What’s in your Tacoma Toolkit?

[Zigity]

First truck here (when I take delivery next month) and I’m trying to piece together/look for resources on a good “tool kit” for the Tacoma.

Jumper cables, first aid kit, ratchet straps, flashlight, road flares… that sort of thing. Nothing extremely specialized for camping or trails, just everyday stuff that’s good to have. I’ll be needing to change a lot of garage items too, my low profile jack will no longer be useful.

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[Sagebrush]

Socket/ratchet set, open-end wrenches, two crescent wrenches, a screwdriver, a Visegrip, and fencing pliers.

And recovery gear, shovel, Silky saw, and an axe.

 

[MJB4450]

People still do jumper cables? I've been carrying a jumper box for decades. Don't need another vehicle to get a jump and if you want to help someone else you don't have to risk today's fragile electronics by using your vehicle as a donor. Other than that pretty much a complete set of tools, bungee cords, ratchet straps, blanket, foldable shovel, halon fire extinguisher, and a nice handgun. All handy tools in an emergency.

 

[Tacomaniac]

Definitely a Jack stand and a block for underneath Jack if your’e using the stock jack.
Good flashlight

 

[chasea1989]

I've got a crossbed toolbox with what I call my roadside kit. 1/2" drive electric impact driver with a 21mm, 19mm, and 17mm socket (most common lug nut sizes so I can help other people), 1/2" drive torque wrench, battery powered tire inflator, jack stands, jumper cables, ratchet straps, and rope. I'm sure there's a couple things I can't remember off the top of my head at the moment. I am planning to replace the cables with a jump pack, and add a basic tool kit with sockets/wrenches/etc (for now, if I'm going out of town, I just pack up basic tools from my box at work).

 

[lane47]

A couple mentioned jump box, which is best, my experience in the past (5 years ago) was it needed charging often, eventually died, but a lot has changed with batteries in last few years. I carry (2) fire extinguisher. Used it, and jumper cables the most.
wool blanket, small tarp also in mine. Poncho, jacket, overalls
great post zigity

 

[cmillls45]

People still do jumper cables? I've been carrying a jumper box for decades. Don't need another vehicle to get a jump and if you want to help someone else you don't have to risk today's fragile electronics by using your vehicle as a donor. Other than that pretty much a complete set of tools, bungee cords, ratchet straps, blanket, foldable shovel, halon fire extinguisher, and a nice handgun. All handy tools in an emergency.

I had a NCCO brand booster and kept it in my vehicle for two years. I charged it every six months or so. But it only lasted two years. I live in Minnesota. I chalked it up to the cold weather? So now I’m back to carrying jumper cables.

 

[Yotota]

Oh jeez... I have a lot of stuff in my Taco. It's a culmination of needing things over the years and being prepared. Almost everything has been needed at least once and has a purpose. I also guarantee this list is forgetting stuff.

Under the back seat:
Bottles of water in ziplock bags
Get home bag with lots of stuff in it
Kinetic recovery rope w/ 2 soft shackles
Trailer hitch pin

Bag behind the driver's seat:
Fire extinguisher
Packable rain jacket
Work gloves
Snow gloves
Car blanket (probably the most used item here)

Action Packer in the bed, ratchet strapped in place:
Jumper cables
Viair 88p compressor, 7-pin adapter
Tool bag (sockets/ratchet/extension, torx bits, open end wrenches, combo screw driver, pliers, zip ties, tape, fuses, and more that I can't remember)
Road flares
E-Tool shovel in the summer
Snow shovel in the winter
1pr Tire chains in the winter (that I never use, but have them for conditional closures on certain mountain passes)
Hi-Lift jack base (for the OEM bottle jack - I never even carry my Hi-Lifts any more)

Bed side storage box:
Better Bungee slotted cords
Extra ratchet strap

 

[Dirt]

Along with some of the stuff others mentioned I carry a scissor jack (for when the issued bottle jack is too tall or unstable), 2 MREs, a Mountain House meal, an extra MRE food heater,and a couple water bottles.

 

[rchrds]

I had a NCCO brand booster and kept it in my vehicle for two years. I charged it every six months or so. But it only lasted two years. I live in Minnesota. I chalked it up to the cold weather? So now I’m back to carrying jumper cables.

I also had a NCCO for a while- it lasted less than that. I think my next one will be the Milwaukee M18 Hotshot jump starter- but I'm not sure if I will keep it in the truck or not. May just have it around the house.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/products/3841-20

 

[Rubenc87]

Socket/ratchet set, open-end wrenches, two crescent wrenches, a screwdriver, a Visegrip, and fencing pliers.

