Spare part ‘must haves’.

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Couldn't find what you'd written at first, then saw it was buried in my quoted post.

No magnetos.
.

Did I put my post in the wrong place ? If no magnetos what does a diesel use ? A distributer of some sort ?
I thought diesels had a constant flow of electrical and it is the compression that fires the engine. Please clue me in so I wont have to ask any dumb questions any more. Thanks

 

[Road]

Duct tape, bailing wire, gas and this.... View attachment 113130

A parts runner to go get anything else you might need. #invaluable

That's true...and though not a spare part, I haul an ebike with me everywhere. I got it first as a backup rescue/escape vehicle in case I did break down solo somewhere and couldn't get my van out. Hell of a lot easier to ride out to pavement over ten miles of desert dirt road in half an hour than it would be to hoof it for five hours.

It's also a great scout vehicle, errand runner, and pack horse. Loads right into the back of my van with ease and charges from the solar-fed deep cycles on my trailer.



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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[Road]

Did I put my post in the wrong place ? If no magnetos what does a diesel use ? A distributer of some sort ?
I thought diesels had a constant flow of electrical and it is the compression that fires the engine. Please clue me in so I wont have to ask any dumb questions any more. Thanks

Your reply to mine ended up ahead of the 'end quote' mark so didn't show in your post, but showed only if expanding my post quoted in your reply.

It is not a dumb question.

Here's more on magnetos.
Here's more on diesel vs gas ignition.

As this is a thread about spare parts, I'll leave it at that, Jim

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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

That's true...and though not a spare part, I haul an ebike with me everywhere. I got it first as a backup rescue/escape vehicle in case I did break down solo somewhere and couldn't get my van out. Hell of a lot easier to ride out to pavement over ten miles of desert dirt road in half an hour than it would be to hoof it for five hours.

It's also a great scout vehicle, errand runner, and pack horse. Loads right into the back of my van with ease and charges from the solar-fed deep cycles on my trailer.

View attachment 113526

Cheaper than 1/2 a NAPA for sure !

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Your reply to mine ended up ahead of the 'end quote' mark so didn't show in your post, but showed only if expanding my post quoted in your reply.

It is not a dumb question.

Here's more on magnetos.
Here's more on diesel vs gas ignition.

As this is a thread about spare parts, I'll leave it at that, Jim

Well I was half right anyway. A diesel fires the fuel on the compression stroke due to the volatility of the fuel. No electrical needed. Hmmm I thought we were talking about spare parts since you don't need spark plugs or points and I do ?

 

[TerryD]

It depends a lot on where you are going, what you are doing, and what you are willing to pay for.

Some people rarely go anywhere that they need 4wd or low range and towing is readily available. Those people probably don't need or want to carry a lot of spares with them.

My reasoning:
1. I like to do my own repairs. Knowing what my vehicle looks like when its in good shape helps me see problems before the become major issues most of the time. I also inspect my vehicle after every major trip and give it a look over at every tire rotation when I'm going to have it on stands anyways.

2. I also like doing more challenging trails. Places where it will cost thousands of dollars to have your vehicle towed out on top of the repair bill.

My spares list:
Alternator
Front CV half shaft
Front Drive Shaft U-Joint
Rear Drive Shaft U-Joint
Both Camshaft Position Sensors
Crankshaft Position Sensor
Main Fusible Link
Inner TRE (same on both sides)
Both Outer TREs
Used Fan Belt
Various Fluids (Antifreeze, Oil, Transmission Fluid, Diff Oil)
Main Power Relay

This list is built from personal experience as well as research into the weak points of my vehicle. I'm a member of some Xterra specific forums and these parts are some of the ones that have caused problems for other members in remote locations. Some of them, such as the TREs and U-Joints are things I've personally had fail on me in the past or a friend in the group has had fail and put us in a bind because they didn't have spares.

You need to research what you drive and figure out what some of the weak spots are. Every vehicle has common issues that will leave you stranded and you need to either fix/replace them to mitigate the issue or be prepared to repair/replace them on the trail if they become an issue.

