Automotive Preparedness

[eisely]

One little thing that is sometimes overlooked is making sure that vehicles used for transportation on outings are fit and ready, and that other measures are taken to anticipate problems. Several years ago on an expedition into an isolated part of Arizona with a large group of people and a large number of cars, our scoutmaster drove an oil burning clunker. One we hiked out from our trek to the trail head to drive home, his dip stick didn't register anything and we were almost 100 miles from the nearest service station of any kind. Fortunately I was able to provide him with some oil, and we all made it home safely.

 

I have found it prudent to carry into such situations extra oil, extra coolant, and jumper cables. I would be interested in other peoples' stories and what they have found useful to carry along.

[sst3rd]

Certainly not as drastic, but on our way home from summer camp (a little over three hundred miles), one of our familie's mini van had a tire going flat as we were gasing up for the trip home. I noticed the tire appeared almost bald, but I used a can of that fix a flat stuff. It did just fine, but I was a nervous wreck on the way home. I know, I should have inspected all vehicles before the trip and demanded that all vehicles be in tip top shape, but a Scoutmaster is slightly preoccupied during this busy time, and I expect the parents to take care of their vehicles. Unfortunately, it still is the Troop leadership's responsibility to see that all vehicles used in Scout transportation, are safe. I screwed up, and it won't happen again. That can of fix a flat saved us from being late arriving home, but I understand that tire technicians hate cleaning that stuff off during the repair process.

[Bob Russell]

For a number of years, my family has owned an older Suburban as a camping/Scouting (Boy Scout/Girl Scout) vehicle. Both troops appreciate the people and cargo carrying capacity, and because its an older vehicle we can afford to let it sit while my wife and I drive better vehicles, with better gas milage, on a day-to-day basis. I always carry a tool box, spare oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, jumper cables, tow strap, etc. to help out when my or another vehicle has a problem. However, even with the best of planning, things can go wrong, and the best equipment you can carry is the human mind. We often joke that the adult motto in the troop has to be "Semper Gumbi" - always flexible, because problems will arise that you just have to work your way out of. On one family outing, my wife and I came upon two young women who had lost a wheel/tire in the Rockies. After a previous gas station tire change, the attendant had apparently not fastened the lug nuts properly, and while driving they lost a wheel and all of the lug nuts. Another motorist went down into the canyon and retrieved the wheel. I took a lug nut off each of the other wheels, and properly tightened all of them, so that they had 3 lug nuts on each wheel, and told them to drive carefully to the nearest service station and get additional lug nuts for each wheel. Since no one carries spare lug nuts, this was the only practical solution, and it worked. No matter how much equipment we can think to carry, we will sometimes need to improvise, and a calm, rational approach to problem solving will often save the day.