Tool Overkill?

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
OK, I've finished going through the kit.

These are all the tools I have removed:

View attachment 608762

As addressed above, the biggest item is the Bogert SafeJack and jackstand kit.
Also removed:
Redundant sockets, adjustable wrenches, allen sets, channel locks, and fixed screw/torx drivers.
Went through the suspension bits that I periodically nut/bolt, etc. and decided it was safe to remove one combo wrench as well.
Per discussion upthread, I swapped the telescoping 1/2" ratchet and 1/2" breaker bar in favor of a 14" Tekton 1/2" ratchet. Also removed the torque-meter adapter.
Removed the factory ratcheting handle for the scissor jack since I can drive it with ratchet and 22mm socket.
From the electrical kit I removed the tire/speedo programmer and the spare IQ4 module for the IOTA battery charger, and downsized the # of spare batteries I carry for the multimeter, etc.

Removing all of these items and condensing the remaining kit into an Adventure Tool Company ShopRoll (Thanks, @BritKLR!) also let me delete all the bags above (2x tool rolls, 2x Husky zipper bags, and the tool bag for the Bogert kit.)
Conservatively, this is about 35 pounds removed.

This post would be worthless without the resulting tool porn:

View attachment 608763

The bag at upper right is a cheap Rothco Tanker's tool bag that I use to hold the jack and other long tool items. (Mostly to keep the jack's greased leadscrew from getting anything else... er, greasy.)

The open orange-and-clear box mid-frame is the Black and Decker brand 1/4" Hex bit set I've had for a few ears. Wisely, B&D supplied twice as many empty bit slots as they did bits, so I was able to add the necessary bits to replace the allen and torx driver sizes from the sets I removed. (I was able to find some nice 60mm long torx bits so I can reach the recessed fasteners without dedicated drivers.)

View attachment 608764

Everything packs away with a little room to spare... (for when I figure out which tools I should have left in.)


Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I'm going to run with this kit for a while and see how it goes!

Thanks for the shout out! That looks great!

ShopRoll Owners hack: There is a small pocket on the inside of the upper large zipper pocket/workmat. Pick up a small, powerful rare earth magnet from the hardware store and place it inside the small pocket and leave it. Now, everytime you remove small nuts, bolts, screws, sockets, bits from your truck place them in the area of the pocket/magnet on the workmat. The magnet will hold them in place and they wont roll away or blow away and get lost on the trail.
Second hack: The large workmat zippered pocket is designed to hold a small ground tarp or a chilton manual and still roll up. This way you always have a ground tarp to lay down on when having to crawl under or over your rig or an analog manual for your vehicle when your out of google/youtube range. Be safe!
 
Last edited:

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
Thanks for the shout out! That looks great!

ShopRoll Owners hack: There is a small pocket on the inside of the upper large zipper pocket/workmat. Pick up a small, powerful rare earth magnet from the hardware store and place it inside the small pocket and leave it. Now, everytime you remove small nuts, bolts, screws, sockets, bits from your truck place them in the area of the pocket/magnet on the workmat. The magnet will hold them in place and they wont roll away or blow away and get lost on the trail.
Second hack: The large workmat zippered pocket is designed to hold a small ground tarp or a chilton manual and still roll up. This way you always have a ground tarp to lay down on when having to crawl under or over your rig or an analog manual for your vehicle when your out of google/youtube range. Be safe!

great hacks....I will be putting the magnet in as soon as I get home
I also put sheets of the blue shop towels in the bit flat pocket so I have clean up ready to go.
 

drrobinson

Member
Pick up a small, powerful rare earth magnet from the hardware store and place it inside the small pocket and leave it. Now, everytime you remove small nuts, bolts, screws, sockets, bits from your truck place them in the area of the pocket/magnet on the workmat. The magnet will hold them in place and they wont roll away or blow away and get lost on the trail!

What a great idea! I’m doing this one today.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

WSS

Rock Stacker
hahaha...... oh wow !!!

no, no, no

The idea is to build and maintain a rig to be bulletproof and only take enough tools to jury rig an unforeseen breakdown.

wow what an expense, doubling the tool budget. This is so wrong. Add the miles of the overland trip between major cities offering services. And get that service done when you get there.

Maintenance is so much cheaper than on the road repairs. This is backwards thinking, reverse intelligence, Total lack of foresight. Just WOW.

