What's in your off-road kit?

Fire extinguisher.

 

There haven't been many responses on my dedicated thread, so I'll ask here: has anybody noticed that most commercial fire extinguishers have a max storage temp of 120F, which is easily exceeded in a parked vehicle in warm weather? Does everyone just assume that 150F is probably OK?

 

I’ve had one for about a year inside my 4runner, so far I haven’t opened the door to a cloud of white powder lol. It still has pressure in the green zone. I don’t park it the sun very frequently, but I should probably look to see if the gauge is in the red zone next time it’s hot.

They sell fancy overlanding fire extinguishers.


On the other hand, having too much ammo available might complicate decision making in a stressfull situation. Having enough to shoot your way through a situation, whether animals or some crazy out in the middle of the woods, usually is not the safest bet for your own safety. In my head, I treat it like a fire extinguisher…it'll buy time to get out…just a few seconds.

 

Commercial vehicles are required to carry fire extinguishers by both DOT and OSHA regulations. So it must be okay. The normal lifespan of an extinguisher stored in the recommended temperature range is 10-12 years. Extinguishers stored at higher temperatures should be serviced or replaced “more often.” How much more often is an elusive piece of information.

Speaking of white powder, it’s advisable to periodically remove a dry chem extinguisher from the wall and give it a shake to agitate the powder inside, which may have become clumped. If the powder can’t be heard inside, the extinguisher should be inverted and tapped around its base with a rubber mallet to loosen the clumped powder.

In the world of antique car competition there is also often a fire extinguisher requirement for cars that are driven (rather than trailered) to the meets. Those extinguishers will be strapped to a board and set on the floor rather than be mounted to the car, and more often than not they will be Halon because it’s less destructive. (Also less effective on a car fire though.)

Too much ammo. Too much ammo. Too much ammo. I keep saying it over and over in my head but I just can’t grasp what it means. Sounds foreign.

 

Lol, yeah I understand, it does sound a bit like a foreign language. And sorry about that post, I thought I had quoted a previous post on the tangent and didn’t double check before posting lol.

Here’s another tangent: How are people disposing of old extinguishers?

 

Bring it to your local FD, or town transfer station if they accept.

It might get to 150 in the car but depending on placement its unlikely to get that hot.

 

It would be nice if moderate over-temp storage incurred some kind of gradual degradation (e.g. tiny leak with pressure loss) than a catastrophic failure. I used a powder extinguisher once. Cleanup was such a pain that it wouldn't have been much worse to just let it burn.

 

Yep. Dry chem eats cad plating and turns it into a black chalky residue. It finds its way into every nook and cranny.

FWIW, I’ve never seen an extinguisher fail catastrophically..

 

I have experienced a gradual degradation resulting in loss of retardant. Just like @Captain Spalding stated regarding DOT requirements, aviation is similar especially if carrying passengers for hire. The ridiculous thing about smaller aircraft, is where to put the fire extinguisher due to space within the pilots reach. On a six passenger helicopter, good luck finding that space. We ended up with these silly little fire extinguishers that didn't have enough chemical to put out a fire in a trash can, let alone a fire in an engine bay. However, they satisfied the FAA requirements. As previously mentioned, they are good for twelve years, not serviceable, and are inspected and weighed every twelve months by the local firex shop. These little bottles were notorious for losing the charge (by weight) before the time was up.

You should see what extinguisher chemical (non Halon) does to a turbine engine.

I have never seen an extinguisher fail catastrophically either. Most likely because of the DOT calendar requirements for inspections of pressurized vessels.

 

What kind of mini sledge hammer?

 

Does anyone have good fire-blanket recommendations? Seems like it would be preferable in many situations to avoid a mess.

 

I recommend another route. Unless you want to get a turnout coat and a Scott pack to go with it.

 

I bought some cheap recovery pieces and want a reality check. Has anyone seen this stuff used successfully and not destroyed? Should I go back and get multiple additional soft/hard shackles(should I carry more than two shackles for basic recovery)? I'm not going out looking to get stuck or to recover others.

 

If you are going for the most minimal kit you might consider adding a hitch pin or 2.

