Enthusiast III
I carry ALOT of tools, but everything I am carrying has come in handy at some point or another. I also just moved to an apartment, so this is my only tool set for everything from routine maintenance to trailside repairs. If your vehicle has only metric bolts, than it might not be worth it to you to carry imperial sized tools, but also think about all of your modifications/gear? Are they all metric too? I've helped a lot of people with very minimalist tool rolls who needed a tool they didn't have. It's definitely a balancing act, and I am towards the "too much" extreme, but I would rather be there than near the "too little" extreme. Have it and don't need it instead of need it and not have it and all of that. It's also a 22 year old truck, so I want to be prepared for pretty much anything. I'm mechanically inclined enough to be able to do pretty much anything you could do with basic hand tools with access to YouTube.
My primary tool bag is a Blue Ridge Overland Gear tool bag. I've had this one for close to 3 years, and I have not been easy on it. The bag is holding up wonderfully, despite how much use I have gotten out of it.
I think that is everything? I'm sure I forgot something small, but that is the gist of it. If people want, I can try to take some pictures but its a bit of pain because I live in an apartment with an underground parking garage. They already yelled at me just for checking my fluids and air filter in the garage, lol.
My primary tool bag is a Blue Ridge Overland Gear tool bag. I've had this one for close to 3 years, and I have not been easy on it. The bag is holding up wonderfully, despite how much use I have gotten out of it.
- Blue Ridge Overland Gear tool bag (I removed my rear seats and built a drawer system over it. I keep most of my tools under the drawer where the rear seat would have been). This keeps the weight lower in the vehicle (and makes my drawers a lot easier to open!)
- Bag 1 - Diagnostic equipment and misc tools
- Magnetic pick up tool (LIFESAVER)
- Bubble level
- Axe file (for sharpening tools and removing material from metals)
- Small stainless steel brush (good for cleaning threads on bolts, cleaning metal surfaces for an electrical ground, etc.)
- 30' measuring tape
- OBD2 reader ($30 one, it can read and clear most codes. Nothing too fancy)
- Multimeter (A necessity for any sort of electrical system diagnosis/repair)
- bag 2 - pliers
- A pair of large vice grips
- Electrical pliers (stripping and crimping)
- Linemans pliers
- Needlenose pliers
- Water pump pliers
- Cutters
- Spark plug wire pliers
- bag 3 - drivers
- Good set of hex keys - both metric and standard
- Couple of different screwdrivers, Philips and flathead, long and short
- bag 4 - wrenches
- A good set of ratcheting wrenches in both metric and standard.
- There are a few oddball bigger wrenches in there too, mainly for things like my oil drain plug and other weird things I have needed
- bag 5 - 3/8" ratchet set
- ratchet
- short breaker bar
- extensions, 3/8->1/4 adapter, 3/8->1/2" adapter, universal-joint adapter
- A specific hex key socket that I need for brake calipers
- A specific torx socket that I needed for something (It might be for my differential fill/drain plugs)
- O2 sensor socket
- Spark plug sockets (magnetic ones)
- A full set of shallow sockets (metric and standard) and then a few deep sockets for popular sizes (or ones that I have needed already)
- bag 6 - 1/4" ratchet set
- ratchet
- short breaker bar
- extensions, 1/4->3/8 adapter, universal-joint adapter
- A full set of shallow sockets (metric and standard) and then a few deep sockets for popular sizes (or ones that I have needed already). I don't have many sockets in 1/4" that I also have in 3/8", just popular ones like 10mm and 1/2"
- Bag 1 - Diagnostic equipment and misc tools
- Big tools
- Good sized brake hammer (I think mine is 3 lbs)
- Pry bar that I have also used as a pickle fork.
- 6" C-clamp (for compressing brake cylinders, but good for all sorts of things)
- 1/2" torque wrench (goes up to 150 ft lbs, my lug nuts are 140 ft lbs)
- Small magnetic bolt tray
- 1/2" 36mm impact socket (for my front axle nut)
- 1/2" Impact sockets for my lug nuts, my front bumper, and a few other things
- Pair of aviation snips
- Repair gear (this all gets kept in a big MTM ammo crate in one of my drawers)
- A ratcheting screwdriver kit with pretty much every bit I could ever need (It's also been great for assembling Ikea furniture in my new place!)
- Bunch of zip ties (GOOD ONES, pay the extra few dollars!)
- 2x ratchet straps
- Roll of bailing wire (saved my tail more times than I care to admit, from a dragging exhaust tip to fixing my tent)
- Roll of Gorilla brand duct-tape (this is my favorite brand)
- Roll of 3M brand electrical tape (this is the best I have found. Nothing is worse than crappy electrical tape!)
- Sharpie marker
- Colby emergency tire valves (the package has two of them)
- Spare u-joint (just for my drive shafts)
- spare spark plug and the longest spare spark plug wire (leftover from tuneup)
- some extra wires and solderless terminals left over from misc. projects (Has come in handy for making ground wires for radios on the trail)
- Propane torch (goes on the end of standard green Coleman bottles)
- Little pump for putting on quarts of gear oil to fill diffs/transfer case
- Bag of "goop"
- A paint pen that is pretty close to my exterior paint color
- JB weld
- JB weld Steel-Stik
- Threadlocker (medium strength)
- Red RTV (Hi temp, good for diff covers and lots of other stuff)
- Anti-sieze
- dielectric grease
- ceramic brake grease (leftover from a brake job
- Bag of misc. stuff
- fuses
- hose clamps
- extra battery terminals (both for my truck and my buddy's jeep)
- extra nuts and bolts from various projects
- Fluids
- Can of brake cleaner (good for much more than just brakes)
- funnel
- WD-40
- Quart of oil
- Gallon of coolant (premixed)
- spare serpentine belt
- Other stuff
- I don't always carry it, but I do have a cordless 1/2" impact gun. When I go on longer trips I try to bring it. If you don't have one I promise it will be worth every penny.
- Silky Saw (for clearing trees and processing firewood)
- Fire extinguisher (just a standard ABC one, nothing fancy)
- Shovel
- Bag of recovery gear
- Bag of "boo-boo" first aid gear
- Trauma kit
- Haynes and Chilton repair manuals
- Tire repair kit
- Compressor (just for inflating tires, can't work tools off of it)
I think that is everything? I'm sure I forgot something small, but that is the gist of it. If people want, I can try to take some pictures but its a bit of pain because I live in an apartment with an underground parking garage. They already yelled at me just for checking my fluids and air filter in the garage, lol.