What if it is your rig that needs repair and I did not bring enough tools? I often use tools on other rigs. To me it so right in soo many ways. Duplicating does not mean doubling the cost. You can buy less expensive tools for the trail. Cheap enough to let a downed rig have it if it will get them back safely. I tend to think of others rather than myself.
 

WSS

Rock Stacker
Thanks for the shout out! That looks great!

ShopRoll Owners hack: There is a small pocket on the inside of the upper large zipper pocket/workmat. Pick up a small, powerful rare earth magnet from the hardware store and place it inside the small pocket and leave it. Now, everytime you remove small nuts, bolts, screws, sockets, bits from your truck place them in the area of the pocket/magnet on the workmat. The magnet will hold them in place and they wont roll away or blow away and get lost on the trail.
Second hack: The large workmat zippered pocket is designed to hold a small ground tarp or a chilton manual and still roll up. This way you always have a ground tarp to lay down on when having to crawl under or over your rig or an analog manual for your vehicle when your out of google/youtube range. Be safe!


Do you mean, the small ATC tarp will fit in the shop roll pouch? Can you post up some other ideas/tips I may have missed? I carry way too much gear but I am not going to make any excuses for it.




Just found a pic of mine, it does not have the zippered pouch. It is a few years old though.

 
Last edited:

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Just found a pic of mine, it does not have the zippered pouch.

That looks like the "Wrench Roll": https://adventuretoolcompany.com/product/wrenchroll

is this an older version? i would absolutely cherish a tool roll with no velcro closings!

from the website, i think every one has the dreaded "scrrrrr - ch" tabs.

There's an option on the Shop Roll that has two zippered pouches:

"**As a variation of our original ShopRoll, we offer a version made of forest green waxed canvas lined with blaze orange 1000 denier Cordura. This version has two (2) large zippered side pockets, instead of one (1) zippered side pocket and one (1) set of socket pockets. As do the all-Cordura ShopRolls. "
 

geojag

Active member
I try to do maintenance with my truck kit now and again, so far so good. I use the stock Toyota jack, along with a section of 2X12 or traction mat underneath when needed. I shy away from unnecessarily tearing up my truck, and try to keep up on maintenance so hopefully don't have too much to do on the road.
 

Willsfree

Active member
OK, I've finished going through the kit.

These are all the tools I have removed:

View attachment 608762

As addressed above, the biggest item is the Bogert SafeJack and jackstand kit.
Also removed:
Redundant sockets, adjustable wrenches, allen sets, channel locks, and fixed screw/torx drivers.
Went through the suspension bits that I periodically nut/bolt, etc. and decided it was safe to remove one combo wrench as well.
Per discussion upthread, I swapped the telescoping 1/2" ratchet and 1/2" breaker bar in favor of a 14" Tekton 1/2" ratchet. Also removed the torque-meter adapter.
Removed the factory ratcheting handle for the scissor jack since I can drive it with ratchet and 22mm socket.
From the electrical kit I removed the tire/speedo programmer and the spare IQ4 module for the IOTA battery charger, and downsized the # of spare batteries I carry for the multimeter, etc.

Removing all of these items and condensing the remaining kit into an Adventure Tool Company ShopRoll (Thanks, @BritKLR!) also let me delete all the bags above (2x tool rolls, 2x Husky zipper bags, and the tool bag for the Bogert kit.)
Conservatively, this is about 35 pounds removed.

This post would be worthless without the resulting tool porn:

View attachment 608763

The bag at upper right is a cheap Rothco Tanker's tool bag that I use to hold the jack and other long tool items. (Mostly to keep the jack's greased leadscrew from getting anything else... er, greasy.)

The open orange-and-clear box mid-frame is the Black and Decker brand 1/4" Hex bit set I've had for a few ears. Wisely, B&D supplied twice as many empty bit slots as they did bits, so I was able to add the necessary bits to replace the allen and torx driver sizes from the sets I removed. (I was able to find some nice 60mm long torx bits so I can reach the recessed fasteners without dedicated drivers.)

View attachment 608764

Everything packs away with a little room to spare... (for when I figure out which tools I should have left in.)


Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I'm going to run with this kit for a while and see how it goes!
Glad I stumbled across this post...I was looking at picking up the SafeJack after I saw your recommendation in another thread; I carry a Unijack which turned out to be too tall for quickly lifting the van when the tire delaminated last week. The SafeJack looked like a good multi solution for van lift, but perhaps I'll now consider picking up a scissor jack instead. Interesting how easy it is to fill up a large van with heavy stuff/tools without realizing how much it all adds up.
 

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