Spare Operation fluids

[XC70_OVERLANDER]

I am counting days until we are off to our next adventure. The planning is nearly ready, but I have a little concern regarding spare operation fluids. How much do you carry on a 30+ day trip?

One or 5-litre id engine oil?
Transmission oil?

Any suggestions or recommendations?

The trip's destination will be the Highlands of Scotland. So there are sine options to get all the fluids but I thought bringing my own is safer.

Cheers.

 

[KD7WCD]

I guess one thing I would consider is how remote will you be on your trip. If you will be in and around civilizations then I would carry just the minimum so you would have enough to limp into town if you needed to.

I've only been to that area once and it looks like there are some areas you could really get far out by yourself.

Sounds like it could be a great trip.

Safe travels.

 

[smritte]

In the past, what I carried was based on what I was doing. What would it take for you to lose all the oil from your engine? Do you have a way to repair a hole in your oil pan? Take a good look at your vehicle and see what is vulnerable to damage based on your terrain.
I've seen people poke holes in fuel tanks, fluke tearing of brake lines, a bunch of coolant leaks, popped steering hoses, trans cooler hoses, broken motor mount tearing oil filter off. Almost all of those were due to lack of maintanence and hard core travel.

I carry a fuel tank repair putty as well as a few quarts of ATF and a quart of brake fluid. During my rock crawl days, I also kept 2 quarts of gear oil.
ATF works for steering, trans and engine. I also keep a roll of radiator repair tape and stop leak as well as a tire valve that can be inserted without breaking a bead.
If you keep up on your maintenance, there should be very few surprises but age of components (water pump, radiator....) has to be factored in.

 

[LostWoods]

@smritte beat me to it while I was typing this... Assess what you can reasonably use and go from there. For example, you really can't swap out a ton of trans fluid on the trail and in my case my hoses/cooler are protected so I see little need for more than a quart/liter to top off should you have a small leak. Brake fluid is critical but it's also something that you won't be repairing on trail unless you have the lines and tools that go with it so just a small bottle of fluid to top off (and some way to pinch off a torn line) should be fine. Diff fluid is typically one I carry a lot of because any water crossing mishap will flood your differentials first. Engine oil depends on how remote... normally a single quart/liter for me but if I were doing some month-long trip somewhere mostly remote I'd consider a large jug that can get me at least 80% full. All this said, I have 150 lbs of steel under my truck so piercing something like the oil pan or fuel tank means something went horribly wrong. If you have things less protected, you might need to consider things like a full oil fill after repairing a cracked pan or something.

A 5 gallon (20L) bucket from a home improvement store holds my full fluids kit which is usually 3 quarts of diff fluid, 1 quart of trans fluid and oil, the smaller bottles of power steering and brake fluid, and a replacement oil filter along with a bunch of clean rags. Should I need to actually do the work the bucket can then carry the fluids and I can find space for the bottles somewhere in the truck.

 

[Anak]

I just wish more fluids were packaged in better containers for off-road travel.

Those gear oil "bags" or "pouches" (I am not sure what they should be called) are great. I was initially skeptical, but they seem to be made tough enough to handle the real world. And because they are just a bag they pack exceptionally well. And because you can squeeze them to empty their contents they make it much easier to use when filling components under the vehicle (Tranny/T-case/3rd members). Now I want things like motor oil, power steering fluid and ATF in the same sort of packaging.

 

[XC70_OVERLANDER]

Thanks for all your advice and input. Great.