 

Thanks @Captain
I would have grabbed the beautiful 10k strap but that's a higher rating than the soft shackle, and it seems like I rather see a strap fail than a soft shackle fail. It's also longer and bigger and I'm filling up the rear cargo cubbies with this stuff and gauze, duct tape, gloves, hoodie, hivis, water bottle. Load the jet with good pounds of mustard. Has anyone put a fire extinguisher in the tool storage?!?

 

I would consider these.

 

I got myself one. I’ve never seen one in actual use on a car fire though. I’ve only seen demonstrations.

 

Same here.

 

There are mixed reviews online, including some

My choice was slightly more extravagant, but it should handle a lot and it saves a bunch of space.

$47 Rhino USA Recovery Tow Strap (3" x 30') - 31518lb Break Strength - Emergency Recovery Strap Tow Rope for Truck, UTV, ATV & More - Heavy Duty Towing Strap for Offroad - Compatible with Jeep (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WRSR2PG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

$28 Rhino USA D Ring Shackles (2-Pack) - 41850lb Break Strength – Heavy Duty 3/4" Clevis Shackle with 7/8 Pin for Towing & Off-Road Use - Pairs with Tow Strap for Vehicle Recovery (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWMG41R?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

$45 Rhino USA Recovery Gear Storage Bag - Ultimate Recovery Kit Bag for Organization in Your Vehicle - Use With Your Tow Strap, Shackles, Snatch Block or Anything You Desire - Guaranteed For Life!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084TCT7HC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

$70 AGENCY 6 Recovery Shackle Block Assembly 2" Double Hole Powder Coat RED - Hitch Receiver Block - Proudly Made in The USA with US Certified Materials - Includes Hitch pin and D-Ring

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPB6QWF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

The bag may seem pricey, but it's super beefy, and in addition to everything above, it also holds my Viair 400p compressor and hose, Arb deflator, and regular tire gauge, all in just a tad more volume than the compressor did by itself in its own bag.

 

Nice! Sounds heavy.

 

Total weight with compressor, hose, deflator and tire gauge is 32.8 pounds. I'll eventually post my full road trip list, which I'm trying to keep reasonable.

 

MaxTrax came this week, too. I've been reading and watching videos on using them effectively.

 

Hand saw, chainsaw, hedger, recovery gear, battery station, radios(not pictured), tools etc..

 

Nice. You got eye and ear protection in there?

 

I normally do but I don't. And I've left my house.

 

I should really take stock of what I've got and what I think I still need. Here is a list from memory:

• Flashlight
• Spare charging block and cable for phone
• Basic tools (mostly metric, sockets, wrenches, ratchet wrenches, various pliers, Allen wrenches, screwdriver with about 100 tips, etc.)
• Basic first aid kit
• Ratchet straps
• Gloves
• Paper towels
• Zip ties
• Light recovery gear (couple of hard shackles, soft shackles, tow rope, tree saver, winch line weight, more gloves)
• Air pump, tire patch kit, quick deflator kit
• Jump starter battery kit (whatever it's called)

I have a backpack with extra recovery gear (the heavy shit) that I throw in when I feel it may be needed. More hard shackles, snatch block, and reciver hitch with hard shackle.

I also have a go bag/get home bag that I throw in when going hiking, camping, offroading, etc. that has everything I think I (and my family) may need to survive for a week or more. I don't carry it for trips around town but throw it in when I venture further.

I follow Gibbs' rule #9 and always carry a knife

 

What do you use eyes and ears for?

 

If you're going to use a recovery strap, I'd recommend a snatch strap. I carry this one from ARB. It has some stretch to it, it's designed for a kinetic recovery. That strap you pictured is not. Recovery gear can be life or death, it's worth investing in high quality gear.

$70 ARB ARB705 2-3/8" x 30' Recovery Strap - 17500 lbs Capacity

https://www.amazon.com/ARB-ARB705-2...t=&hvlocphy=9002147&hvtargid=pla-568819013269

I used one two weeks ago to recover a vehicle. He was stuck in the mud, I had to pull him uphill and no way a static strap like you posted would have worked because I had barely enough traction to get myself moving.

That husky strap would be okay to pull a car out of a snowbank with you on dry pavement.

And don't worry about the soft shackles, that weight rating is most likely working load, tensile strength is likely 4X that. For example, Treaty Oak's 3/8 soft shackles have a tensile strength rating of 43,500 lbs.

Ronny Dahl and MadMatt 4WD have some very informative recovery gear videos on YouTube.