Example:
Being a little unprepared ruined a family camping trip a couple years ago. We were going across the mountain on a Saturday afternoon about two hours from home. On top of the mountain, I eased up against an obstacle and the Xterra died. It was like you'd turned off the switch. It took some cranking to get it to restart but it did. We continued on down the trail and it wasn't long before the entire dashboard lit up like a bill board. At that point, having read about common issues and their symptoms, I had a pretty good idea what the problem was. I pulled out my code reader (if you have a OBD2 vehicle and don't carry a code reader, you really need to look into one) and it confirmed my suspicions. It was one of the camshaft position sensors failing. I didn't have a spare at that time, so our only option was to abandon our trip and hope to get home before it left us stranded on the road side. Such as it is, aftermarket parts from places like AutoZone don't hold up and sometimes don't work at all. You have to have OE (Hitachi) brand and most of the time you have to order those. Since then I've carried spares for those in my spares box. If there'd been one in there that day, we could have made camp and I could have easily changed the part in about 10min after the vehicle cooled down and our trip would not have been cut short.

 

[Specter]

Thanks for the reply, TerryD. Solid list and reasoning. If you ever get to the Stafford area, hit me up.

 

[Issa.ranger]

I personally always carry extra bearings and grease (the Dana 35 on my 94 ranger is kinda temperamental and hit and miss with bearings) and I always carry extra oil and coolant. Also I carry an extra mass airflow sensor and air filter

 

[madcratebuilder]

Well I was half right anyway. A diesel fires the fuel on the compression stroke due to the volatility of the fuel. No electrical needed. Hmmm I thought we were talking about spare parts since you don't need spark plugs or points and I do ?

It's the heat generated by the high compression, often over 24-1 that starts the fire, the fuel burns. You have glow plugs that heat up for cold starts.

 

[64Trvlr]

The stuff I always have packed in the Willys is, a hub socket and a tube of JT-6 red grease, 2 Spicer u-joints, the 2 belts I need, oil filter, 2 fuel filters, spare fuel pump (long story), spare 3/8" fuel line, box of fuses, a couple of spare relays, wire strippers, crimper, a couple of 10' pieces of different gauge wire, spare 400 amp mega fuse for the winch, tire plug/patch kit, couple of rubber valve stems, ether, a tool kit, 4 way lug wrench, hi-lift and a 20 ton hydraulic jack, shovel, tow strap, tree saver, 20' 3/8" grade 70 chain, jumper cables, 3 D-rings, 2 snatch blocks, 3 pairs of gloves, 3 3 D-cell Mag lights w/spare batteries, 3 5# fire extinguishers (1 is Halon, 2 are ABC, I've never heard anyone complain about having a leftover extinguisher after a fire), 80 cuft N2 tank w/regulator and 30' hose w/air chuck, 1/2" air impact w/lug socket, 2 sets of V bar tire chains w/tightners, first aid kit, gallon of antifreeze, oil, gear lube, PS/transmission fluid, 4-5 ways to start a fire, change of clothes.

This may seem like a lot but it's always in and it doesn't take up much space. In over 50 years of spending anything from a few days to a few months off road (or overloading) often alone in remote places this is what I bring to avoid walking home. Depending on where, how long I'm traveling and who if anyone I'm going with I either go as is or add what I think is needed.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

The stuff I always have packed in the Willys is, a hub socket and a tube of JT-6 red grease, 2 Spicer u-joints, the 2 belts I need, oil filter, 2 fuel filters, spare fuel pump (long story), spare 3/8" fuel line, box of fuses, a couple of spare relays, wire strippers, crimper, a couple of 10' pieces of different gauge wire, spare 400 amp mega fuse for the winch, tire plug/patch kit, couple of rubber valve stems, ether, a tool kit, 4 way lug wrench, hi-lift and a 20 ton hydraulic jack, shovel, tow strap, tree saver, 20' 3/8" grade 70 chain, jumper cables, 3 D-rings, 2 snatch blocks, 3 pairs of gloves, 3 3 D-cell Mag lights w/spare batteries, 3 5# fire extinguishers (1 is Halon, 2 are ABC, I've never heard anyone complain about having a leftover extinguisher after a fire), 80 cuft N2 tank w/regulator and 30' hose w/air chuck, 1/2" air impact w/lug socket, 2 sets of V bar tire chains w/tightners, first aid kit, gallon of antifreeze, oil, gear lube, PS/transmission fluid, 4-5 ways to start a fire, change of clothes.

