Overland Toolkit - What is needed

[vinayyelluri]

Hello All,
I currently have a Toyota 4runner TRD Offroad, I have started to overland and was wondeing what is a good starting overland toolkit to have
Thanks
Vinay

 

[Zander Abear]

I’m no pro, but all I carry around is a dewalt 200 piece tool set. I don’t do anything crazy, so it works for me.

 

[OTH Overland]

Vinay, here is copy of a response I made on another thread, some of it may be helpful.

one thing that can help out if you are concerned with overall size of the kit, you can tailor it to you particular vehicle. Most vehicles will not require a full set of sockets and wrenches, and those that don't fit fasteners on your vehicle can be left behind, this does require some advance knowledge or investigation of fastener sizes on your vehicle so you know what you can omit. Also beware that a lot of brands may have a mix of metric and imperial fasteners. Also there will likely be torx and other fasteners on modern vehicles. My Jeep has a surprisingly minimal selection of bolt sizes, at least in those that may vibrate loose or get damaged, I carry a decent selection of spare bolts and nuts of various lengths in those sizes and thread types, nothing worse than having all the tools and you are side lined due to a bolt that fell out or broken. I carry a ball peen hammer rather than a mallet because I feel like if i need to beat on something it will likely require a bit more force, the ball peen side is useful for rearranging dented sheet metal to clear a tire after an oops on the trail. spare fuses in sizes that fit, plenty of rubber gloves and a tube of hand cleaner, small tube of form-a-gasket and bailing wire are also in my kit. Organization of my tools is important to me, I want to be able to find what I need without digging through a dark bag, or dumping them out on the ground. Seems like its always dark and raining and I don't want to loose any tools. I use the Blue Ridge Overland tool bag, has 6 removable zippered pouches with windows so you can see what's inside, is expensive at a bit over $100 but very sturdy and a lot of tool space in a compact space. I also bring a small 4x8 tarp to lay on in an under the rig to minimize getting wet and dirty and to prevent loss of fasteners and tools when dropped. My personal tool kit does carry full sets of wrenches and sockets in all drive sizes along with some specialty tools because I have a lot of mechanical experience and find myself helping people work on their vehicles, so I put up with the extra weight and use of space.

 

[M Rose]

Wow wall of text

 

[slomatt]

Hello All,
I currently have a Toyota 4runner TRD Offroad, I have started to overland and was wondeing what is a good starting overland toolkit to have
Thanks
Vinay

How much of your own maintainance and modification work do you do? One school of thought is to keep track of what tools you use while working on your specific truck and then make sure those are included in your vehicle tool kit. It's also good to consider what tools are required for repairs you might have to make on the trail. For example, a large hub socket is necessary when removing a front axle shaft. The weight of tools adds up quickly and there is a balancing point between being prepared and being overloaded.

Assuming your primary goal is to be able to repair things that fail on the trail then it is a good idea to also carry repair materials such as tape, wire ties, tire plugs, etc. Again, what you need depends on the type of repairs you might reasonably need to make.

Here's an inventory of what I carry in my 4Runner in case it helps.

Vehicle Inventory

This weekend I did an inventory of my truck and decided to take some pictures for my own reference and to share on this site. These are items that are always carried in the truck, with a general goal of trying to keep the weight reasonable while providing a high level of usefulness for vehicle...

www.overlandbound.com

 

[Longshot270]

I've spent more time fixing things other than my vehicles so my tool kit is a scaled down version of what's at home. It all fits in a small tool bag

 

[Odyssey USA]

I've spent more time fixing things other than my vehicles so my tool kit is a scaled down version of what's at home. It all fits in a small tool bag

I’m curious about the staple gun.

 

[Longshot270]

I've spent more time fixing things other than my vehicles so my tool kit is a scaled down version of what's at home. It all fits in a small tool bag

I’m curious about the staple gun.

Me too, I already lost it somewhere in the truck. Lol

It comes in handy with repairs on tarps, sheet plastic like in my fender well, stapling notes to the message board/branch, rifle targets, etc. I've also been known to bring it into the office when the standard stapler isn't strong enough. I also know someone that used it on himself after an accident to help hold things together on the trip to the hospital.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Horrible Freight was tool kits in blowmold cases on sale for under $50. I keep my good tools in the roll away. You want to have tire repair, plug kit and Colbey stems. Leak repair, both oil and water. Wire, tape, HD ny ties, first aid kit.

You may want to carry a few spare parts like belts, hoses, depends on age of vehicle. I carry spare tie rod ends as it's a known weak point on my truck. A spare serp belt, oil and coolant.

Portable air should be near the top of the list.

 

[BCMoto]

It all depends on what trip im about to go on, few states over I will pack everything needed to do suspension and axles. If its closer then not that much just some basics.

 

[Ubiety]

A lot of good info here! I'd add a ratchet strap or two in order to help secure something in case of a bad oops. Extra belt(s) and hoses are a good idea; maybe there is a hose repair kit that will get you off of the trail instead of carrying hoses. Flashlight(s) and a tarp are great to have as well. Anything tire repair! I carry colby field replaceable valve stems, TireJect leak seal goo and a tire repair kit (plugs). Zip ties and bailing wire have a myriad of uses as well (cord too). I carry minimal electrical diagnoses/repair stuff as well (multimeter, extra wire, electrical tape, fuses, etc.). And some basic consumer "breakdown gear" including reflectors/flares, jumper cables, etc. An air compressor for sure - don't skimp here as a good one will air you up faster and may help get a tire bead re-seated.

