Do you carry your good tools on the trail?

[Brewbud]

Like many of us, I have collected a lot of hand tools over the years. I do a fair amount of shade tree mechanics at home but I have never been a professional mechanic. Most of my tools are old Craftsman with some Stanley, Crescent, Snap-on and Knipex mixed in. I do have some Pittsburg and other Harbor Freight tools for one-off stuff. Even some old Metrinch. A fellow Jeeper recently had all his tools stolen from his Jeep. All my offroad buddies say never carry your good tools in your vehicle unless it is for your job. I have been carrying a set of my good tools around for years with the thought a bad tool that breaks in the boonies is just as bad as not having the tool. I am starting to rethink this though since there are a lot of decent inexpensive tools out there now.

So what is the OB community doing? Do you leave your good tools at home? If so, what brands of tools to you take with you hit the trails. Does it depend on the type of trail your hitting or how long you will be gone?

 

[Chadlyb]

Like many of us, I have collected a lot of hand tools over the years. I do a fair amount of shade tree mechanics at home but I have never been a professional mechanic. Most of my tools are old Craftsman with some Stanley, Crescent, Snap-on and Knipex mixed in. I do have some Pittsburg and other Harbor Freight tools for one-off stuff. Even some old Metrinch. A fellow Jeeper recently had all his tools stolen from his Jeep. All my offroad buddies say never carry your good tools in your vehicle unless it is for your job. I have been carrying a set of my good tools around for years with the thought a bad tool that breaks in the boonies is just as bad as not having the tool. I am starting to rethink this though since there are a lot of decent inexpensive tools out there now.

So what is the OB community doing? Do you leave your good tools at home? If so, what brands of tools to you take with you hit the trails. Does it depend on the type of trail your hitting or how long you will be gone?

Black Friday sales for tools are your friend. Bought a 300 dollar set for 99.00. Stays in my rig .

 

[Brewbud]

Black Friday sales for tools are your friend. Bought a 300 dollar set for 99.00. Stays in my rig .

I love taking advantage of sales. Probably why have I have so many dang tools. I am starting to look for replacements for my older Craftsman sets since the new Craftsman is no longer the same quality IMO.

 

[BCMoto]

depending on the trip will determine what tools i bring. I have a cheap box set that i got for xmass and thats what I usually keep. We just took at trip to moab with a few friends so i brought a bag of my other tools from the home box

 

[smritte]

I keep my gazillion dollars worth of high end tools at home. I carry good quality in my truck It has its own tool set. The difference is, in the shop I would wear out/break tools from constant use. As a tech you learn what to stay away from also. Its not that I keep "cheap" tools in my rig but good quality "low cost". Its bad enough to break a socket but to break the only one you have, tearing down a diff in the dirt because an axle let go, sucks. Ask me how I know this.

I don't remember who's brand I got (Amazon on sale) but they seem to hold up well and had good reviews. One thing I have always done is, any maintenance, light work requiring hand tools is always done using my vehicles tools. You learn real quick what you don't have as well as what cant hold up to occasional use.
I have a mix of Craftsman, Cobalt and my harbor freight stuff is mostly 1/2 inch drive (almost indestructible), in my tool bags. I carry a good volt meter with a temp probe. My Fluke meter stays home.

 

[MeHere!]

I lucked out, purchased tools stay at home, my old man retired from body/mechanic work so I raided his toolbox, mostly Snap-On...there was A LOT...no wonder the Snap-On guy loved my dad and my mom hating the Sanp-On guy...those will make into the tool drawer in that as-of-yet-unfinished drawer system

 

[Billiebob]

I have been carrying a set of my good tools around for years with the thought a bad tool that breaks in the boonies is just as bad as not having the tool.

EXACTLY !!
Have insurance to cover yer tools, especially if you earn a living with them.
I am a contractor and my liability insurance also covers lost, stolen tools.
Sometimes a home policy will cover tools etc in your vehicle.

 

[Bama_Kiwi]

I am not a mechanic or tradesperson - my livelihood does not depend on the tools I use, so buying professional-grade tools is too frivilous for me.

I researched what common tools, and sizes, would be needed to work on most aspects of my specific vehicle and purchased affordable examples of them. If they fail or are stolen, c'est la vie, and they will be replaced.

All that being said, to answer the original question of the thread, yes, these tools stay in the vehicle full-time.

 

[Louiston]

My auto insurance will cover anything stolen out of my truck.

Cheap tools are a liability, not an asset.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Horrible Freight set in blow mold case. I have three rollaways full of snapon, mac, matco, not for trail use.

 

[Road]

I don't really have a set of good and a set of lesser quality for my most-used tools. So what I have with me for my long adventures is always a fairly full set of the best tools I own.

As far as mechanic's tools go, I still have the Craftsman tool box with complete set of sockets and wrenches and screwdrivers etc that I bought in 1969 from the Sears store downtown. I think it was $49.99 then. I carried that old toolbox full of its original tools and a lot more for decades. Now I keep the same tools with me but have them in a BROG tool roll. I still have the toolbox too, in my van, but it is full of supplies like bearing grease, tapes, sandpaper, zip-ties, etc.

The tool roll from BROG has multiple individual HD zippered pouches that hook&loop into an outer Cordura bag with handles. Though I have the whole tool roll out in this image for a roadside repair, if you only need the pouch with vise-grips or screwdrivers, for example, you just pull that pouch.




As far as carpentry and painting tools, etc, I usually only keep a bare modicum with me like some cordless tools. Though this next long trip I'm seriously thinking of taking more carpentry and building tools as I may be helping build some off-grid set ups.

