What Tools should I carry in my t4r?

I already have all the cold weather gear, recovery gear, ratchet straps and stuff. But I’m wondering what actual tools you guys recommend for roadside repairs.

 

Welcome, this is our first winter with the T4R. We have the same question. Being mainly in a metropolitan area is a help. I would still like to fill my wife's T4R with recovery gear (weather it is for us or others).
I have heard good & bad things about the kenitic Bubba Rope.
Winter recovery gear is different than summer gear & I don't know the balance, to be honest...

 

For winter stuff I just carry a tow rope, snatch rope, shackles. Ideally I’d like to get a winch but a come along would suffice. Also would bring tire chains, traction boards. But I’m literally looking for actual tools, like common sized wrenches, pliers, things that commonly fail on a 4runner so that I know what tools I need to complete a roadside repair

 

Also my father recovered a fully loaded max size uhaul from being completely inside a ditch with a 2x4 to dig with and tire chains. It was -20 and the middle of a blizzard. Multiple people drove around and circled us and refused to offer help. That night alone proved to me tire chains can be one of the most useful winter tools you can carry

 

First things first, do you know how to make repairs? I mean this respectfully, but All the tools in the world are of no use if you dont know what to do with them. And when you need to know how to make a repair, you may not have any phone signal to look it up. If you dont know what you are doing, you may do more damage than good. If you do know how to make the more common repairs, you prolly already know which tools are needed for these tasks. Nothing wrong with not being mechanically inclined, but i know mechanics who have made a good living fixing peoples mistakes.

If you are not very mechanically inclined, i recommend a AAA card, tow truck drivers phone numbers or similar, an air compressor, jump box AND jumper cables, a socket set for removing battery terminals to clean or tighten them in a no start situation, Some good pliers to pull nails out of a tire, and a tire plug kit for plugging the nail holes. I also recommend watching a video on how to properly jump start a vehicle, most people i see do this on the sides of the road do it incorrectly. You dont hook the ground/black wire to the negative battery terminal. If your vehicle is lifted make sure you have a jack that can lift it. A board or metal plate to sit the jack on would be nice as well for when off road.

 

I appreciate the basic help man. But I’m mechanically inclined and constantly did work on my first gen taco and 06 TJ. I recently bought this t4r and haven’t had a chance to wrench on it yet so I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction of basic wrench sizes and common failure points. For example on the first gen Tacoma you could take apart pretty much everything with a 10,12,and 14mm wrench.

 

The common wrench sizes will work on the 4runner as well. And most other vehicles too. A full socket and wrench set would be good to have on hand, and 2 extra in 10mm, because it always seems like they disappear in thin air LOL. I also keep zip ties, pliers, and an adjustable wrench.

You may not want to carry a full set of tools, and you may go years and never need a 7 or 8mm, or a 19 or 22mm either, but that one time you need it will make it worth having it.

I keep one of these in my 4runner with tools, air compressor, jump box, jumper cables, some fatwood to start a quick fire, an axe, disposable seat covers for when im dirty, latex and mechanic gloves, ball hitch, and a few other odds and ends. Keeps the back organized and having wheels makes it easy to take out whenever i need more room to haul something.

 

Driving Chevrolet for 25 years taught me to always carry tools in my truck (especially common sockets and drivers). Since I went Toyota, I've never needed any. But, my bashing of GM aside, I dont think you'll need a lot, unless you do off-road a lot. I'll defer to others on that subject.

 

in addition to a basic tool kit and your recovery kit, a small plastic tray with spare fuses, lantern style LED flash light and or head lamp, and if not already included, a shovel. I also carry a small portable compressor that runs off the battery. It is worth while checking the spare tire air pressure from time to time as well. Nothing worse than pulling out the spare only to find out that it too is flat:-(

 

Nice list. I agree with the full set of wrench and sockets and larger open-ended wrenches can be used as additional leverage.
I used to carry a plus-size mechanics jump suit and a tarp in my pickup for when I needed to get under it.
I had a crow bar in my FJ60 that I used to tension the power steering belt.
If you keep battery operated items in the vehicle like flashlights or headlamps, you must check them often - batteries still leak and ruin devices.
Nice carrying case, but I think I'd want to strap that box down - that could be one heckuva projectile in an accident/rollover.

 

That's a really good point. We had a training at work recently with a trauma nurse regarding vehicle accidents. One of the points she made was think about what is in your vehicle and what would happen with it if you got in an accident. She said she recently had a patient that would have survived the accident had it not been for his hydro flask. I'm not a worry wart by any means and have shit in my truck that should be tied down, it was just interesting/ eye opening to hear of how something as innocent as a water bottle could become so deadly.

 

Cable chains(lighter).
Tools.
Survival candles.
Drinking water in sterile pouches.
Energy bars.
Bunny suit.
12x20 tarp.
TP.
Aluminum survival blanket.
Flare gun and flares.
Pistol and 50 rds.
Hand crank radio/flashlight.

