Useful Bits 'N' Bobs

Here is a summary of some of the minor pieces of equipment we carry that are so useful on a daily basis we now couldn’t imagine adventuring without them. At the start of any trip it’s difficult to know exactly what to take when you have limited space and budget but as this list of little gems proves, it’s often the most basic, cheap and unassuming objects which are the most ingenious, utilised and valued.

The Red Basket

A convenient containment of all those ‘things’ which are needed regularly every day; quick access to bread, tea-bags, soap, salt, pepper, chilli sauce (an Emma essential on all food), pegs, matches. It’s a place to quickly chuck those little random thingamajigs which are used too regularly to be stashed in a box but for which there are no specific ‘homes’. For those moments when one of you is waving an object confused and the other says “just stick it in the red basket”. Intended as a lightweight, foldable shopping basket, for us it’s a precious, practical storage of easily-grab-able stuff.

Pegless Elastic Washing Line

One simple metre of white, twisted elastic with hooks at either end. On a daily basis we use it to easily dry shower towels, damp socks or used tea-towels hung from the car, fence, tent or tree. Stretched out, it fits all socks and smalls on laundry day, saving our precious 12 pegs for the main line. For big laundry days we carry a 20 metre length of Paracord.

'Baby Legs' Torch

Our pet name for one of the single most useful objects we carry. Being LED, the batteries last for ages and the varying levels of brightness covers all needs (although yet to use the flashing red light setting!). In our pre-GoPro days we even super-glued a camera mount to the top of the torch and filmed drive-by shots from the bonnet. The magnetic feet are invaluable when working under the car or in the engine bay.

http://joby.com

Cargo Net

This hangs above the back seat area of the car above our boxes and tidily stashes our bulky jumpers, jackets and coats. This frees-up valuable box space yet keeps everything tucked compactly in the roof allowing a clear rear-view through the whole car. Hats, jumpers and jackets are easily grab-able when you need them.

Sticky Back Velcro

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective and this is certainly the case with our sticky-back Velcro. The entire passenger side of the dash board is covered with the soft Velcro side so that a range of gadgets and items can be firmly, yet temporarily, fixed and easy to view. In all of our thousands of miles driving on bumpy-roads and unexpected pot-holes we have never had a single item fall off. Practical items such as the iPhone, GPS, iPod, pen holder and thermometer stick side-by-side with sentimental items such as our Lego Indie and various collectibles and coins from our travels. It also secures our GoPro remote control to the steering wheel.

SPOT Locator

Another gift from a mildly-anxious family member, this device allows us to send an ‘OK’ signal by pressing a button each evening from our camp. Working with GPS satellites, it doesn’t matter how remote we are, we don't have to rely on internet or mobile phone signals. Once we’ve pressed the ‘OK’ button, an email is sent to 10 people which contains a pre-written message declaring we're safe and having fun along with a google map link of our exact location. Most of the time our family has a better idea of where we are then we do thanks to this!

http://findmespot.com

Sink

Carrying everything but the kitchen sink? Take the sink. But make it a super-light, fast-drying, foldable and durable one like this. So incredibly handy for washing vegetables, dishes, clothes and bodies. Not all at the same time, but it’s possibly big enough if you needed to. Being black, if we fill from a glacial stream and stick it on our black car bonnet in the sunshine it heats the water up good too.

Knife, Fork and Spoon Set

This neat little basic, 3-piece cutlery set had followed me for 9 years on Middle Eastern expeditions before it even began its 800days stint and being Titanium it’s still immaculate. On long trips, it’s nice to have decent cutlery rather than food fumbling with battered, plastic bent forks and knives which can only just about cut butter. A splash out (obviously a gift!) as they’re not cheap but for us essential; they’re stronger than steel but only half the weight and come in a neat pouch to avoid losing a piece. 

https://www.lifeventure.co.uk/

Diesel Stickers

Simple idea, potential car lifesaver for those questionable translation moments when a petrol station attendant is about to fill up your precious tank with mystery fuel from an un-marked pump. 

http://www.touring-gear.com

Galileo Pro Maps App

Avid purists when it comes to navigating- preferring a beautiful, beaten up paper map to any technology robotically telling you to “turn right at the mosque”, this iPhone App has proved invaluable since we adopted it on our third departure. It’s perfect for navigating busy city’s and finding essential locations; embassies, banks, offices… pubs. We waypoint all our wild camps to share with other adventurers and it’s incredible how even the faintest, rarely-used donkey tracks are still marked on the opensource maps. We still get lost, but that’s part of the fun. The best part is it works completely off-line!

https://galileo-app.com

Key Lanyard

Never hear “where are the car keys!?!” again… if you’re camped up they’re hanging from this basic key lanyard on the rear-view mirror, out and about and the same item secures them to Andy’s belt as well as in his pocket. Security, peace-of-mind and multiple argument avoidance about who had them last.

Paper Fan

Never be short of breath again! Purchased from a Japanese tut 6 dirham shop in Dubai, this has saved many a faltering fire in rainy conditions and aided perfect, even cooking of chicken and chops on the BBQ (minus the spitting when trying to blow the fire). Andy has lovingly patched it on several occasions with Duck tape but it’s still going strong.

Sunglass Case Multi-holder

Fixed to the car interior with 2 self-tapping screws, this simple leather sunglass case acts as a home for small, easy-to-lose items such as pens and pencils which need to be at hand in the cockpit.

Thermometer

Extremely useful to help judge when you probably shouldn’t climb any higher to set up camp as the outside temperature is falling by the minute. An old supermarket fridge monitoring device, this little retro gauge continually informs us of both our outside and in-car temperatures. Probably more informative than actually useful as we tend to ignore it anyway, persuading ourselves that minus 2 is really OK to be sleeping on the roof. 

Torches

Clipped for easy reach and access, knowing exactly where your torch can be found whilst grappling in the dark is essential. This pocket-sized lamp is held in place by 2 spring clips fixed by 2 self-tapping screws into the front windscreen door post. No more torch-fumbling in the dark. My Grandma always said "a place for everything and everything in its place" and never is this as important as when you live in a car.

Vegetable Bags

Nothing is as unappetising as sweaty, squashed and bruised vegetables & fruit suffocating in plastic bags. When you’re stocking up for the long road there’s not always room in the fridge so keeping veg cool and dark in soft fabric extends its lifespan in a hot, bumpy car. These bags were lovingly handmade by my sister so sensible and sentimental.