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[grubworm]

i have pretty good tools at home along with a good bit of harbor freight that i use for crap work or to loan to neighbors and friends when they need something that i might not get back. for traveling, i went with all new black oxide finish tools from home depot (husky brand) i went that route because i wanted a nice dedicated set that stays with my travel gear and husky can be swapped out at any home depot if it breaks and i'm out traveling. some of my tools at home are 30+ yrs old and my biggest issue is with ratchets. i guess the spring connected to the pawl gets jacked up or rusted or something because i have craftsman, kobalt, stanley all fail eventually, so i figured a new ratchet used only for travel should be reliable for a long time since that's its only use. any tool will work when you're in a bind, but the husky wasnt much more than harbor freight and seems better made. anyway...thats what lets me sleep good at night when traveling

 

[Texassailor]

I never mix my "high quality" shop tools with my "high quality" onboard Jeep tools.

I carry a good assortment of tools in my Jeep in a large plastic tote . . . especially a number of redundant 10mm sockets and wrenches. This size always goes missing. I also carry various replacement fluids/Locktite/anti-seize, etc. Jumper cables. Torque wrench & extra-long 1/2" breaker bar. Primary & secondary air compressors. Assorted ratchet straps. Portable hammer drill & charger. 4-way lug wrench & 12-ton hydraulic jack. I'm sure there are many things I'm forgetting. All of this fits in my tote.

As far as theft goes, I park the Jeep in the garage at night and in front of my office during the day. I'm very careful where I visit and may remove things for a short while if I'm in a bad area (including all mall parking lots). No, I wouldn't want to replace these things and I'm sure my insurance premiums would skyrocket if I did.

 

[smritte]

The tool roll from BROG

Best tool pouch I have ever owned.

 

[BCMoto]

I never mix my "high quality" shop tools with my "high quality" onboard Jeep tools.

All of this fits in my tote.

How big is this tote?

 

[Correus]

I am not a mechanic or tradesperson - my livelihood does not depend on the tools I use, so buying professional-grade tools is too frivilous for me.

I researched what common tools, and sizes, would be needed to work on most aspects of my specific vehicle and purchased affordable examples of them. If they fail or are stolen, c'est la vie, and they will be replaced.

All that being said, to answer the original question of the thread, yes, these tools stay in the vehicle full-time.

Ditto here as well.

 

[slomatt]

I always carry tools with me in the truck, but leave my good tools at home for multiple reasons:
- My good tools include a lot of older items that were made in the USA and can no longer be replaced.
- My good tools include both metric and SAE, while I only carry metric on the trail (substitute 13mm for 1/2, etc).
- My trail tools were selected to maximize usefulness while minimizing weight and space.
- I can loan a trail tool to a friend, lose one, or destroy one to assist with a trail fix and it's not a big deal.

When working on the truck using the "home tools" I try to ask the question "could I do this same fix with my trail tools?" to make sure there aren't any gaps. To me this is the biggest risk of not having your trail tools be your primary tools, you may get out in the boonies and realize you don't have the right size spindle socket (or whatever) that you need.

 

[OTH Overland]

All of our vehicles carry a standard OK quality pre-packaged tool kit (in a blow molded box for about $100). Good enough to fix most minor issues when around town or on the highway but not something to worry about too much if it gets stolen. Chances are I can walk or get a ride to a tool or auto parts store if I don't have something or it breaks, and never have to worry about if the tools are in the other car or at home. When heading off road, or on a long road trip I swap the box for a good selection of quality tools, Have them organized in pouches within a heavy duty tool bag. Tools are organized by type, with sockets gathered in plastic totes by drive size and metric/standard, helps to find what I need quickly in bad weather or darkness, also makes it easy to tell my tool assistant where to look for a tool while I am under the rig. I spend time in advance when building out my tool bag to research fastener types and sizes that my vehicles utilize so that I can make sure the appropriate tools are included. Newer vehicles have many different fastener types, but usually only a few sizes of each. We do a lot of solo traveling and do not want to be stranded without the needed tool, a broken tool, or even worse buggered up fastener head from a poorly fitting tool. Along with tools, I make sure we have some extra fasteners in common types, electrical parts, etc. Don't forget duct tape for things that are moving that shouldn't and WD-40 for things that don't move but should..lol While one can not prepare for every eventuality, one can be prepared for many issues. A preventive maintenance plan, and pre-trip inspection can turn a potential trail-side repair into one done in advance in the driveway. I also reserve my vehicle kits for 'away' repairs, using my shop tools when at home, prevents tools from cross pollinating between kits and the shop boxes.

 

[Speric]

I've just had a hodgepodge of tools, at home, that came out of the same box or drawer. I just bought my new truck and working on putting together a solid kit to take on the trips. as I've gotten a bit older, I've learned "I can't afford cheap stuff". Ebay, mscdirect, Amazon, ToolBarn have become my new friends as I look at American made older Craftsman, and Blackhawk tools. With a bit of research and searching, you can find some good prices on quality stuff. I can't decide whether I like the BROG bag type "rolls", or a more traditional roll. They both seem to have pros and cons.

 

[LostWoods]

I do... my standard tool roll is filled with $2-3k worth of Snap-On (so like a ratchet, 6 sockets, and a wrench) that I collected when I was a mechanic in a prior career. If I'm going to need tools while I'm on the trail, odds are something is wrong and if I have the best, I see no reason to not bring them along. Can't run to HF or Sears to get a replacement if you break a wrench 100 miles from the nearest paved road.

I have a complete set of Tekton tools in my home toolbox that has way more range and I leave the roll in the truck. Great tools, but still not Snap-On.