 

2 Plug kits (Incase the first one breaks)

Air pump (just a small cigar lighter one, nothing high tech like you guys)

Vise grip pliers (pulling nails and what not)

Screwdrivers (prying on nail heads, loosening screws)

Jumper cables (broke’em out earlier last year, pizza delivery guy needed help)

All fits in my back cubby....

 

I have a 92 pickup along with my 4 runners and the only time I've had to fix anything on the side of the road was the soft line off the slave cylinder. I recommend a 10mm flared nut wrench and a replacement soft line, (a front brake line works) and fluid to bleed it. Also fuses and hose clamps are handy to have.

 

Meah...

Cell phone and a credit card and you are good.

I like to carry a lot of stuff for tire repairs. Of course everything you need to change a tire but I also have a complete plug kit and a compressor.

As far as tools go, I don't carry a lot right now. It's can 18 4Runner so I am not really worried about it breaking down. I do have some concerns about me bending a tierod but since I don't currently have a spare tierod I am not carrying spares to replace one.

I am hoping Marlin comes out with their MarRack and MarRods for the 4Runner and I can upgrade to those and probably never need to worry about it again.

 

Alcohol

 

12 gauge. An condoms. You never know!

 

Are the condoms before or after you use the gun

 

You never know!

 

Coming from decades of ownership of BMW motorcycles, which are supplied with a good quality toolkit from the factory, I felt a little under-gunned running around in my 2012 SR5 with just the factory-supplied jack and tire changing tools. My 18” Craftsman toolbox has everything I might need to handle a breakdown, and I do chuck it in the back when I’m heading off road or on a long road trip. It’s saved my @ss twice when I owned a Grand Cherokee, but carrying that box everyday is overkill and it gets in my way too much for EDC. So I wanted to put together a tool roll that would tuck into the passenger side cubby over the rear wheel well, would stay put, and would have everything I might reasonably need when contemplating a mechanical issue away from my home base and garage.

So I ordered a “Sport Tool Roll” from Adventure Tool Company in Colorado, and I filled it with:

Combination wrenches 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19mm
3/8” drive ratchet
Sockets 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 24
3/8” x 3” extension
3/8” x 10” extension
3/8” female to 1/2” male adapter
1/2” female to 3/8” male adapter
3/8” x 10mm hex
Utility knife
Tapered punch
Craftsman 6-in-1 screwdriver
Pliers, 6” needle-nose combination type w wire cutter
Pliers, 7” waterpump type
Mini-mag lite LED w 2xAA lithium
Two lengths EMT conduit, 8” x 1/2” and 8” x 3/4” (nesting)
Rags, gloves, a bit of stove wire, a few zip ties.

 

The 10” extension slides through a hole in either of the two adapters to make a breaker bar for either 1/2” or 3/8” sockets, so I don’t have to overload the ratchet to break fasteners free. The short lengths of EMT conduit can extend the leverage on the breaker bar.

 

My tool selection is based on what I know I need to do routine maintenance on the vehicle, and I specifically pull out this kit and work from it for oil changes etc. just to prove I have it figured out. I leave my oil filter housing removal tool and grease gun at home.

Separately and not shown I carry a Klein canvas zippered parts bag ($6 @ Home Dpo) about 12” x 6”. I use this to carry a small amount of supplies I might need, like hand cleaner, fuses, spare bulbs, safety glasses (they stay clean and scratch-free in a ziplock bag), etc. A good place for that in a 5th Gen is under the jack storage location where Toyota has provided what is obviously a small tool tray, about 8” x 4” x 4”, too small for my tool roll but great for a smaller package of stuff.

You can actually get a lot of tools into that space under the jack inside one of these Klein bags or something similar if you keep the max tool length under 8 inches.

I keep good quality headlamp in the glove box and it gets a surprising amount of use. Better than a flashlight for most purposes, in my opinion. I use it when vacuuming or detailing the 4Runner in my under-lit garage, maintenance under the vehicle, and many, many other routine life chores unrelated to the vehicle.

Almost as frequently used is my dial-type Accu-Gauge tire pressure gauge which rides in the center console. Get a nice one like the Accu-Gauge and it makes the mundane-but-important routine maintenance of checking tire pressure almost fun.

Many on here express the opinion that our Toyotas are so well-built and so reliable that carrying tools is redundant and unnecessary. This may be true; I think it depends upon your objectives, and I leave that judgement to each person. However, let me share this: since putting together my tool roll I have solved exactly no problems for myself on my well-maintained 4Runner. But with that tool set I have fixed half a dozen mechanical problems for friends. Let me just say, without going into too much detail, that occasionally it pays to be prepared.

 

Emergency valve stems are good to add to your kit, even if you don't go off road. Lots of debris out there on the highways.
https://www.colbyvalve.com

 

Good point. I’ve never had one fail on or off road, but I’ve had them loosen up over time, so I do keep a valve core tool in my home-base tool box, and I use it seasonally to loosen and reset my valve cores. I also change these out when I change tires.

 

I like tools which have multiple uses. I used my electric chainsaw to clear the road just yesterday, and used it last month to start my truck after I drained my battery. It is now my favorite tool.