Many an owner has had the experience of being caught out on the road by a storm and having to put on non-skid chains. How often have they found that, though these chains were in good condition when leaving the garage and when they were put on, after running awhile over rough roads at a fair speed, some of the links wore through and began to thrash against the mud guards. This is not only annoying, but often does real damage to the guards. Most owners have stopped more than once to wire the loose ends to the side chains to stop the banging, and it certainly would be more satisfactory to carry a supply of links and a chain tool so that the broken ends could be removed and new links inserted.
Of course, the loose ends can be pried off with a screw driver and new links pounded fast with a hammer, but you will have to remove the chain to do it and it takes time, and much exasperation can be saved by using the proper tool.
A folding pail is very useful, especially when one has to go up very long hills and finds that the water in the radiator has boiled away. The cooling systems for automobile engines to-day are very efficient and it is only in exceptional cases that the water will boil out of the radiator, and that is just the reason why an occurrence of that sort is disastrous, because one is not expecting it and is not prepared for it.
In sandy country and on dirt roads one often will have occasion to jack up a wheel to change a tire, and will find that the jack sinks into the loose sand or dust instead of lifting the car. A block of wood an inch thick and about six inches wide and a foot long will be found a big help under such circumstances. Many drivers also have had to use a fence rail to jack up a car because some one borrowed the jack from the car and neglected to return it. Even though tire trouble is not expected, it is well to make sure there is a jack in the car and also a handle for the jack. The jack is more often found than the handle.
Working about an automobile means a lot of grease and grime on the hands, and possibly oil or grease upon parts of the car, so that it is well to carry a small bag of waste or rags. If the grease or dirt prove obstinate, a little gasoline, drawn from the drain cock at the bottom of the carburetor, will cut it and enable you to clean the hands fairly well.
It is a good idea to have a three-in-one or similar tire-valve tool with which it is possible to remove the valve plunger, cut threads in the valve stem so that the plunger may be properly seated, and cut threads on the outside of the stem so that the cap will screw down tight. In some cases where the valve stem is battered in changing a tire, air cannot be gotten into the tire if these threads are damaged.
Many persons object to carrying a tow rope for fear it will be understood that they have doubts of their ability to get home under their own power; but in addition to affording a connection to some other source of power, a tow rope may be used to help a brother in distress and is superior to chains in very sandy or muddy places, when wrapped about the tire.
An extra set of electric-light bulbs may save considerable trouble and annoyance, because the traffic policemen to-day will accept no excuse when at least one light is not burning.
If you do not take your wife’s first-aid kit—the shoestring and hairpin—you had better be provided with a spool of soft iron wire, the ordinary stovepipe wire. It is wonderful how many little temporary repair jobs may be done with its aid. Some drivers like to have a small hank of strong twine also.
There are many other things which might be added to the list of useful things to have along for emergency, all of which may be stowed in the tool box or under a seat. They may not be needed once a year—perhaps never—but like the insurance policy, when you do need a tool you need it pretty badly.