Emergency Roadside Kit

Flashlight
basic first aid kit
a few servings of drinking water
blanket
gloves
wind/rain protection (e.g. disposable poncho if you don't always have a jacket or windbreaker in car)

Some other items in my car vary by region and season. Backwoods travel beyond cell phone range has different needs than urban areas. Winter needs are different than summer.

 

Number 1 thing: A cheap set of jumper cables with small ends along with a print out of how to use them under the hood on a Prius (such as attached). Many heavy duty cables are too big and most people don't know where to connect them. One easy way to run the 12v battery down is to leave the rear hatch ajar with the hatch light on. I keep mine in the off position via it's switch.

Jump starting:

 

I like a small roll of heavy gauge "black contractor" trash bags and a square piece of plywood to support the jack in s ground.

The bags have multiple uses and keep your close from getting dirty on the ground, keeps dirt out of the interior of the car when storing the wheel with the flat tire, and if you cut a head hole and two arm holes, you've got an effective and cheap "poncho" that heeps the rain off of your clothes.

 

Ditto, to all of the above, plus a few additional items I found indispensable in my G2 (and have migrated to my "v"):

• A real breaker bar that will take a real socket that fits lug nuts for tire removal
  • sooo much easier than using the factory lug wrench for nuts and jacking and essential if they've been inadvertently over-tightened by someone else
• A small rubber mallet
  • for knocking that wheel off once said lug nuts are removed.
• Headlamp

I found a real need for the rubber mallet on my G2 since it seemed every time I had to remove/rotate tires, the wheels, lug nuts removed, wouldn't budge off the hub. Seems like something keeps 'em "glued" to he car that wrestling bare-handed couldn't ever overcome. Usually took a couple of firm whacks to dislodge 'em.

Oh, and when I travel where snow may be, I usually stow a pair of:

• low profile wire chains.

The G2 was horrendous on snow-covered surfaces w/o 'em.

 

For years, I've carried a "cheater pipe" made from a 15 inch length of Schedule 80 3/4 inch aluminum water pipe with an insulated handle on the end. It wehghs 11 ounces, is extremely strong and lightweight, and the handle insulates your hands from the cold in the winter.

I've seen hevy steel multi-socket extension wheel nut wrenches, but nothing beats the original factory supplied wrench, although the handle might be too short to remove lug nuts that are "frozen" fron age corrosion or over zealous "impact wrench" wielding tire technicians.

The "cheater bar' is the great equalizer.

 

Where you live, you should be worried about earthquakes, so carry all the usual supplies plus food, water, medicine, warm clothes, etc. I carry maps of the local area (should the car's nav system stop working), a tire pressure guage, spare eyeglasses (including sunglasses), and a few dollars in coins for parking and tolls (though credit cards now will usually work). And I carry an umbrella in the secrete umbrella storage area. In my wallet are my AAA card and the phone number for Toyota roadside service (free for the first couple of years). I don't carry a tire pump in my Prius v, though I do in my pickup. Oh, and I carry a cell phone charger.

 

Keep the jumper cable and instructions under the back seat so that you can get them when the hatch doesn't open and you can't get the rest of your survival gear

 

Can't you access the hatch through the rear seat?

 

In my previous car I kept a wool blanket, entrenching tool, and jumper cables. I have not put any of that in the Prius yet the only thing in there that would be of use is a Gerber multi-tool.




Posted from my iPhone via the Tapatalk app.

 

Good thread. I carry pretty much EVERYTHING listed so far! Except garbage bags and plywood - and both of those are good ideas that I will consider adding. Don't have tire chains either - but I do run snow tires for at least 5 months of the year.
In addition to the above, I also carry: Spare headlight bulb, fuses, rope, bungees, ratchet strap, machete, pruning saw, tool kit (sockets, pliers, hammer, screwdrivers, adj. wrench, knife, etc.), several cable ties (AKA zip ties; these come in handy for a variety of uses!), maps, couple of flashlights, granola/protein bar, space blanket, small 12V compressor + tire repair kit, tow strap, insulated work gloves, pen/pencil/marker, small notebook, $20 bill, extra audiobook, electrical tape, quart of oil, and a small shovel (instead of the entrenching tool). Also I replaced the stock lug wrench with a long-handled version, instead of carrying a separate breaker bar.
In the winter, I stash some basic winter clothes: hat, scarf, a spare pair of boots for my wife, and a sleeping bag.

Almost every single one of these things has come in VERY handy at some point! I know the several pounds of tools and gear probably has some negative effect on my gas mileage, but for me, the preparedness and peace of mind are DEFINITELY worth the fraction of a mpg.
The 12V compressor in particular is something I consider very valuable. The one I carry is a little bulkier and more expensive than the most basic models, but it really works! It actually pumps up a tire from flat in a reasonable amount of time, isn't ridiculously loud, and lasts through multiple uses. This has really saved me - depending on the type of tire puncture, if you have a repair kit you can often repair it, so you don't need to drive 50mph to the nearest service station and wait for a repair there... Once you're familiar with the process, repairing a tire can actually be faster than digging for a spare, jacking up the car, and swapping the wheels. Then you're back on the road, with your original tire, that has (in my experience) an effectively permanent repair. OK, off my soapbox.

There are some things in my roadside kit that require occasional attention - for example, water in plastic bottles picks up some plasticky taste after several weeks, so I try to refresh that regularly. I also try to replace most of the meds in the first aid kit (advil, tylenol, antihistimines, antibiotic ointment) about once a year, as this stuff will eventually expire, and I assume the heat inside a parked car in the summer will hasten this expiration date.

BTW, I love the amount of storage space in the back end of the v! Makes it MUCH easier to stash all my toys - er - essential survival gear.

Andy