25 Vital Things to Keep in the Back of the Car
Shôn Ellerton, February 13, 2026
Here, I list 25 really important items to keep in the back of your car, because, you never know when you’ll need them.
I’ve come to the realisation that every person must have these bare essentials in the boot or trunk of the car because you never know when you’ll need them. But don’t take advice from me. I’m not a normal guy because I’m paranoid something’s bad is going to happen and I want to ensure that I’ve got everything I need.
Sure, if I’m pottering around the city or doing the odd little local errand, it’s not so much of a problem, but when I’m doing a lot of medium to long distance travelling, I need to be prepared.
However, for serious long-distance four-wheel driving in the middle of the nowhere, I’ll bring a lot of other stuff like extra barrels of fuel, satnav phones, two or more winches, food to last for an entire week. Maybe even a gun after watching that grim film set in the Australian outback, Wolf Creek. You know. That sort of thing. But I’m not going to cover this here.
In this list, I run through my top essentials.
1. Water
I think this is a no-brainer.
Ever been a situation in which you absolutely need water? Yeah. It happened to me once and it’s really bad. I mean, really bad.
I was caught out running out of water during a hike in the northern Flinders Rangers in South Australia. I ran out of water and I still had many kilometres to walk back to the camp. Seriously, I could have killed someone for water. It’s that freaking bad. Turned out there was a water tank on the trail which happened to have water in it. Never mind if the water was good to drink, I drank it all the same. When you’re desperate, you do not care!
Buy a multipack of mineral water from the supermarket or better, get a 20-litre container which you can reuse and put fresh water in it.
I’m well aware that mineral or spring water is one great big con!
2. A Proper Spare Tyre
The masterminds who came up with space-saver tyres should be wrapped up in cellophane and placed in a room filled with loudspeakers playing Diana Ross’s and Lionel Richie’s sickly sweet song, Endless Love, over and over again.
Believe me. That’s quite a severe punishment in my book.
Why in God’s name would anyone want to have a crappy, substandard, piece of crap space-saving tyre in the boot? It’s bullshit. These things are limited to 80 kph (50 mph), and these things feel downright weird to drive with. Imagine being hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town and pottering around with one of these. Please make the effort in getting an extra identical wheel and tyre. You never know when you’ll need it.
Car manufacturers! Are you listening to this?
3. A decent socket set
Yes, I know they’re expensive, a decent one costing nearly two-hundred bucks, but these things may save my bacon on the road when things come undone. They’re heavy but slimline in their cases and don’t take up much space. Believe me, if I have to change a tyre, the stuff they provide as part of the car kit isn’t nearly as good.
And these socket kits are kind of cool as well. All those beautifully shiny sockets itching to be used. The bonus is deciding to go with the metric side versus the imperial side. The dark forces of the Sith would approve using the imperial side of course!
4. A hammer
This is as basic as it gets. Just get one!
Having a hammer to hand means one doesn’t have to blithwapp anything. You may ask what blithwapping is. Well, there was a funny book called Sniglets back in the 80s and they define blithwapping as using anything but a hammer to use as a hammer.
We’ve all been guilty of using something else rather than a hammer to hammer something in!
5. A screwdriver set
Keep a screwdriver set because you never know when you need it. They’re so cheap these days but be wary of what you get because I’ve come across screwdriver kits that, for some odd reason or another, the screwdriver heads don’t fit snugly into many screws. It’s all this confusion with crossheads whether they’re Phillips or posidrives, and slightly differing profiles. Just make sure the set’s got crossheads and flatheads. Also worth getting a set with the small electrical screwdrivers as well so you can really dig into the electronics of your car or need it to extricate a stuck CD in the car player.
Yes, my car is that old.
And don’t be lazy. Put the screwdriver back in its right place when you’re finished!
6. An adjustable spanner and a pipe wrench
If you’ve got space for a full set of spanners (or wrenches if you’re a Yank) and want to look like a real pro, go with this, but by now you’re getting to the point that the car is getting a little overloaded with tools at this stage. But a couple of adjustable spanners will do just fine.
Want to be Mario the Plumber? Get a pair of overalls and a pipe wrench and customers will come crawling to you for helping out in changing their bathroom vanity units.
7. Trailer light electrical adaptors
You would think they would have standardised the plugs for trailer lights wouldn’t you think?
But no, we have round ones and rectangular ones. That’s only two thank goodness.
