Spare parts
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I don’t carry any spare parts but do carry a fairly extensive tool kit that I hope can replace any failed part. After 40 years of driving I can’t think of a single part that fails consistently enough to require carrying spares.
Besides a wide assortment of hand tools my tool kit has duct tape, bailing wire, zipties, fuses, electrical wire etc to help with repairs.
Tire, that's it. And proactive maintenance by a qualified mechanic, even for oil changes because he also checks 40 or 50 other regular wear items including brakes, steering, suspension, driveline, lighting, charging, battery, belts, hoses, air cleaner, EFI...... In 40 years all I've needed a tow for was a dead alternator, if I had watched the voltage gauge I'd have not needed a tow. But does anyone carry an alternator?
Member III
Not much for the WJ, but there has been some trips with just the guys when I woke up wishing I had packed a fresh liver...
Advocate III
Here's a fairly decent thread with three pages of responses to the same question: "Spare Part 'Must Haves' "
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roaddude.com
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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE
Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.
roaddude.com
Member III
Belts, radiator and heater hoses, vacuum hose, trans and engine computers, o2 sensor, fuel pump, spark plugs, dist cap and rotor, air flow sensor, throttle position sensor, battery terminals, wire, fuses, ignitor, timing belt, various seals and gaskets, and other little nicknacks. When I replace parts I always buy 2 to have one as a spare.
With a 30 yr old vehicle you never know....
With a 30 yr old vehicle you never know....
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The only spare parts I carry are a set of used belts that I threw in the back of the truck when I put on new ones. Beyond that I think it is to difficult to guess what will likely fail on my particular trucks. I do carry a fairly extensive fix-it kit including things like tape, wire, sealants, etc (there's a thread on here with pictures). Fluids can be helpful, but it gets pretty heavy to carry a full change of oil, trans fluid, diff fluid, etc. And if you are refilling fluids you probably also have to figure out how to fix the reason it all leaked out in the first place (and hopefully used a spill kit to clean it up).
Some trucks do have common failure points, and while it's best to upgrade those parts to reduce the chance of failure sometimes it makes sense to just carry a spare. For example, 1st gen Xterras have a habit of bending tie rods.
Here are some example failures on my own trucks or friend's trucks to show the variety of fun things that can happen on trips.
- Broken shock (ZJ)
- Failed ignition coil (ZJ)
- Lost sway bar endlink (ZJ)
- Fragmented power steering pulley (ZJ)
- Failed front drive shaft CV joint (ZJ)
- Thermostat stuck in open position (ZJ)
- Death wobble (WJ)
- Front spring fell out (WJ)
- Rear spring fell out (Trooper)
- Bumper fell off (Trooper)
- Slider ripped off frame (Trooper)
- Exhaust pinched shut (XTerra)
- Running board shoved into tire (XTerra)
- Air locker and air shock lines torn out (XTerra)
- Broken locking hub studs (XTerra)
- Sheared off front axle shaft (Pathfinder)
- Front shock upper mount tore out of body (Pathfinder)
- Dead battery (Pathfinder)
- Dead alternator (Pathfinder)
- Blown radiator (Pathfinder)
- Fins broken off electric radiator fan (Pathfinder)
- Failed wheel bearing (Toyota truck)
Those are the ones that come to mind. It is interesting to note a few things:
1) None of these involved tires, in fact I've only ever seen one tire failure on a trail.
2) None of these resulted in a truck being stuck on a trail, all were driven out.
3) Two of these required a tow.
4) Two of these happened on the way to the trail.
5) The majority of these required tools and a repair kit to fix. Very few required spare parts, and for those that did it's just not reasonable to carry items like a radiator, battery, alternator, etc.
tl;dr - Things sometimes break and need to be patched back together. The best protection is to know basic mechanical skills and to travel with friends you trust.
Some trucks do have common failure points, and while it's best to upgrade those parts to reduce the chance of failure sometimes it makes sense to just carry a spare. For example, 1st gen Xterras have a habit of bending tie rods.
Here are some example failures on my own trucks or friend's trucks to show the variety of fun things that can happen on trips.
- Broken shock (ZJ)
- Failed ignition coil (ZJ)
- Lost sway bar endlink (ZJ)
- Fragmented power steering pulley (ZJ)
- Failed front drive shaft CV joint (ZJ)
- Thermostat stuck in open position (ZJ)
- Death wobble (WJ)
- Front spring fell out (WJ)
- Rear spring fell out (Trooper)
- Bumper fell off (Trooper)
- Slider ripped off frame (Trooper)
- Exhaust pinched shut (XTerra)
- Running board shoved into tire (XTerra)
- Air locker and air shock lines torn out (XTerra)
- Broken locking hub studs (XTerra)
- Sheared off front axle shaft (Pathfinder)
- Front shock upper mount tore out of body (Pathfinder)
- Dead battery (Pathfinder)
- Dead alternator (Pathfinder)
- Blown radiator (Pathfinder)
- Fins broken off electric radiator fan (Pathfinder)
- Failed wheel bearing (Toyota truck)
Those are the ones that come to mind. It is interesting to note a few things:
1) None of these involved tires, in fact I've only ever seen one tire failure on a trail.
2) None of these resulted in a truck being stuck on a trail, all were driven out.
3) Two of these required a tow.
4) Two of these happened on the way to the trail.
5) The majority of these required tools and a repair kit to fix. Very few required spare parts, and for those that did it's just not reasonable to carry items like a radiator, battery, alternator, etc.
tl;dr - Things sometimes break and need to be patched back together. The best protection is to know basic mechanical skills and to travel with friends you trust.
Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
Alternator, extra def fluid, various guages of wire and connectors, alot o tools, extra uni snorkel prefilter, tire plugs.
Everything else is recovery related.
Everything else is recovery related.
madcratebuilder
Rank V
Pathfinder I
I bring a spare CV axle on the more extreme trips. Aside from that, fluids, zip ties, a box of hose clamps, a few bits of wire and some butt connectors, duct tape and ratchet straps.
To be honest, you are never really that far from civilization, so, as long as you can get your vehicle steering/rolling/driving/ able to be pulled back to camp, all is good.
To be honest, you are never really that far from civilization, so, as long as you can get your vehicle steering/rolling/driving/ able to be pulled back to camp, all is good.
Advocate I
Serpentine belt, ignition coil, fuses, relays, air filter, extra lug nuts, spare tire and tire kit, and u joints are the only hard parts I carry. But add a quart of two of each fluid, heater hose and radiator hose repair kits, JB Weld, hose clamps, bailing wire, zip ties, stop leak, gasket maker, electrical wire, a couple feet of vacuum tube, and maybe a hand full of other small parts that fit in a small bag.
Flat tire and smashed bump stop extension are the only 2 on trail repairs I have done in recent memory, but have changed a fuel pump in the NAPA parking lot on the way to the trail, and a serpentine belt on a rural road 35 miles from anywhere.
Flat tire and smashed bump stop extension are the only 2 on trail repairs I have done in recent memory, but have changed a fuel pump in the NAPA parking lot on the way to the trail, and a serpentine belt on a rural road 35 miles from anywhere.