This may seem like a lot but it's always in and it doesn't take up much space. In over 50 years of spending anything from a few days to a few months off road (or overloading) often alone in remote places this is what I bring to avoid walking home. Depending on where, how long I'm traveling and who if anyone I'm going with I either go as is or add what I think is needed.

Seems like a very intelligent list of possible need items. I'd love to have this inventory and it shows your experience level @ 5 ***** on a list of 5. I believe in insurance of this magnitude ! I'm older than you and I'd love to have one of the small mini trail bikes that Tractor supply sells for about $500. so I can get out of the back woods without walking. I'd never make it ! They only weigh about 200# so that's within my Gv whatever.

 

[Vinman]

After almost 40 of driving both on and offroad I haven’t seen a single part that consistently fails enough to warrant carrying a spare. The odd tire failure, an alternator caught fire, a battery failed (that particular trip I was running dual batteries so no big deal), water pump started minor leak, brake caliper seized up, alternator mounting bracket broke, broke rear axle shaft, broke shock, broke shock mount, idler pulley. Thats just what comes to mind.
My point is it is extremely hard to know what spare parts to carry.
Now I do carry a fairly extensive tool kit with lots of hand tools, extra fuses and wiring, duct tape, zip ties, bailing wire, booster pack and cables, tire repair kit with compressor etc.

 

[Billiebob]

There is no AAA service on forest roads or even some dedicated rural highways.

True, we charge once we leave the highway but all those highway miles are free, forestry roads included, but the big advantage of AAA is one phone call and AAA finds the best deal. When travelling thru a new area, 500 miles from home, that knowledge is invaluable.

 

[Billiebob]

Good luck with your travels, something will break sooner or later on everyone.

And you'll likely not have the part which broke.

Some people can break anything, others avoid break downs with good maintenance, others travel with friends but the best way to avoid disaster is to file your route, plans with someone who cares. With the armageddon crowd on this thread how do you have room for food. Or does everyone just ignore the GVWR and travel overloaded?

Best way to avoid a breakdown, travel as light as you can. Some of these lists of parts, plus the tools to change them, must weigh more than the overlanding gear.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

True, we charge once we leave the highway but all those highway miles are free, forestry roads included, but the big advantage of AAA is one phone call and AAA finds the best deal. When travelling thru a new area, 500 miles from home, that knowledge is invaluable.

I carry AAA Premium. Had to use it twice last month. Once for a Battery when I was 160 miles from home and in another city. The second was for them to come out to my house 25 miles from town to unlock my daughters car because she locked the keys inside and her spare key was on the key chain LOL.
I wouldn't go anywhere without my AAA.

The situation I was talking about was if your 25 miles out in the boonies where there is no cell phone service, what do you do, walk. ?
I can't walk a block but if I had the part I could fix it myself at least good enough to get me to civilization.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

And you'll likely not have the part which broke.

Some people can break anything, others avoid break downs with good maintenance, others travel with friends but the best way to avoid disaster is to file your route, plans with someone who cares. With the armageddon crowd on this thread how do you have room for food. Or does everyone just ignore the GVWR and travel overloaded?

Best way to avoid a breakdown, travel as light as you can. Some of these lists of parts, plus the tools to change them, must weigh more than the overlanding gear.

Removing my seats eliminated over 100 #.
My tool box weighs about 25# and any parts I would carry wouldn't exceed 20-30#. My tent, sleeping gear, cooking equip., and everything else including solar panels and two batteries would not exceed 500#. I'm well under my max weight limit. Besides most of my travels
would be pulling my SCAMP and I cant get very far into the boonies with that behind me.
Most everything I carry would be in the SCAMP, not in my rig. I see your point but I'm a good driver and I maintain my vehicles better than most I would say. I've been messing with autos all my life and learned all my lessons. I'm too old to take the big risks any more.