Do you carry spares?

bill12 · Guru

Do you carry spares?

Grams · Guru

Hi,

after reading the Other Side of Life thread, got me thinking...

Do any of you carry spare parts for your tug or van?

We plan on taking spares of hoses, water and fuel pump, fan belts, spark plugs, etc, just things that Les can replace himself if we are in the middle of nowhere. I know it means more weight, but I think these are important, as we can get them cheaper than waiting for them to be posted or freighted in.

bowlerbear · Senior Member

The only spares I have is a complete spare wheel plus a spare tyre for my camper trailer as it has 12" tyres and I would be hard pressed getting those if I needed them. And I have just the usual one spare tyre for my XTrail.
Chris

justcruisin01 · Guru

Grams wrote:
Hi,
after reading the Other Side of Life thread, got me thinking...
Do any of you carry spare parts for your tug or van?
We plan on taking spares of hoses, water and fuel pump, fan belts, spark plugs, etc, just things that Les can replace himself if we are in the middle of nowhere. I know it means more weight, but I think these are important, as we can get them cheaper than waiting for them to be posted or freighted in.

Yes, we carry many spares, as in belts, hoses,( a mtr of 19mm heater hose can substitute many heater hoses rather than buy them all.)

Tyre repair kit. ( Note- these kits are for puntures, but one important item that is missed is a couple of spare tubless valve stems)- these can easly be damaged

/pulled out in the case of a bogged vehicle, even a stick can damage them.Seen this over looked by many people.

A mixture of small bolts, screws, pop rivets, hose clamps,air compressor,tool kit.Radiator sealer,engine oil, transmission & diff oils, brake fluid,electrical wire & assortment of terminals, fuses.

A lot will depend on where you are going, & a lot of this maybe over the top for you if you do not have the knowledge to apply them.

However if you have some spares there will be some one around who can fit them if needed.

JC.

herbie · Guru

We all can only carry so much, but yes all the said spares I carry ,but you also need the tools to be able to use these spares .I have run into so many people who have a spare what ever,but not one tool on board to be able to fix any thing. Also have come across a fellow who had a shredded tier but never checked his spare before leaving home and it was one of those emergency crap things He WAS IN BIG TROUBLE ...being a few hundred ks from the nearest servo.

hako · Guru

We carry virtually the same as justcruisin01 except for diff oil and brake fluid. Add duct tape and WD40, water, 5 minute epoxy glue, rags, torque wrench for wheel nuts and an assortment of ring and open ended spanners, pliers and shifter.
The best bit in carrying them is that you never need them....that's how Murphy works.

Grams · Guru

Les is a trucker and knows his way around cars, he never goes anywhere without his huge toolbox full of every tool he could ever use. He has given me a list of some things he wants to take, like portable air compressor, lock nuts for all the tires on the car and van, spare globes for all the lights. We are slowly fitting up the tug, we now have the UHF fitted. We are going to get all the spare parts we may need, I'd rather have it and not need it.

I had to be self reliant with my ex, so I worked on my own cars, the old ones were easy to work on, these new ones are mostly computerised. I am going to be very hands on when Les has to fix or replace anything. I love getting my hands dirty...lol.

Thanks for the other ideas.

wendyv · Guru

Used to carry coolant and brake/clutch fluid; a spare set of electric brake magnets for van; a spare set of bearings for van wheels; fan belt; assortment of fuses; a couple of spare tubes; oil; WD40; tape;

justcruisin01 · Guru

I only listed some of the basics which some people can understand, I also carry many other bits, too many to list.

I believe in that old saying, better to have & not need than to need & not have. Then there is always the unpredictable, exray vision would be a help.LOL

JC.

neilnruth · Guru

We carry some spares but over the years the spares we have carried have rarely been used and our cars have changed and some of those things are no longer suitable.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Yep, sure do. Even though I only have the Avan Camper I carry spare fuses, LED globes, other globes 2 sizes of spare 12v cable, 2 different length 15amp power cables for the Avan and 2 different length cables for the Solar Panel that can be joined via anderson plug if needed. Oh, and spare anderson plugs.

For the tug I have spare fuses, hoses, lubricants and hose clamps. I also have various spanners, screwdrivers and a selection of other tools and meters etc. If all that fails I have a hammer and a small sledge hammer. I reckon there is a limit as to whet you can take due to storage and weight so there will always be something missing.

The main thing missing though is MAJOR mechanical knowledge.

Edit......ooops, forgot 4x4 Air compressor and a jump starter.

-- Edited by Dougwe on Thursday 30th of May 2013 08:58:36 AM

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

For years I carried a spare set of fan belts and a fuel filter, all bought from Holden, so just recently told my mechanic to use those parts, only to find that the belts were the wrong size and to replace the fuel filter insert you needed a special tool, that only Holden have and they wont supply, you must go back to the dealer to change the fuel filter.

