Until recently, Tip Dude was running around with an ‘88 Ratsmobile (well, a Volvo). Whether your car is old or new, there are some things that are just indispensible on the highway. Here are ten handy things that Tip Dude kept in his hoopty:

• High Visibility Vest - This is probably the number one safety equipment. They’re usually plastic or hard-wearing cloth, bright orange with one or two vertical or horizontal reflective stripes. There’s a reason that the highway paving gang wears them. If you break down, or you stop your car on the highway for any reason (like, you get trapped in the snow, or you just need to check that the trunk is closed properly), then you’d want other drivers to be able to see you when you step outside the car. The orange is visible in the snow or fog, the reflective stripes will glow in the dark when a headlight shines on it. You can buy them in construction supply stores. Keep it in the car itself, not in the trunk.
• Flashlight And Spare Batteries - Half of the time your car needs to be checked, it’ll be dark out. If you have a flashlight, you can check your car in the dark. If you don’t have a flashlight, you can’t check your car in the dark.
• Jump Start Kit - Those are about $50 to $80 from auto supply stores. It is basically a smaller version of a car battery that’s all sealed and plugs straight into a 110V home electrical outlet to charge. If you should accidentally leave your headlights on while parked, you don’t want to wait for two hours for AAA to show up. To jump start the car, just clip the red clip to the red battery terminal, black clip to black battery terminal and turn the key. That aside, it’s a handy tool to impress random people with in the parking lot. Tip Dude, for one, often see cute girls stranded in parking lots because they’d left the headlight on while parked. If you help a guy jump start his car they often give you $10 in beer money.
• First Aid Kit With Common Medications - You would be surprised the number of times when passengers on board Tip Dude’s Ratsmobile has asked for Tylenol, a Band-Aid, ibuprofin or a cough drop. In fact, Tip Dude even carries an FTA-approved first aid kit in his backpack. Many companies manufacture commercial first aid kits that you can purchase. If you don’t want to buy one, you can get lists of what should be in a kit from a variety of online sources. Don’t forget to rotate out the medication so they don’t expire on you.
• Cell Phone With Car Charger - You can get pay-by-the-minute cell phones that are good for emergencies without necessarily spending money on a monthly plan. Tracphone is one vendor. Many other major wireless networks also have pay-as-you-go phones. It’s a good way to contact service providers (like AAA or towing companies) when your car isn’t working. You’ll need the car charger because you’re more likely to have a dead cell phone battery than a dead car battery - especially if you don’t use the “emergency” cell phone often.
• Car Fluids And WD-40 - There are some things you absolutely can’t drive without: engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid - and some things you should not drive without: power-steering fluid and windscreen wiper fluid. Carry small bottles of all of these fluids in the trunk and learn how to put them in if you experience a low-fluid condition. Also, a can of WD-40 will come in very handy in many situations, for unrusting things and generally lubricating things - if you have it in the car, then it’s never too far away when you’re driving someplace.
• Snow Shovel, Windshield Scraper, Window De-Icer And Cardboard Boxes - Even if you live in Florida, you probably drive your car up north at least once a year. A Snow shovel is good for - you guessed it - shoveling snow and anything else that your car might get stuck in. The cardboard boxes will help you get traction to drive out of a snow pile if you need to.
• Beverages And Dry Snacks - Not many of us are ever likely to get stuck in a car and not be able to obtain help for long periods. However, it’s probably a good idea to carry some food and drinks in the car anyway, if only to beat ridiculous gas station food prices. Also, if you’re in a hurry, you don’t want to be stopping every two hours to find food. And if you ever do end up getting stuck in the car for any reason, you’d be glad there is at least some food to eat and stuff to drink until help arrives.
• Warm Clothing And/Or A Sleeping Bag - These are just useful things to have on a road trip. Weather can turn foul even in the summer, and if you’re staying at a friend’s house it is much less burden for them if you bring a sleeping bag. However, if you’re so unlucky as to get stuck someplace overnight with a dead car, you’d be glad that you can put the coat on to go summon for help, or wrap up in the sleeping bag to stay warm until daylight.
• Empty Gas Container - If you’re the type to run out of fuel, it’s a good idea to keep an empty gas container. It’s illegal to carry a filled gas container (besides the fuel tank) in your car. It’s illegal to carry gas in anything other than a designated gas container that they sell at auto supply stores. Having the empty gas container means the difference between a tow and simply walking/hitching a ride to the gas station and back.
• Simple Tool Kit - This is a bonus point, because not everyone knows how to use a tool kit. There isn’t necessarily a reason to carry a huge ASE-approved toolkit if you don’t know how to use it. But if you do want a toolkit, handy tools to have include: flat and philips screwdrivers, adjustable or universal wrench, hammer, hacksaw, duct tape and an applicator with silicone glue. You’d be surprised at how many running repairs you can make with just these tools. Don’t forget the latex or industrial gloves (if you don’t like getting your hands dirty), and old rags/paper towels always come in handy.

What are your must-haves inside your car?

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