STUFF WE CARRY

[mountainborn]

Show us some of the "necessary" stuff that you carry, photo's please !

Does some of the stuff you carry work well ? Please show us !

Butcherknife and I are constantly culling and getting new items that we carry with us. You know, the necessary items. If it's worn, broken or obsolete, it goes in the storage shed to await a later and subsequent culling as a yard sale item. Or maybe off to the Good Will store.

We recently found a thing we like really well, though we didn't at first. We also posted this on the Casitaclub forums. Here it is:

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As we looked at it on the shelf in wally's world, we remembered a scarey hot summer day when a utility trailer tire blew out and shredded before we could get off to the side of the interstate highway. As I got ready to kneel down to place the jack under the axle I pulled my gloves on, a good thing that I did ! A bit of the rubber from the super heated and shredded tire brushed my forearm. We had came from the cab of a airconditioned pickup truck and weren't feeling the full effects of the extreme heat, yet. The small burning sensation from the brush with the rubber was the first hint of just how hot it actually was outside that airconditioned cab.

The superheated asphalt that I was kneeling on actually stuck to my blue jeans and left a red welp on my knee that was still there and burned in the shower that evening.

Years later, we are looking for a way around that event being repeated. Our electric jack system keeps us from having to go under the trailer to place a jack in the event of a flat, but kneeling on the asphalt to break the lug nuts loose was still an issue.

What we were looking at was a small twelve volt impact wrench. No brand name on it, the first clue of it's Chinese Origin. Reading the label cautiously we finaly gave in and bought it. It's small size, carrying case and socket assortment did it for us.

A couple of days pass and we need to run a test on the thing and see just how it measures up. After pluging it in and pulling the trigger, we were unimpressed. Then we put on the socket and tried it on a lug nut. As the trigger was pulled it made a screaming, winding up sound and suddenly gave the lug nut a whack ! There was no appreciable impact to my hand but after a couple of those whacks the lug nut started to turn and soon spun off.

After getting over my initial observation that it was likely too small to do the job, I had to reassess how I felt about the no name impact wrench's performance.

Final conclusion, it works well, just differently. As it winds up building energy it transfers that energy to the lug nut and soon it is loose.

We now carry it with us and store it in the battery compartment. Here is the photo:

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[tumbleweed]

Thanks for posting the Impact wrench. Been looking at them and with the Chinese origin was highly suspicious! Guess I'll wander over to Wally World.

Also, a carpet sample on the ground/hot asphalt usually saves the knee!! (free at your local carpet store!)

tumblweed

[ScubaRx]

This is an excellent idea. I looked at our local Harbor Freight store and they have one that is not priced too badly. You can check it out here:

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=92349

[mountainborn]

Good price Steve. We have moved where we carry ours. And now carry a jumpstart pack in the space beside the batterys. It just fits and stays charged up and ready to go.

[phil underwood]

nice post... subscribed to this thread

[tumbleweed]

Gotta see if my jolly jump start will fit there with reg batteries vs the gels.Got the same impact wrench and a ten foot ext cord, 12v to 12v. The jump start plus Geris Dell battery gave us 5 hours of computer power the other night, FYI.

Chuck

[SeaDawg]

Paul found this at Sam's Club, and for the price (around $11), we just had to add it to the onboard favorites. Built in batteries, rechargeable by a handcrank, power a weather/am/fm/ radio, led flashlight, and a cell phone charger. Kit includes universal adaptors to charge most phones.... Can also be repowered with three AAA batteries.

 

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=373944

 

Sherry

[andrew]

I finally got around to taking some pictures of what we keep under the seats in the trailer.

 

Here is a basic list with more details here: http://oliver.hewus.com/Trailer/What_we_carry

• First aid kit[/list:u]

• Toolbag and other tools[/list:u]

• WD-40[/list:u]

• Duct Tape[/list:u]

• Tarp[/list:u]

• Soaps and other cleaning supplies[/list:u]

• Plastic bags, aluminium foil, plastic wrap[/list:u]

• Towels, hand towels and body towels[/list:u]

 

One of these days I may quit slacking and take pictures of what is in the overhead compartments.

[sacsun]

Hi there,

Hope everyone who is following this checks out the rest of your website. The mods are great too!

[mountainborn]

Great photos and thanks for the ideas, Andrew ! I like how the rubbermaid tote fits in the dinette space.