And recovery gear, shovel, Silky saw, and an axe.

The orange thing next to the green straps looks like a giant pocket knife

 

[Reconsnake]

I broke it down into categories. Most of this lives under the back seat. Obviously its evolved over the years, things get added or removed based on need versus luxury, and space is very limited inside.

Everyday Use

Hand Sanitizer - 2 , one bottle per front door

Tie Down straps - assorted

Mosquito repellant bands

Chemical Hand warmers – 4

Headlamp – Streamlight or equivalent

Batteries for headlamp

Beanie – cold climate - 2

New, unopened USB-C to multi USB-C/Lightning/Micro USB cable (in addition to USB-C charging cable in normal use)

Work Gloves – 2 pair

Bestek Pure Sine Wave Inverter - 300w (on-board tacoma inverter is modifed sine wave and limited to 100w while driving)

Tide stain pen


Recovery Gear

ARB Kinetic Recovery Strap – 24k lbs, 3-1/4”x 30’

ARB Speedy Seal 2 - Tire Patch Kit

Colby Valve Emergency Tire Valve Stem Replacement kit

Soft Shackle - 2

Carista or equivalent OBD2 code reader/code clearer (in case of software/hardware issue preventing self-recovery)

MaxTrax Set



Tools

Adjustable wrench - Large

Adjustable wrench - Medium

Klein Lineman Pliers

11-in-1 Multi screwdriver - Klein

Multi-bit stubby screwdriver – Klein

Adjustable pliers – Knipex Cobra

Pliers – Knipex Raptor

Wire stripper – Klein

Knipex Mini bolt cutters

Large vise grip pliers

Leatherman or equivalent multi tool

Wera ¼’ Tool Check Plus

Wera Zyklop 3/8” Metric Ratchet Set 5003594001

Tool Roll with set of cheap set of metric and sae combination wrenches

Broken Screw Extractor Kit

Zerust Corrosion inhibitor Vapor Capsule in tool bag (replace every few years)

Etool – Folding shovel or full size shovel during winter months



Emergency Use

Element 50 Fire Extinguisher

CAT Tourniquet - 2, one per front door

First Aid Kit (basic kit, adding in additional often used stuff like antibiotic ointment and 1x3 bandages)

Water Purifier or Filter (batteries if required)

Battery Jumpstarter (for jumpstarting others)

Jumper Cables (jumpstart my vehicle if battery unit is inoperable)

VS-17 Signaling Panel

Single use Packet Sunblock – 2

Single use Packet Wet Wipes - 2 (Dual use versus hand sanitizer, can sanitize surfaces if needed)

Compressed Towels - 4 (these are tiny, super compressed, requiring water to reconstitute full size)

Roll of Toilet Paper in Ziploc bag

Emergency Blanket – Silver disposable

Blanket – Fleece (maybe not ideal for all conditions, but packs small behind seat)

Small Roll of Rescue Tape (hose leaks or electrical insulation)

Stainless Steel Zip Ties – 200lb rated

Signaling whistle

Best Glide Aviation Survival Tin – Adventurer Model

Vexor Pepper Spray

Sea to Summit Dry bag



Spare Parts

Serpentine belt (behind seat next to jack)

Fuses (Specific to Tacoma)

Relays (Specific to Tacoma)



Optional

Fishing tackle box containing the following:

Fuses – ATC/ATO Blade, Mini Blade, Micro 2, Micro 3, J-Case, M -Case, Box, etc ( more general, not specific to Toyota)

Relays & wire harness (Standard Bosch Style) - 2

Hose Clamps – Assorted Sizes

Teflon Tape – white

Teflon Tape - yellow

Cotter Pins – Assorted

Hair pins – Assorted

O-Rings – Assorted, 2 of each size, metric and SAE

Hardware – Screws, nuts, bolts, washers, assorted sizes

Electrical Terminals – Ring terminals, Butt Connectors, Fork Terminals, Spade, etc

Small Roll of 14ga electrical wire

Zip Ties - 40lb rated

Schrader Valve tool – half a dozen replacement shrader valves

WD-40 Pen

Alumaseal – Radiator Stop Leak

Loctite – Blue

JB Weld

Gasket Maker – Permatex Ultra Black

Anti-Sieze – Permatex Nickel

Universal Socket


Does all of this get used? No, but I have lots of options for attacking problems big and small with this wide selection of tools and parts.

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