An Emergency "Get Home Checklist" for Our GMT900s Would Be Useful, IMO

[CaptainAmerica1]

Dunning-Kruger right here…

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I have one each of the stupid shifter cable grommets in each of my trucks.

On long road trips, I do bring my Tech 2 with me.

Spare serpentine and long ratchet to install.

Other than that, just the usual stuff, and a AAA card.

I have a second battery in the second battery space, and I have a high amperage quick disconnect on it to link it into the truck's electrical system, prior to the main fuse. I keep this battery charged by periodically connecting it to the truck's electrical system to top off the charge. This way, if I ever have a battery failure out on the road or in the bush, I can quickly connect the second battery to the truck's electrical system and be on my way.

I was going to suggest a spare serpentine belt, as well. For me, it is an absolute necessity, since I had a non-standard serpentine belt, and it would be difficult to replace it on the fly.

A small floor jack was also mentioned, and I take one with me for trips over 5 hours each way.

 

[Scrappycrow]

I have a second battery in the second battery space, and I have a high amperage quick disconnect on it to link it into the truck's electrical system, prior to the main fuse. I keep this battery charged by periodically connecting it to the truck's electrical system to top off the charge. This way, if I ever have a battery failure out on the road or in the bush, I can quickly connect the second battery to the truck's electrical system and be on my way.

I was going to suggest a spare serpentine belt, as well. For me, it is an absolute necessity, since I had a non-standard serpentine belt, and it would be difficult to replace it on the fly.

A small floor jack was also mentioned, and I take one with me for trips over 5 hours each way.

Those are some good suggestions! FWIW, the spare belts I keep in my vehicles are used belts. They should have sufficient life left for emergency use when you change them out, you know they fit, and if you give one to someone else to help them out, you're not out of a new belt.

Dunning-Kruger right here…

LOL, this thread is the opposite of Dunning-Kruger.

 

[Foggy]

In any of my cars/trucks when I do a road trip of any distance
I'll have: Jump Pack, Air Compressor (cordless or 1 with the jumppack),
1qts of oil. 1 bottle of octane boost. Serpentine Belt. Fuses.
Water - always water.. Can use it for lots of emergencies. IF it's cold
ass winter I keep 3/4 gallon jug a & a jug of premix coolant.
In my Yuk I generally keep a bottle of washer fluid too.
And a very small tool list. Fuse Puller, drive to change said Serp Belt,
pliers, screwdriver, and a just a few wrenches - 10mm, 13mm,14, 15
That will generally get me to the next stop/town/help

 

[Grady_Wilson]

For long trips I keep pretty much what others have said, minus the Tech 2.
I do take my Launch scanner with me just about everywhere, though.
It always rides with me along with a jump pack and some hand tools.
For long trips I make sure to take my 1/2" cordless impact and the charger, as well.

But I would maybe throw in a spare ignition coil pack, just in case.

 

[petethepug]

Fuel gauge issues and lack of gas can. Just saw this you can stuff in with your spare tire jack …
2 Gallon Gas Pouch (Foldable-Expandable gas pouch, holds 2 Gallons of gas) fits in the palm of your hand. Fits in the storage compartment of a motorcycle or glove box of a car.

Amazon.com

Stuff one or two 4x4 wood blocks in same place in case the jack needs a stand to reach. A 40 gal trash bag for the dirty flat tire and blanket to lay on snow or wet pavement over plastic bag. Keeping warm & dry under truck help keep a cool head.

Combo air pump for flat spare with lithium/ion battery that stays charged off truck that doubles as jump starter.

 

[TrybalRage]

A few years back I had an issue with a recurring no-crank condition, that I eventually traced down to the VCIM/OnStar module. Unfortunately a Tech2 was not a bunch of help because essentially the CANBUS network was freaking out due to the bad module and showed errors for all kinds of other modules which were in fact OK.

The only thing that worked for short periods of time was to disconnect the battery for a few seconds to force the network to reset. So keep that in your back pocket.

As far as being prepared for other failures - heater hose tees come to mind. Those things seem to break all the time. I replaced mine at 145k as a preemptive measure.

 

[OBSalsoNNBS]

@Scrappycrow

Long reply, hang in there...

I really like this idea. I don't know why it gets so much hate (not just here). Doing/having something is way better than nothing.

I'm here because I want to do that exact thing you didn't; throwing a good tool set in for any trip over 1 hour. Target the common random failures, etc

I've had my 2012 (156K) for 6 months and it had two major issues; throttle body position sensor (freaking wire broke) and oil pressure sender. Luckily I was 2 miles from home and limped for the TBPS. Oil sender wasn't a breakdown.

Point being if the throttle happened a long way from home I'd be screwed for an expensive tow, and oil sensor would've made for a bit of a nervous drive.

I came to the natural conclusion that there are two things you can do: Maintain your rig and prepare for those things you can't afford/don't want to replace now or are "freak" issues.

If you or anyone else is interested, I can share my list of maintenance, potential problems and likelihood, whether they can be road-sided or shade-treed, special tools needed, est time, error codes, gm part numbers...the list is not done yet.

Fair warning I am a little nutty, not a mechanic, and definitely have an optimistic time estimation habit.

 

[OBSalsoNNBS]

I have a second battery in the second battery space, and I have a high amperage quick disconnect on it to link it into the truck's electrical system, prior to the main fuse. I keep this battery charged by periodically connecting it to the truck's electrical system to top off the charge. This way, if I ever have a battery failure out on the road or in the bush, I can quickly connect the second battery to the truck's electrical system and be on my way.

I was going to suggest a spare serpentine belt, as well. For me, it is an absolute necessity, since I had a non-standard serpentine belt, and it would be difficult to replace it on the fly.

A small floor jack was also mentioned, and I take one with me for trips over 5 hours each way.

This is a great idea. I had always wanted to throw in a battery box but put tools in it ..like the factory storage box in my 97 Burb. I tried, the old box will not fit in that battery spot...
But now I'll have to think about your setup!!

 

[B-train]

I bring what I call my "Murphy Kit."

Jumper cables, jack, Ridgid batteries with air compressor and big ugga-dugga impact. A Klein toolbag that was my go-to for basic generator services (wrenches, ratchets, screw drivers, spark tester, multi-meter, etc - weighs about 30 lbs). Then there are spare fluids for all cavities, the last serpentine belt I took off - still usable, coveralls, blocks of wood, hammer, code reader, etc. It fills a tote and the bag sits next to it.

I tend to get eye-rolls from the females when packing for trips, but it saves my (and their) ass(es) when a joint was gonna grenade in New Orleans on spring break. I'd rather pack extra and not need it, than having to use my dashingly good looks to bum a ride........