Fix It Where It Broke

Open the toolbox of an experienced long-distance traveller and it is smaller than you expect, and considerably more specific. There is no socket set covering every size ever made. There are the sizes that fit their vehicle, the consumables that fail, and a small number of items that turn a stranding into an inconvenience.

What actually fails

On a well-prepared vehicle over a long trip, in rough order of likelihood: tyres, then anything rubber or plastic exposed to heat and vibration, then electrical connections and earths, then belts and hoses, then suspension components and their bushes, then wheel bearings, then the fuel system if the fuel is poor. Engines and gearboxes rarely fail without warning. Accessories fitted by owners fail far more often than anything the manufacturer installed, which is an argument for simplicity in the build.

The core kit for a vehicle

• Tyre repair: plug kit with reamer, spare valve cores, valve tool, a proper compressor and a gauge. Plus a full-size spare, and a second one for remote routes.
• Tools: sockets and spanners in the sizes your vehicle actually uses, a torque wrench, pliers, a hammer, screwdrivers, hex and torx keys, a good adjustable, a hacksaw and a decent multimeter.
• Fluids: engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission and differential oil where the intervals demand it, plus a funnel and a fluid pump.
• Consumables: fuel and air filters, drive belt, radiator and heater hoses, hose clamps, fuses, bulbs, cable ties, self-amalgamating tape, wire, connectors and a roll of gaffer tape.
• Chemicals: thread lock, silicone, exhaust paste, penetrating oil, epoxy putty and a tube of instant gasket.
• Fasteners: an assortment of nuts, bolts and washers in the vehicle's common sizes. Things vibrate off constantly on corrugations.

Ten to fifteen kilograms covers all of that for most vehicles. Beyond it, you are carrying a workshop you cannot use.

Carry the tools for the repairs you have practised, not the ones you have watched somebody else do.

The core kit for a motorcycle

Three to five kilograms: tyre irons and a repair kit appropriate to tubes or tubeless, a small pump or compressor, the sizes needed for the wheels, chain and controls, a spare chain link and lever set, cable ties, wire, tape, thread lock and a spare clutch or brake lever. Plus the specific spares your model is known for. Every bike has a forum thread listing them, and the list is short and accurate.

Practise before you go

This is the part that separates a kit from a talisman. Before departure, actually do these jobs in your driveway: change a wheel with the vehicle loaded, on soft ground, using your own jack. Plug a tyre. Change a fuel filter and bleed the system if it is a diesel. Fit the spare belt. Trace and replace a fuse. On a bike, remove the rear wheel, break and rejoin the chain, and repair a tube.

Each one takes an evening. Each one is dramatically harder the first time, and the first time should not be at the roadside in the rain with a queue of traffic and a dying torch.

The parts you cannot carry

You will not carry a gearbox, a turbo or a driveshaft. What you can do is find out, before departure, which parts on your specific vehicle are known weak points on rough roads, whether they are available in the regions you are crossing, and what the workaround is. For many vehicles a well-chosen box of five or six specific parts, sourced at home, is the difference between a two day delay and a three week one.

Improvisation is a skill, not a virtue

Every experienced traveller has a story about a repair made with wire, tape and something from a market. Those stories are told because the alternative was worse, not because improvisation is the goal. The best of them start with somebody who understood the system well enough to know which part of it could be bodged safely and which could not. Learn how your vehicle works, in general terms, before you need to know.

Questions we get asked

Should I carry a spare alternator or starter?

On a long remote trip in an older vehicle, a rebuilt alternator is a reasonable insurance and it is not heavy. A starter less so, since a manual vehicle can often be bump-started. Both are decisions to make from the specific vehicle history rather than a general rule.

What about welding?

A basic knowledge of how to weld with a set of batteries and jump leads has rescued many trips, and small inverter welders that run off a generator are now light enough to carry on a truck. For most travellers, knowing where the nearest workshop is remains the better plan.

How do I know which spares my vehicle needs?

Owner forums for your specific model, plus a conversation with an independent workshop that knows it. Ask what fails on rough roads with a heavy load, which is a different question from what fails in normal use.