Prepping the car for winter??

[AnotherShirtRuined]

I'm planning to put together a winter prep kit for the car. What should I include to ensure that I'm as well prepared as I can be for whatever the weather and/or traffic may throw at me? I'm thinking drinks, snacks, something warm to wear, some kind of shovel, a torch. What have I forgotten?

And where should I put it all? The glove compartment is tiny but could conceivably contain a torch and a few snacks but not much else.

[kaldefotter]

Blankets, hat, scarf, thick socks, gloves, heat packs, wheel grippers.

www.decathlon.co.uk/hand-foot-warmer-pack-id_8376613.html

www.worldofcamping.co.uk/pack-of-2-wheel-grippers

[kaldefotter]

And a head torch might be more useful than a standard torch

[AnotherShirtRuined]

Thanks for the suggestions. We just bought a couple of head torches last week. One of them could easily be kept in the car. Only I'm not sure if I need to worry about possible extreme temperatures? How do batteries cope if they freeze?

[kaldefotter]

I don't imagine that the inside of your glovebox would get cold enough to cause problem for torch batteries, even on a very cold night. Happy to be corrected, though.

[kaldefotter]

I've never bought one, but perhaps a she-wee might be useful in the event of being stuck for hours.

Our wheel grippers were a life saver last year, when we got stuck in snow, and they take up very little room in the boot.

[JeffreyNeedsAHobby]

Hazard triangle and hi viz for boot, blankets, ensure washer has anti freeze and is full, spare tyre, battery jump leads.

[NewToCats]

Wind up torch?
Snow shovel
Emergency £20 plus a handful of change
Hat and gloves
Tow rope

Where are you? Wilds of scotland or central London?!

[florenceheadache]

jumper cables for when your battery dies.
flashlight with new batteries, blanket and a 3 wick candle and matches.
rubber boots/hat/gloves
a roll of toilet paper
granola bars
we keep it all in a little Tupperware box.

[florenceheadache]

we switch to winter tires come mid october

[user187656748]

if you scroll down the topic one of the first threads was abut winter car preps. There are some very thorough lists.

[AnotherShirtRuined]

Some excellent suggestions here, thanks!

I'll see if I can find that thread, user, thanks for the tip.

[HoldMeCloserTonyDanza]

What does everyone store this stuff in? I have all of it (plus stuff like changes of clothes for mucky kids) but when I’m loading and unloading shopping and buggy etc it all seems to get so squashed and messy.

I don’t want to just seal it in a bag as I’m worried that would be a target for theft (we’re in the city).

Any ideas how to store it neatly while also making it obvious it’s nothing valuable?

[AnotherShirtRuined]

I've been wondering about that as well, HoldMe. I'm currently thinking some sort of plastic container, but not so large it takes up half the boot.

[bellinisurge]

I remember thinking "don't need a tow rope" until I needed it.
It's a tough call because weight uses fuel.

[BiddyPop]

I have a small Stanley tool box for my kit in the boot. A decent torch (battery powered - I have a couple of spare batteries in car too), rechargeable hand warmers, couple of cloths, pair of gardening gloves, Ziploc bag with first aid supplies (antiseptic wipes, bandaids, 2 pairs latex gloves, 1 field dressing), couple of treatsized bags of haribo and a couple of pocket packs of tissues are all in that.

I have bottles of water and nature valley bars in the car.

I usually have a coat in the boot - at the moment, it's a pair of oilies waterproof trousers and a sleeveless but windproof jacket.

For winter, I will add in a hat and gloves each for DD and I (I take them out for summer - and keep sunscreen and sunglasses there instead).

[Dyrne]

I’ve got everything in a Lidl bag for life at the moment - not perfect though, i’ve Been debating whether to use something else as it keeps falling over and spilling out across the boot! My granny uses one of those cheaply folding crate things which seems to work quite well. Maybe I should follow her excellent example

[ElyElyOy]

A small back pack: that way you have something practical for your stuff if your car is stuck and you need to walk somewhere. Plus it’s easy to move out of the way temporarily for shopping/buggies etc :)

[Defrack]

If you've underbiit storage use that. I've a box for coats, hats, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, waterproof trousers and sunglasses, and sun hats.

I then have a box of car stuff, tow rope, jump cables, ice scrapers, tire chains, and all that crap

Plus a couple of bottles of water that I rotate regulary.