non comercial hauling rig questions/opinions

[Soundguy]

preface: this is for those of you that have / had non comercial , private hauling rigs to carry your own tangible personal property. IE.. haul your tractor to your property.. or to the repair place.. or to wherever/from wherever.

I'm going to list what I carry, and ask those of you setup like this to offer sugestions as to other 'being prepaired" type stuff you carry. I still got plenty of space in the tool boxes.. and plenty of GCVR to pack a few more things in.

I have a regualr drive around town gasser half ton.. but for my hauling.. fetching hay etc, I have a F450. I had the bed setup with tool boxes and a fuel xfer tank. I keep a couple jacks ( hi lift and HD bottle, and screw-bottle ),electric winche, chains, binders, probably 20 20K ratchet straps, come along and a good assortment of tools and emergency repair type stuff on the truck as permanent equipment. stuff to get you off the side of the road at 2am ona rainy night when you are 4 hours from the nearest town.. etc. air comp air tank good selection of led flashlights and lanterns.. tire tools spares.. you get the picture.

first aid kit, gloves, reflectiv hi vizability vests with stripe, poncho large first aid kit.. pack of bottled water and some power bars.. etc.. yeah I know.. boyscout prepairdeness..e tc. timber and boards for trailer toungs.. or to wedge under tires, chok tires..e tc. I have wired up a redundant 7 pin plug ( thus have 2 ) and wired in a 4 pin, and have a converter for 6 pin. Have tounge/ball combo from 1 7/8 to 2 5/16 can do gooseneck or 5th wheel.
on long trips I usually carry additional fuel as well. ( nothing like getting low in bad areas... remember going thru lousiana after the hurricanes in 04/05 and not being able to get fuel on the 12 bypass and traffic snarled due to closures on the long bridge between baton rouge and layfayette.. ) also carry a quantity of emergency fluids for the engine, trans, brakes, PS.. coolant.. etc. even have a spare serp belt hose repair tape and a CPS sensor. 2 sets of HD long jump cables as well. I usually have a backup driver on long runs and I have 3 complete sets of keys for the truck.. one for me, one for the backup driver, and one that I can access in an emergency given about 20 minutes to dig it out of where it is hid. ( actually have that spare set hid in a seperate 'locked' area, and have a hidden key to that locked area safely tucked away in the innards of the truck. )

Here's one question.. I carry a fire extinguisher.. bt it is in the cab and have another in the tool box.. was wondering if I might instead need to carry it somewhere in the bed ??

now.. ffill me in on what you guys do if different.

thanks

soundguy

 

[QRTRHRS]

It is a good idea to label where your fire extingushers are located. Stick on labels are readily available. Unlocked access is nice but not required nor always practical. Hazardous transport requires 10 B:C or more. Even if your usage is not hazadous, that kind of rating is good to carry in a motor vehicle. Might save someone else's life someday.

Even though not required for non commercial, a box of three DOT approved triangular reflectors are not that expensive. (Brush up on the correct placement along the road. Write it on the box with a felt tip pen because you won't remember)

Your toolkit might include one of those ice pick style probes that lights up for circuit chasing. Maybe a jumper or two, tape and some wire.

 

[Soundguy]

hadn't thought of the FE labels. will look into that.

yep.. got the triangles.. for got to mention them. tool kit has a full electrical kit complete with meter, gas powered solder iron.. various wire, jumpers, connectors, and insulators. I also carry a spar headlamp, and lamps for marker and tail lamps, including a spare for the trailer. ( 1 spare for each type at minimum ) I do believe both my extinguishers are 10bc but will check,

thanks

keep the sugestions coming!

soundguy

 

[SimS]

SG;

I glad to see that I'm not the only victim of "Towing OCD"! Have you thought about spare lug nuts/bolts for the truck and the trailer? I have lost some, chewed up some when I have forgotten to check torques prior to a trip.

SimS

 

[Soundguy]

nope, hadn't thought about it.

and yes.. i like being O/C when it comes to trips like this. Guess I'll find out what type/size of lugnuts I need for the trailer and truck and grab a couple of each to toss into the tool box.

Is it really O/C though? or just being prepaired.

who wants to be 4 states away from home broke down on the side of the road needing a tool or part that is setting in your shop!

on my last fl to texas round trip ( 40 hr red eye / 2 drivers ) we hit a black aligator that ripped the trailer plug out of the socket on the truck... got the immediate no connect message fromt he controller and got out of traffic as fast as we could. plug was chewed up pretty good. one contact was 90% gone! we had enough stuff int he tool box due to my O/C'ness that we were able to make an emergency reapir in a church parking lot and get back on the road with only about 30 minutes lost. same deal witht he fuel going thru la on I10 just about had to stop and use that emergency 10g I had on t he truck to make it over the bridge portion ont he 12 bypass.

thanks for the idea onthe nutz.. that's EXACTLY why i posted this. keep em' coming!!

soundguy

 

[whodat526]

i believe u are prepared for anything but a major overhaul on the truck. wish i was that prepared sometimes it better to have to much than not enough

 

[Soundguy]

i believe u are prepared for anything but a major overhaul on the truck. wish i was that prepared sometimes it better to have to much than not enough

it's a earned/ learned response.

have been to shows and broke down along the way. and it's no fun laying under the truck, in the rain and 30' weather trying to goober soemthing together because you don't have tools with ya. BTDT.. got the dirty tshirt to proove it