What's in your toolbox?

n brown said:
breaking down in the middle of nowhere,in a foreign country where you don't speak the language is actually a good test of your general resourcefulness, and a lot of traveller stories are about overcoming the problems vehicles can cause you. I had a flat tyre in the mountains-no problem !got the spare out, found it was flat ! yeah I know,that's what I called me too ! still no problem,the tyres were split rims,so I got out my bead breaker,got my spare inner tube out,put the valve in ,got the wheel on ,then cycled 6 hard miles to a town and bought a footpump. phew ! cycled back,i'm now knackered,and started pumping. these tyres are 16inch and need 60psi, I reckon if I can get them to 30,that'll get me to a garage .sooo- back to pumping,blazing hot took about an hour! finally -30 psi. so,disconnected the pump and WHOOSH ! the air comes straight out. it had been a faulty valve all the time. what a great learning experience !
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these days think about the tyre fix tins you buy . .they use butane to pump up the tyre . if you kit yourself with a connector system . you can use chewing gum stick repairs CAR TUBELESS TYRE PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT WITH 15 STRINGS | eBay
something like this and blow the tyre up from your gas bottle .
get it fixed when you can . and i think i might get rid of the gas and fill with air .
have known tyre strings last for years . but not allowed in uk really .
i always have them in the truck.



hi dive tramp well done . i use mole grips but you did it . drive slowly and carefully get to a store for new parts thats the way . one gold star for you .
 
Cheers vwalan, I had left the Mole Grips back home, hence the needlenosed pliers used on this occassion. Oh, and I was away for two weeks with this "repair" in place. :-$

As for blowing up tyres (BUTANE, really? this isn't the cold, north iceland tundra. Fill tyre space with gas, light and retire... ;-) ), I have loads of air kicking around... at least three diving bottles in the back and the portable HP breathing air compressor.
I just slip on an old first stage regulator (brings the dive bottles' pressure down from 230 bar down to 8-10 bar) and then attach a tyre inflator (PCD fittings I madeup for this) and away we go...

DT
 
i have air to work the trailer brakes so have a take off .
but look at the fix n fill cans . butane is what they use.
remember it liquid in the can .
you can get rubber rings for sealing beads while they blow up . they pop off as the bead seals
all that gas n fire is good for tv . dont work in the desert .
just thought might get someone out of trouble . a 300ml can of tyre weld suposed to blow up a 155tyre size . think about it . dont smoke or weld the rim or near it . thats what it says on the tin .
 
antiquesam said:
I was always told that if couldn't be fixed with some string and a hammer it can't be fixed. I have always believed this to be true:rolleyes2:
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I take gaffer tape to stop the stuff that shouldn't move from moving and WD40 to get the stuff that should move that isn't to move

K ;)
 
At an overlanders meet recently and the Unimog parked next door had a leaking radiator.

Mog owner wanders over and says it was suggested that I might be able to let him have some liquid metal to patch his radiator to get him home.

Now I wasn't sure how to take this, was it cos I drive an Iveco so have to deal with patching up the cab rust every so often or was it because I looked like a well prepared overlander that would carry such things just in case

I chose to believe it was the 2nd option , went to the spares cupboard and pulled out a tube of liquid metal cos I am a well prepared overlander :lol-053:

We did once list the uses we found for gaffer tape on a trip - came to 30 something (this did include repairing clothes)

Rich
 
scampa said:
Sorry to hear that you had so much hassle for what is, hopefully, a simple fix.

I've never tried that K-Seal myself, but I've heard good things about it on here. I always carry one or two of these "Bar's Seal" tubes of leak sealant with me. It's the best sealant that I've ever used, usually much more effective than the more common types that you can buy!

Bars BAS050 50g Bars Seal: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
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Hi Scampa,

Its a bit of a pain but another lesson learned.

I have used the Bars on a rad but as this is the cylinder head, it was recommended by a mechanic who thinks anything under thirty years is new. Said he had got 10 000 miles out of it in the past and I trust him. I thought I would give it a try. Mainly because I had a new gasket fitted last year. Head skimmed, new water pump, belt the lot. Did a lot of other work as well. All cr*p. Everything they did has now had to be redone. I don't know how many skims the head has had or how many it will take (S Reg) so I think I will try the simple answer this time. That's if I ever get it back from France :)

Richard
 
Having read another Members post about his Sprinter rear wheel set detaching itself from the axle, I bought a torque wrench so I could check that the wheel nuts stay nice and tight according to the manufacturers spec. The torque wrench cost around £25 but I reasoned that it was a lot cheaper than the cost of losing two wheels (my Hymer has twin rear wheels) in the middle of nowhere!!.

Most vehicle manufacturers suggest that if the wheels have been removed during maintenance, then you re-check the wheel nut torque after 50/75 miles.
 
I carry way more than I need, being a mechanic all my life me and tools are inseparable, but really it is pointless carrying tools unless you are able to use them competantly, your best tool is your rescue card, AA, RAC etc
 
rhinestone2747 said:
I carry way more than I need, being a mechanic all my life me and tools are inseparable, but really it is pointless carrying tools unless you are able to use them competantly, your best tool is your rescue card, AA, RAC etc
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And Two fully charged Phones on different networks.

Richard
 
What's in my toolbox?

RAC rescue details, bottle of Absinthe and a couple of tall glasses :lol-049:
 
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