One of the most important survival kits that you can have is the kit that you keep in your car.
This is because if you ever are involved in a car accident far away from civilization, or if the power grid collapses and you find yourself forced to abandon your vehicle and try to make it back home on foot, your survival kit may precisely be what keeps you alive.
But while there are many important survival items that you’ll want to make sure you keep in your car at all times, there are also a number of items that you’ll want to make sure you don’t want to keep in your car as well, for a number of reasons.
Here are the top survival items that you’ll never want to keep stored in your vehicle:
Electronic Devices
When you store any item in your car, you always have to be prepared for the possibility that it could become stolen if your car is ever broken into.
That’s precisely why laptops, tablets, phones, and thumb drives should be kept out of your car at all times. The simple reason for this is because they contain information that is too valuable for you to be stolen.
With electronics like phones and tablets, there’s more than just theft to worry about.
These devices can also be used to track your movements—even if they’re turned off or the battery’s dead.
That’s why I always wrap my phone in this special cloth whenever I leave it in the car or even just want a bit more privacy. It blocks all signals—Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, you name it. It’s a simple way to make sure no one can track you without your knowledge. For preppers like us, it’s just a smart precaution.
Additionally, you never want to leave electronic devices in your car when it gets hot, because high heat can damage the batteries and circuit boards.
Candles and Matches
Candles and matches are an excellent way to quickly get a small fire going for light and heat. But they’re not the best fire starting devices to keep in your car.
This is because candles can easily melt or deform under high heat, while matches can become less effective if they are stored at above normal room temperatures for extended periods.
As an alternative, keep a magnesium flint striker and a ziploc bag filled with cotton balls soaked in vaseline for your car survival kit’s fire starters instead.
Lighters
Lighters are another fire starting device that you should avoid keeping in your car.
The reason is that it can also be vulnerable to extended high heat levels.
Again, go with a flint striker since it’s a far safer option.
Important Documents
It’s always a good idea to keep spares of your important documents like your financial records, birth certificates, insurance information, and passports, but these should be kept in a locked safe at home.
Don’t keep these documents in your vehicle, because again, there’s simply too great of a risk that they could become stolen.
Medications/Prescription Medications
Keeping a first aid kit in your car is always smart, but storing medications or prescription drugs there is something to reconsider. Heat, especially during summer, can break down medications and reduce their effectiveness over time. If you must keep meds in your vehicle, try to rotate them every six months to make sure they’re still usable.
Beyond basic first aid, it’s wise to think about stockpiling essential meds for emergencies. If you’re serious about preparedness, consider learning how to safely stockpile antibiotics. I found this guide that explains how to do it even without a prescription—having these essentials on hand in a real emergency could make all the difference.
Wet Wipes
Wet wipes are great for personal hygiene use, but they will degrade when they are continuously exposed to hot temperatures. This is also true even if they are kept in their container or bag that has not been opened. Look for alternative hygiene items to keep in your car instead, such as hand sanitizer and biodegradable soap sheets, both of which are far more effective at resisting warm temperatures.
Firearms (and Ammunition)
It may seem like a good idea to keep a handgun in your vehicle for self-defense. In fact, there’s an entire industry that revolves around car gun safes to facilitate this in a secure manner.
There’s always the risk that your firearm could become stolen because they are one of the top items that car burglars look for.
Extreme temperature variations can also impact the performance of ammunition; extremely hot temperatures can even cause ammunition to go off on its own.
Related: The Guns the Government Doesn’t Want You to Have
A better solution is to keep a firearm on your person (either open carried or concealed carried) when you enter and exit your vehicle.
Sunscreen
As ironic as it sounds, the ingredients in sunscreen can break down after prolonged exposure to high levels of heat, and in extreme circumstances, the entire bottle may explode!
Food
Be cautious about keeping food in your car. It’s very easy for food to spoil or grow bacteria, when it is exposed to high heat. And this includes non-perishable foods such as canned meats, fruits, and vegetables. But even if the food doesn’t spoil in this scenario, it can still result in it changing its flavor to the point that you won’t even want to eat it in the first place.
The best solution is to look for non-perishable foods that can tolerate high heat and to rotate those foods regularly. Granola bars, trail mixes, dried fruits, jerky, and cereal packs are all good options here.
Water Bottles
Likewise, keeping water in your car may be a good idea, but think twice about keeping water in your car in the form of plastic water bottles. That’s because allowing a bottle to sit in the sun could cause chemicals to fall off the bottle and into the water.
Related: How to Store Water in Your Car for an Emergency
Instead, carry water in your car in steel bottles or canteens, and make it a personal rule that you’ll rotate it out every month to reduce the risk of it developing any kind of harmful microorganisms.
While it’s very important for you to keep a complete survival kit or get-home bag in your car, you just want to be extremely strategic about the specific items that you choose to keep in it.
Hopefully this article has helped shine some light for you in regards to what you should and shouldn’t keep in your vehicle.
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