How to Make a DIY Emergency Kit for Your Car

When we think of an emergency striking—a severe storm or hurricane, for example—we often imagine ourselves at home, where (hopefully) we have a disaster-preparedness kit on hand and a well-rehearsed disaster plan laid out.

Yet many of us also spend a lot of time (maybe more than we’d like) in a car and forget to prepare our vehicle for contingencies. Whether you’re commuting to work or venturing onto scenic backroads for adventuring purposes, you need to be just as prepared for disruptions and all-out crises on the road as you are back at your home.

Sure, you might find yourself stuck in your rig during a terrifying wildfire or unexpected earthquake. But vehicular and recreational mishaps don’t have to be so dramatic and large-scale. Sometimes, it’s getting bogged down in mud or snow, lost in a maze of logging roads, or held up by a flat tire, dead battery, oil leak, or malfunctioning electronics. Maybe your hike or climb kept you out later than planned, leaving you to face an unseasonable snowstorm or a blocked road on your drive back.

No matter the reason, you ought to be prepared to revive your wheels as best you can or weather a few days therein if need be. A car emergency kit is as critical as one for your home, workplace, or backpack. Let’s dig into some of the basics of this on-the-go safety net!

What to Put in a Car Emergency Kit

The emergency supplies you keep in your car depend to some extent on where you’re going, what you’re doing, and what the season is. An everyday drive to work during summer is a bit different than a road trip into the snowbound backcountry. But, no matter the journey, your car should be stocked with essentials to handle both routine mishaps and extreme situations. 

The barebones basics of covering your bases in a vehicle are pretty universal and fall into three general categories: first aid supplies, car maintenance and repair tools, and survival gear. Remember, you don’t need to be an amateur mechanic to stock—and know how to use—fundamental tools and supplies for car repair. 

Here’s our list of items to consider putting in your car emergency kit: 

• First aid supplies: Similar to your hiking pack and household closet, you ought to have a fully stocked first-aid kit in your car. We’re talking bandages, gauze, tape, non-latex gloves, tweezers, antiseptic ointments, a pair of scissors, a thermometer, painkillers, and other first-aid fundamentals.

• Jumper cables and a jumpstarter battery: Jumper cables don’t do you much good if you don’t have another charged vehicle on hand to help get you back on the road, so consider stocking each of your vehicles with a car battery jump starter. Many models come with a tire inflator that can give you a little extra breathing room if you've got multiple leaking tires or need to negotiate highly variable types of substrate.
• Spare tire, jack, and lug wrench: Put it on your regular/periodic to-do list to check the air pressure in your spare tire. A piece of 4X4 wood is also handy to keep in your car to provide a base for the jack in case you’re changing a tire on a gravel, sandy, or muddy road.

• Backup fluids and parts: It’s always a good idea to have some motor oil, brake fluid, coolant, windshield-wiper fluid, antifreeze, and other fundamental automotive fluids on hand in case you find yourself running low in the middle of nowhere. If you do a lot of traveling in remote areas, you’d be wise to add backup belts, headlights, bolts, and various other spare parts to the list.
• Miscellaneous tools: From screwdrivers, pliers, and (of course) a tire-pressure gauge to that tried-and-true friend called duct tape, make sure you’re carrying a basic on-the-road toolkit. A seatbelt cutter is also an inexpensive but potentially life-saving tool to stow in case you and your vehicle end up underwater.
• Roadside safety: From reflective cones to road flares, you want something on hand to clearly mark off a broken-down/stuck vehicle. Also, pack a reflective vest in case you need to walk along a dark roadway for help. You also should have a fire extinguisher for your vehicle: Car fires are no joke!
• Light and communication tools: Always, always make sure you’ve got a flashlight or two, and ideally a headlamp, stashed in your vehicle in case you need to conduct after-hours inspections, repairs, or survival actions. Extra batteries—and/or solar-powered or hand-crank lights—should be part of your car emergency kit as well. Most of us probably have a cell phone along with us these days, but make sure you’ve got a car cell phone charger and cords.
• Food and water: As with a home emergency kit, you should stock backup food and drinking water—ideally, at least three days’ worth—in your car. Non-perishable foods to consider adding include freeze-dried meals (such as those we specialize in here at Mountain House!), granola bars, dried fruit, nuts, nut butters, energy bars, and dehydrated meats (like beef jerky). 
• For winter car travel: Travel in wintertime, at least in much of the country, demands specialized tools. A winter car emergency kit should incorporate things such as an ice scraper and snow brush, emergency blankets, extra warm clothing, hand and feet warmers, a shovel, and cat litter or sand for better traction.

Additional Items for Outdoor Enthusiasts

If you’re hardcore into the outdoors—and we know that describes a good portion of our Mountain House community—there are certainly other items you might want to include in your DIY car emergency kit.

Additional items to consider include everything from a winch, towrope (which, truthfully, is a good idea for any driver to have at the ready), and traction boards to get unstuck (or get others unstuck) to specialized bike, ski, climbing, and backpacking repair kits.

Who Needs a Car Emergency Kit?

Anybody who drives a car should be prepared with an emergency kit! And you should have such a kit assembled for each of your vehicles.

Again, context matters: Somebody steering into truly back-of-beyond country is likely going to want what essentially amounts to a stripped-down mobile garage in their vehicle, while those doing most of their driving in a city or town may not need to be quite so self-reliant.

But everyone should have basic survival gear and supplies at the ready in their ride. It can seem like overkill, but it’s better than finding yourself stranded by those unpredictable or underestimated hiccups (or full-on upheaval) of the everyday routine without the essentials to get through.

Periodical Checks

As with your at-home emergency kit, give your car disaster supplies a once-over on a regular basis: at least once every six months. Replace as necessary expired first-aid supplies, opened fluids, and other potentially perishable items.

When it comes to food items, Mountain House offers a signature 30-year taste guarantee, meaning you won’t need to replace your freeze-dried meals frequently!

Be Prepared on the Road

Stay safe on the road, from a garden-variety commute or a day trip to wilderness adventures, by adequately outfitting your vehicle with emergency essentials—including Mountain House meals! Explore our pouches and our multi-day emergency kit collection.

Read up on other basics of emergency preparedness in the archives of our Mountain House blog, which include such must-reads as:

• How to Build an Emergency Kit
• Prepping for Home, Work, and Auto
• How to Prepare Freeze-Dried Food