EMERGENCY ACTION PLANNING > Blog > Planning > #10: Spare Parts, Tools, Manuals, and Reference Materials
#10: Spare Parts, Tools, Manuals, and Reference Materials
Equipment can fail or break down at the worse possible moment. A loose nut or bolt, a broken spring, or some other malfunction can completely disable an important piece of gear. Your gas generator, for example, will be worthless if it breaks down in the middle of a crisis and you don’t have the spare parts, proper tools, or technical knowledge to perform repairs. Richard Duarte
https://offgridweb.com/preparation/the-10-most-neglected-but-essential-preps/
Many years ago (1980) I was driving to pick up my girlfriend and our boat at the lake where she stayed an extra day after our water skiing weekend. I’m driving down a rural county road with little to no traffic and “Wham” instant overheat and the car stalls, I’m able to coast to the shoulder of the road so I’m not a road hazard to any traffic behind me, there is none anyway. I’m on the eastern side of the Santa Lucia Mountain range heading to Lake San Antonio.
Darkness is coming but I can clearly see water pouring onto the ground from under the engine compartment. My worst case scenario is a blown water pump. I’ve no idea what it may be. I’ve no flashlight, tools or supplies to affix a repair. This was well before my Emergency Action Planning days.
Scanning my environment I see city lights east of me on the horizon, though I do know it’s probably a 10+ mile walk. I can see no car lights in any direction, and it is getting darker. Emergency flashers on and take a seat. Someone will come buy eventually.
Sometime later, an hour or so I notice headlights in my rear-view mirror. I exit the car and start frantically waiving down the oncoming vehicle. Fortunately the pickup stops and the driver asks what the problem is. I introduce myself, explain the situation, where I’m coming from (Monterey, CA) where I’m going and why I’m going there. He tells me the nearest town is much farther than I thought, but he knows of a rural auto repair/gas station that is closer by and offers to take me there (yep some people will help strangers in need).
At the station I am able to use the land line (cell phones were not common place at this time) to call AAA, I also called the Ranger Station at the lake to get a message to my girlfriend to let her know my situation, I’m was certain she may be worried since I am several hours late to get her.
The end result was replacing a blown top water hose to the radiator. Cost $8 and change and about four hours of time. Made it to the lake, spent the night and got up at the crack of dawn to load-up so I could get to work on time.
That experience made me realize that we need to be prepared in order to get our own fat out of the fire when need be. The mechanic did also tell me it might be prudent to carry redundant supplies and equipment in the car for situations such as this.
Since then I have made it a habit to have on hand a minimum of auto tools and supplies to correct these type of situations. I now carry replacement hoses, clamps, belts, oil, antifreeze/coolant, Fix-a-flat, tools, and an auto repair manual for the make and model of car I own. I needed the materials once to replace a belt that broke at about 11 pm while I was about two hours away from my destination. Those supplies enabled me to get the car back on the road in a short period of time.
When putting your Emergency Action Plan materials together it will be prudent to inventory and identify items that may need onsite repair. There are several categories that should be looked at.
- Auto
- Medical
- Communications
- Food Prep
This is not an all-inclusive list, but it’s a place to start.
Please keep in mind that redundancy does take up space and adds weight to your load. Take what is necessary to keep your load manageable.
Till next time
“Be Safe”