Therefore, if you have a tow bar, I recommend getting a conversion adaptor from square to round or round to square depending on what you have on your vehicle.
It does the beg the question which standard is better, the round or the rectangular.
8. Duct tape and WD40
The adage that anything can be built with simply duct tape and a can of WD40 is a little hyperbolic. However, there is an element of truth in this because both of these products are extremely useful.
On one occasion, we rucked up for a family picnic and there was a very noisy and squeaky swing in the playground. Well, I got out the WD40 and, hey presto, the swing is squeakless! And I love the smell of WD40, don’t you?
Got a hole in something and want to patch it up temporarily. It’s duct tape to the rescue. Criminals find duct tape surprisingly useful, especially when they need to kidnap and silence people from shouting when stuffed in the trunk of the car.
9. A towrope
Not a bad idea to keep some tow rope in the back of the car in case you need being towed. Just don’t be a dolt and not know where to attach the carabiner to on the car. There are countless videos on YouTube of bumpers being ripped away from such follies.
10. A DC to AC mains converter.
It’s quite handy having a way to power low-amperage devices with one of these converters. Simply plug in to cigarette lighter and you’ve got mains, albeit with very little current.
Don’t expect to power up an electric kettle, although, it’s unlikely that you’ll be carrying one of these around!
11. Lubricants and oils
Oils are tricky at times and it’s always a good idea to know what kind of oil your vehicle needs. Always keep extra oil and a funnel to hand.
12. Paper towels
And yes, you’ll make a mess with the oil, so keep a nice thick roll of paper towels to hand.
13. A first aid kit
It’s really important to have one of these in the car because you never know when you’re going to be attacked by a vicious goanna.
Just make sure it’s always stocked up.
14. Blankets
Keep a warm blanket for every person travelling with you because the last thing you want to do is freeze to death if you have to sleep during the night in the middle of winter.
Sleeping bags are great as well!
15. Personal protection
Always have a hat in the car and always have sunscreen and insect repellent to hand. I suggest wide-brimmed hats and an optional fly screen mesh if you’re in places like rural Australia, where the flies can drive you crazy.
16. Fire-making material
Smokers have the advantage here. They always have a lighter to hand. You should have one too! Bring some kerosene firestarters as well while you’re at it.
17. Pliers and side cutters
If you don’t know what these are, you should! I suggest getting a regular pair of pliers, one needle-nosed pliers, and a pair of side cutters, you know, the one that cuts cables or strips cables.
18. A big bolt cutter
OK. You’re thinking. What?
Let me tell you something. There have been a few important occasions in which I needed a bolt cutter. One, for example, to cut off locked mini suitcase padlocks because we lost the key. Another more pertinent reason is being locked in a car park because they shut the gates. I don’t take to kindly being locked in with a chain and a padlock. So, I simply….cut them off!
19. A hand saw
It’s funny, but I’ve been in a couple of situations in which I needed to cut off branches from trees blocking the road. Funny as that may sound, I keep one in the car all the same. I’m wondering about the hatchet, but hey, I’m not Uncle Buck!
20. A flashlight
If you’re in the dark, you’re stuffed without a flashlight.
Unless you’re a cat!
21. A Stanley knife
It’s surprising how many people don’t think about bringing a knife with them during a long trip. Unless you’re Jaws from James Bond or within reach of a deposit of razor-sharp obsidian, it’s unlikely you’re going to be able to use anything else if you need a knife.
22. A tyre iron or crow bar
Not only are they very good weapons but at least you’ll be able to pry off anything without using brute force, breaking your fingers, and cussing out loud.
23. A cordless drill set
This could be extremely handy at times and these days, they’re so good and don’t take much space. Make sure you bring the battery charger which you can charge with your AC/DC converter on this list.
Also, to compliment the set, get a kit of heads including hex heads and an extension piece.
Very useful!
24. A small change of clothes
Don’t smell if you’re stuck or if you soiled your pants after getting all excited when you veered off the road.
Bring a small consignment of extra clothes and a couple of plastic bags with rubber bands which should, in their own right be part of the list.
25. Your medication if you need it
If you need medication, don’t forget it.
I had a friend with Type I diabetes and on one occasion, he forgot his medication which turned out to be quite an episode.
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I’m sure there’re other vital bits of kit to keep in the car, but if I’ve neglected any other, please let me know!
