Flashlight, guns , knives , prescription meds .

I keep a 4 patriot rechargeable flashlight in the top , exposed part of my center console ,
where it gets enough sun to stay charged . It also has a USB port, if your cellphone
needs a charge . The compass is so/so but at least you’ll have one if needed .
Guns, knives , and meds in your vehicle. You better be aware of any laws that will apply
as you travel. Prescription meds should not be left in the vehicle, you know what your
needs are , just pack a little extra when you leave the house . Vehicles get hot or very
cold , neither is good for meds .

Reply

John says
June 3, 2020 at 3:48 pm

Living in Florida the daytime temperature in a parked car will seriously degrade some
medical supplies. Tape, food, etc doesn’t keep well in those temperatures. The cost of
warm winters.

Reply

Colleen Gallagher says

June 3, 2020 at 3:10 pm

how about a potty and tp?

Reply

Cindy says
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at 12:43 pm
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About the meds…many are not suited to be stored in temps that vehicle interiors reach.
Check with your pharmacist. Also, they need to be changed out periodically, especially if
stored in less than optimal conditions. The first that comes to mind is nitroglycerin tabs.
Typically with those you get more in a prescription than is needed, but with the way
insurance companies restrict refills to just the amount needed I would suggest asking
your doctor if they have samples they can give you.

Reply

Mic says
June 3, 2020 at 10:53 am

Basically good info, but not the best.

To much crap.

The extra clothes are optional. if you don’t wear good shoes or boots then you should
have them and some socks would be good. Women take note here. Most guys can
make do with their everyday clothing.
You should always have a light jacket and a rain poncho in the vehicle.
You can probably survive in the clothes you have on, for a few weeks if you had to.

The rain poncho should be an item by itself. hypothermia from getting wet is a real
problem, even in summer.

Forget the personal hygiene kit. the medical mask and most of that “PC type crap”,
worry about survival, not being properly clean or civilized.
Forget the cat litter, you will never have enough with you. use the shovel and spread
some dirt around, it works just as well and does not take up space.

Jumper cables should be part of a minor auto repair kit, not a separate item.
Such as some screw drivers and adjustable wrench or two, a multi tool, some electrical
tape and a water resistant self sealing tape for radiator hose leaks, some spare fuses,
etc. The flares should be part of this kit also.

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The modern
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Learn to have a compass and a map and use that.
Your batteries will probably have long gone dead and it will be useless when you need it.
( the same goes for the batteries in flashlight also. Instead of a flash light, get a flashlight
app for your cell phone.).

Having food and water for 3 days is a good idea but not really practical.
However some Coast Guard emergency survival rations don’t take up much space.
As for water, at least a gallon per person is a good start. If you had to abandon your
vehicle you can carry a gallon of water, but not so easily 3 gallons.
Then you need to carry a “drinking straw” or water purification device and a Canteen.
I prefer a plastic canteen with a cover and a G.I.-Style Stainless Steel Canteen Cup. It
conveniently is easily stowed away under your canteen. It provides you with a lot of
optional uses.

A deck of cards or a book would be a good addition. Something to help pass the time,
until you are rescued. A moral booster.

In preparing for a survival situation, one rule to remember “Less is better”.

Reply

Mic says
June 3, 2020 at 11:28 am

A couple of things regarding clothes that I forgot to mention.

1) A good hat.
One to keep the sun off of your head in summer and to keep your head warm in
winter.

2)A large handkerchief.

There are to many uses to list for this item. If you don’t know what they are good for
then you need to research them.
But it is good for straining water, as good as most ” medical masks” for that kind of
protection. (Besides the WHO recommends not wearing medical masks unless you
personally are sick.) Some have survival info printed on them.
They can keep the sun off your neck and be wetted down to supply extra cooling.
Just to name a few uses.

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