Our Gear

Jan 8 - When we moved here, I overheard one of the movers say, “Why don’t people keep their car seats in the car!” Since I was standing right behind him, I said, “Because dogs don’t fit in car seats.” Since that’s not a problem anymore, we decided to reinstall them. Lucky for us, we now have a heated garage to work in. We had to take most of our gear out of the Jeep to get the seats back in. We took advantage of this opportunity to clean the inside and thought we would show you what’s in the Jeep. This is the gear we carry every day.

Many of you will think what we carry is excessive but we often travel in out of the way places. Without it, if we had a mechanical problem or got stuck in mud or snow we might not see other people for a while. It’s good to be self-reliant. Carrying what we do, we can also help other people we might find stuck along the trail, or even along the highway. Others of you might think that if this is the gear that is necessary to travel safely, then we should stay home. We like to be prepared with both equipment and knowledge. There is no point in sitting at home thinking about what you could be doing.

Starting in the front, we have a rubber duck (Thanks to Mark Niosi for 100 ducks as a gift when I left Pfizer) It’s a Jeep thing. You could look up Duck Duck Jeep but it’s really just a way of saying, I see your jeep and want to brighten your day.

We also have serious items in the front including a couple of electronic-device holders. These are for our phones and the iPad that we use for navigation. That yellow thing is a windshield breaker and seatbelt cutter. It’s a good thing to have in case you ever find yourself trapped inside your vehicle. We also carry a ham radio. You have to have a license for that.

Moving to the back seat we have an attic. That’s a net that hangs from the roll bar that we can store stuff in. It usually has our hats, first-aid bag, and air-down kit.

Air-Down Kit, First-Aid Bag, and Fire Extinguishers

If you have never seen a fire extinguisher like that they are solid chemical. They last longer than the standard ones and are less likely to go off in your vehicle.

We also cleaned the car. Here’s proof, look how clean the floor mats are! That will only last until the next time we get in with snowy or muddy boots.

We carry the jack that came with the Jeep but we also carry a Hi-Lift jack, a jack base, and two shovels. It might seem weird to carry two shovels but one is for digging a hole the other is for moving snow.

Most of our stuff is in the back of the Jeep.

We have a compressor for when we air down. It’s installed under an American Adventures Lab platform. We also have their shelf. We did a post on installing those items. We cover that with a packing blanket which keeps stuff from rattling and gives us something work on when we need to do repairs in the field.

If you’re traveling by yourself, it’s important to be able to rescue yourself. So, we carry recovery equipment, including a kinetic rope, a tow strap, tree straps, and soft shackles, as well as D-rings and gloves. We have a winch too but I consider that part of the Jeep.

A kinetic rope allows someone to pull a stuck vehicle out more gently than a tow rope. It’s stretchy like a rubber band but straight. Soft shackles are how you connect the rope to the vehicle without the use of knots or metal connectors (which can become projectiles if something breaks).

Tree Strap, Tow Rope, and a longer Soft Shackle

In case you are wondering, if you are by yourself and stuck, and there is a tree nearby you wrap the tree strap around the tree, so you won’t hurt it, and use the tree to winch yourself out.

If you break down, you need tools!

Miscellaneous Smaller Tools and Supplies

You never know when you won’t be near a gas station. We carry 8 gallons of extra fuel in two RotoPax cans and extra fluids like oil and transmission fluid and some rags. In the summer we carry water as well.

We have learned from experience that people have emergencies too. We carry something for that.

You know what the paper is for but we like to use dog poo bags. That way you don’t have to dig a hole. If everyone dug a hole there wouldn’t be many plants in some locations.

If we go for a hike, we can grab our hiking bag in addition to our cameras. This bag has sunscreen, a compass, first aid for the trail, and a rescue beacon. The bag also provides a place for a radio and water.

If you think that’s a lot, it is. We still have room to carry groceries home from the store, when we’re home. The back seat is mostly empty so we can even transport a friend or ski equipment!

Right now, we are at home. So far Jeep-Jeep hasn’t needed to be rescued out of the driveway!

If you ever wondered what 7 feet of snow on the ground looks like, it consolidates. I have been trying to keep up with how much snow we have received. By my estimation, starting when we moved into the house just before Thanksgiving, 85 inches of snow has fallen. You can see that we shovel the parking spot but not the sides.

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Muddy Slide Fire

Sunrise Over Gambel Oak

EphemeraLandscape.com