Cheers

David

brickies · Guru

I carry my RACQ Ultra card

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Grams wrote:
Les is a trucker and knows his way around cars, he never goes anywhere without his huge toolbox full of every tool he could ever use. He has given me a list of some things he wants to take, like portable air compressor,

We have an air compressor fitted under the drivers seat, it runs off the battery, and has had a lot of use.

bowlerbear · Senior Member

Actually I also have a tyre compressor, tyre repair kit, 12v wrench gun, WD40, duct tape, some other stuff called rescue tape, spare fuses and also two different length cabes for the solar panel. I didn't have any room for the partridge and the pear tree.
Chris

Weedy Pigeon · Senior Member

These days I carry no spares. I do though, very carefully go over the vehicle before leaving home. The very first thing I do to my vehicles is completely clean all the fins on the AC condenser and radiator then fit 1/4 in galvanised mesh across the front behind the grille to stop stones, insects and other detritus restricting airflow.
Everyone travelling in our country should carry water but whether this is called spares I don't know.
Once did a call out to 5 poms in a van between Kununurra and Halls Creek, stinking hot, and when I got there they asked for water. Turns out they had half a 2 litre bottle of warm milk between the 5 of them.
Most overseas travellers carry absolutely no sprares, know nothing, can't fix anything [ even a huge delamination blister on a tyre is too much for them to comprehend ] but still seem to get around the country one way or another.
I believe in RACQ or equivalent membership, the highest level you can afford.

GaryKelly · Guru

Being of Irish heritage, I carry a full tool kit but no spares. I do have spare sellotape and string though. And pencils.

leevin · Senior Member

We are on the final 1500 kms of our around Aus adventure.
When we crossed the Nullarbor, I checked the name of the town (Norseman).
Is that it?! Yep. What great/easy drive. Stopped o/night at Eucla. Good road, roadhouse every 150 kms or so.
Oh yeah, spares.
Spare bottle of rum, wine, beer. Spare snags, steak, veges. Spare weet bix, porridge, milk.
Spare tyre for vehicle & 'van. Not a spare, but fuel for generator (love it!).
Never needed spare fuel! Of course if you are going to explore the interior, that is a different story.
We have top insurance & RACQ Ultra coverage (haven't need it yet).
Spare cash would be nice!
As I said in the Other Side of Life thread "stop worrying about what may never happen".
Have a great day/trip.

-- Edited by leevin on Thursday 30th of May 2013 07:27:32 PM

Olley46 · Guru

GaryKelly wrote:

Being of Irish heritage, I carry a full tool kit but no spares. I do have spare sellotape and string though. And pencils.

At least Gary you could write a note and stick it on the back of your rig ,stop I need help yawn

AmandaJayne · Guru

space is a problem with our small bus so we carry a few spares but mainly have the tools for most things as hubby is a mechanic and if he gets the parts can fix what ever goes wrong with the bus... we've already replaces a water pump on the nullabor, we ordered the part and he just popped it in.... we do however carry spares for the solar system as the parts are generally cheaper from the net.

brickies · Guru

Great advice Leevin

leevin · Senior Member

Still travelling brickies?

brickies · Guru

Yes mate had been home for a short vist went to a send off for the closing of Station 45 they are moving to a new site , Darwin next week .

Grams · Guru

Leevin...

Like on the other thread and this who's worrying? Your the only one adding your no worries attitude to each. Both me and Red Dog asked a question, or is that now not allowed, because you think we might worry too much?

I like your no worries attitude, but some of your comments, especially on Red Dogs thread suck! Maybe you should just not say anything sometimes.

justcruisin01 · Guru

There are always people who won't even carry the time of day with them, yet expect every one else to help them out of trouble,often without even a thank you. JC.

RosieW · Guru

We will carry spare belts............. we got stranded for 3 days 48 hours after we bought the bus when an a/c belt snapped, the pulley-thingy dropped, and shredded a whole bunch of other belts. We bought the bus with a full set of spares, but had to wait for a diesel mechanic to get to us.

We also carry oil....... and will carry globes as well.

biggles · Senior Member

yeah ..

I also carry carry numerous bits and pieces .. but its not always what you haven't got that gets you into trouble ..

lotsa things have a "use-by" date .. old fuel left in a gennie can give you some unwanted moments .. you could also be running on "old" tyres that work really good on the black stuff, but fold up on you when its most needed on the dirt.

Regular/personal maintenance of my outfit usually tells me what I need to carry .. (despite still carrying stuff I don't need) ..

Jon

Beth54 · Guru

Spare tyres for the car and caravan, and my RACQ card. And some basic tools.

And an extra 10lts of water in the car when travelling.

I wouldn't know what to do with spare bits and bobs, and probably couldn't physically do it if I did! confuse biggrin

-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 1st of June 2013 04:40:43 PM

chaslib · Senior Member

I am sure most of you would know this, but for those that dont. Age of your types can be checked by looking at the 4 digit number stamped on your tyre ..... Eg, 1106 means the tyre was manufactured 11th month of the year 2006. i had cause to check on a trailer recently used by a NFP organization ..... tyres not replaced for 15 years ..... Nobody knew Or had checked. Perhaps for some of the solo travelers, this info may be of value. i was told that van tyres should be replaced around 5 years ... Not sure if This is correct ... we were told by previous owner of our camper that they replaced them just before they transferred rego to us last year .... The stamp on tyres confirmed this. The spare was also proven to be new. Great safety check to add to your list - this could also be a check for buyers of new vans..... Of course, it does not replace the need to always carry the spare.

justcruisin01 · Guru

I think that tyres that sit for very long periods tend to fail than those that are used on a regular basis.

JC.