What to take

packnrat wrote:
in my cj-7 i carry lots of "stuff" most of i have never used in 30 years of 4 wheeling. but that jeep goes where most would never walk.

as to hwy use (the rv). sure carry some tools, and a couple of the harder to find, specialty or easy to pack away things. but if it can be gotten at any of the chain stores. will only buy if needed.
yes one can be 3-5 hrs driving time away from a big box, or chain store in nevada.(black rock desert). but not anyplace else in north America. canada? mexico your sol.

FWIW, we take our RV (an E450 24 foot Class C with oversize tires) off highway carefully when we we're out drycamping and exploring for rocks. We don't tow anything - so if our rig gets stuck or otherwise lays down out in the middle of nowhere - there are no stores or anything else close by. Medical emergencies would hopefully be taken care of via our satellite device.

Except for the tire puncture equipment we carry along, we have used at least once just about everything we carry along to help ourselves or others around us. The main reason that we bought an RV with overkill chassis cargo capacity is so that weight for equipment would not be an issue.

IdaD wrote:
I like to pack at least a pistol along. You'll need to pay a little bit of attention to different state laws as you travel, though.

also add in tribal lands, as they have there own laws if you get off the hwy. (including the shoulder for a flat tire).

in my cj-7 i carry lots of "stuff" most of i have never used in 30 years of 4 wheeling. but that jeep goes where most would never walk.

as to hwy use (the rv). sure carry some tools, and a couple of the harder to find, specialty or easy to pack away things. but if it can be gotten at any of the chain stores. will only buy if needed.
yes one can be 3-5 hrs driving time away from a big box, or chain store in nevada.(black rock desert). but not anyplace else in north America. canada? mexico your sol.

RayJayco wrote:
Curious, does anyone carry a sat phone?

I know that we kept one on the boat when heading to the Bahamas and such. Not merely for emergencies, as it was worth it for the convenience.

I know that if I decided to travel out west, I would surely have one with me.

We now carry a satellite texting and rescue unit with us on all RV trips. It hangs on the cab dash when we're traveling and it seems to be able to stay connected to Iridium satellites even when the unit is there inside the cab. We of course also carry it on our person whenever we're out and about away from the RV. Our daughter gave it to us so she would know where we're at on RV trips: https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Lightweight-Handheld-Satellite-Communicator/dp/B07CR7PL54

One of these days I'll talk to our Coach-Net ERS company to see if it's possible to contact them via texting from this device for emergency help on the road. So far the only time we have come close to needing vehicle help was for friends traveling with us who got their motorhome stuck, and guess what .... cell phones would barely work at the incident location right here in the good old American West.

The best part about a satellite rescue device is that with a push of a button air-evac service is available anywhere for medical emergencies!

I like to pack at least a pistol along. You'll need to pay a little bit of attention to different state laws as you travel, though.

Curious, does anyone carry a sat phone?

I know that we kept one on the boat when heading to the Bahamas and such. Not merely for emergencies, as it was worth it for the convenience.

I know that if I decided to travel out west, I would surely have one with me.

Chum lee wrote:

pnichols wrote:
What you carry along perhaps should not be based on only the next trip you'll be taking. A more general approach would be to carry along certain items all the time, on every trip, so that you can pack most of your gear once and not have to rethink/repack for every trip.

Here's some of the things we always have along with us on RV trips:

1. A full size shovel.



35. A lot of first aid and related items (including such things as a set of crutches for unexpected sprained ankles, etc.).

We bring along a lot of other items for just camping pleasure and convenience, but the above list is to help reduce extreme headache, trip-ending ... or worse experiences.

I would be honored to camp near you. Don't worry, I won't come over and ask to borrow anything! I would come over and ask you if you wanted to come over to enjoy the campfire. (made with locally sourced wood) My sense is we could talk for hours about clever ways we've fixed things. (rather than about what's broken and where to take it to get it fixed)
Chum lee

"I would be honored to camp near you." The same here ... I always enjoy reading your posts for their common sense and interesting insights.

As far as "enjoy the campfire (made with locally sourced wood)" - we quit relying on finding local wood some time ago. We now carry along a large size propane firepit that actually provides us with the warmth and the heat (as opposed to small "abiance only" firepits), when sitting around it, to roast s'mores and frankfurters over it's glowing fake charcoal briquettes. We carry along portable 5 gal and 1 gallon propane tanks to feed it for many hours/evenings. ;)

Lynnmor wrote:

WTP-GC wrote:

I don't tow my camper without carrying a 1/2" cordless impact and fully charged battery. The one time I actually needed it a few years back, it was early afternoon, mid-July in FL in the median of a busy road. In moments like that, I would cheerfully scratch every ounce of paint/chrome off my lug nuts to get out of that circumstance faster.

I was in FL once at that time of year, that will never happen again.

Us Floridians are schizophrenic at best. We spend all summer talking about how we should move to a cooler climate and all winter laughing at those who live in said cooler climate...all the while wishing that the snowbirds would go home.

pnichols wrote:
What you carry along perhaps should not be based on only the next trip you'll be taking. A more general approach would be to carry along certain items all the time, on every trip, so that you can pack most of your gear once and not have to rethink/repack for every trip.

Here's some of the things we always have along with us on RV trips:

1. A full size shovel.



35. A lot of first aid and related items (including such things as a set of crutches for unexpected sprained ankles, etc.).

We bring along a lot of other items for just camping pleasure and convenience, but the above list is to help reduce extreme headache, trip-ending ... or worse experiences.

I would be honored to camp near you. Don't worry, I won't come over and ask to borrow anything! I would come over and ask you if you wanted to come over to enjoy the campfire. (made with locally sourced wood) My sense is we could talk for hours about clever ways we've fixed things. (rather than about what's broken and where to take it to get it fixed)

Chum lee

WTP-GC wrote:

I don't tow my camper without carrying a 1/2" cordless impact and fully charged battery. The one time I actually needed it a few years back, it was early afternoon, mid-July in FL in the median of a busy road. In moments like that, I would cheerfully scratch every ounce of paint/chrome off my lug nuts to get out of that circumstance faster.

I was in FL once at that time of year, that will never happen again.