It's not always about fixing your rig, a lot of times its about fixing other's rigs so try to think generically when possible.

 

[bgenlvtex]

This started life as a Craftsman(early/mid 80`s) sae/metric set. I gutted the sae added more metric, drivers, extensions, etc. The thing has elastic bands in it that (most of it) lost its elasticity decades ago. The silver bars are neodymium magnets laminated between .125x.500 aluminum stock to hold everything in place. It is tailored specifically to my Jeep and 3.6l gas engine. Short of suspension work there isn't much I can't do, and it is all the size of a Bible.

I also have a zipper pouches with pliers, wire stripper/crimper, files, combination wrenches and flex head ratchet wrenches, punches as well as a 2 pound drilling hammer.

Also a Milwaukee M18 hacksawzall, blades, and an M18 1/4" impact bit driver with 1/4",3/8" square drive adaptors.

 

[BCMoto]

Ratchet straps
Flashlight
Tire repair kit
Zip ties
Jumper cables

These items are in my truck full time thats why I didnt think of these, you had a tarp listed but I have a small moving blanket that I can use also

 

[Ubiety]

And a chainsaw if you travel to heavily wooded areas. Helps with firewood processing (hatchet/axe as well) and can get you past a tree downed in/across the track. Winch and snatch block are helpful for downed tree removal.
Shovel, always carry a shovel for recovery and campfires and toilet pits.
Recovery boards are great as well.

@bgenlvtex - I see that you snuck into our house and snapped that pic on our countertops - time for a security system upgrade. :) Saw your pic and thought "hey, those are our countertops" :)

 

[OTH Overland]

With todays vehicles, adding a small Bluetooth capable OBD reader can be a big help, plug it into the port and connect to your smart phone, $20 gets you a fairly reasonable code reader, don't forget to download a list of codes for your particular vehicle to your phone so that you can look up them up when you are offline as most of the inexpensive readers do not provide a description of the code, just a number. Then you can text a unsuspecting buddy with your in-reach to have them stop by the auto parts place and pilgrimage to your location hopefully bring you the correct electronic gizmo to get your steed running again. (Seems like throttle position sensor, Idle air valve, and crankshaft position sensor are the most common culprits at least with my rigs, and I carry spares of each. I do carry a mechanics OBD diagnostic tool that reads codes, resets them, and does a myriad of other functions, but then that's probably overkill for most and likely due to my inner geek i expect.

 

[Berkshires]

There was a good article and video back in April by OLBBennett that discusses tool Rolls - worth reading and watching the video - Breaking Down the Tool Roll - Overland Bound

 

[Berkshires]

I should also mention Michaels article from 2019 - Don't Leave Home Without This - Overland Tool Kit Essentials - Overland Bound

 

[old_man]

I carry a ton of stuff because I tend to go alone a lot. Remember, tools only do so much. Most times, a replacement part of some type is necessary. I drive an old Jeep XJ that I keep in tip top condition but something can always break. I use common sense and while my vehicle is extremely capable, I don't like to push it too far. Having done extreme rock crawling for decades where 20% of the rigs break on a given trail, I have gotten over the need to prove anything to anybody. I have a broad selection of parts for my vehicle at any given time. I rarely need them but they have made for lots of grateful people on the trail over the years. Each vehicle has its own Achilles heel parts. Do some research on common problems. I am a dedicated scrounge. I do junk yard shopping and have at least one of every sensor in a bag under the back seat. I have spare ujoints, spare hubs, and even a spare driveshaft and axle shafts. I carry a multimeter and even a full factory manual with schematics. I carry a full complement of fluids and sealers as well as the capability to fix pretty much any tire damage. The key is that I know every inch of my vehicle and know how to fix everything. If you don't have the knowledge, all the parts and tools in the world won't do you much good unless you run across a good Samaritan on the trail . Find a forum on the web dedicated to your vehicle and dive in.

Hope to meet more of you out on the trails.

 

[Lil Bear]

Didn't read through all the other responses so sorry if I repeat what someone has already said. I would figure out just what things you are capable of doing to your rig(in terms of mechanical stuff) and then make a list of the tools needed for those things. Be sure to include all repairs you can do and not just a service type fix. Then find you a tool box kit that has close to if not everything that you have figured out you'd use to repair something. Then add individual pieces as needed. Just my 2 pesos.

 

[the_rockies]

In my rig I carry a 270piece Husky tool kit that I just got from Home Depot on Black Friday as well as extra fuses & a Bluetooth OBDII reader. I highly recommend getting a small jumper battery or eventually a dual battery setup in case you need to jump yourself. I've seen some people carry around a drill or impact driver which can come in handy for potential trail fixes. With tools nowadays many batteries can be swapped between tools so you could throw a Sawzall or similar items in and run them on the same batteries, they come in handy for clearing trails occasionally. Obviously the battery-powered tools are not a major necessity depending on where you're running but I like to bring them when I know I'm going to a wooded area. Even if you don't have battery-powered tools, throw a hand saw, axe, or hatchet in the box just in case.