What do you keep in your bug?

[A_BugLife]

I finally have my '70 bug that I purchased last fall road worthy after going through it over the winter. Now that I will be driving it around town a little this summer I am wondering what I should keep with me while I drive it. I don't want to have to carry my whole toolbox but I think its smart to have some items with me to help make sure I get home.

I was thinking of the following:

10mm wrench
13mm wrench
tire iron/breaker bar
jack
hubcap remover tool
philips and standard screwdriver
extra points
duct tape
gas can
AAA card

What am I missing?

Thanks,
D.

[aja8888]

[hitest]

oil. empty gas can. rag. mechanic gloves.
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[Tim Donahoe]

Baling wire, and air in your spare tire. Maybe a few electrical connections (I once used several to mend a broken accelerator cable so I could get home).

I also carry the OEM tool kit. It has many of the items you mentioned.

For longer trips, I have a bag-o-tools-and-stuff.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[FullFender]

Zip ties!

[Cali_Army_Guy]

Wallet
Cell phone
AAA card

No point in packing enough crap to build an entirely new car.
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2015 VW Passat Wolfsburg Edition
1966 VW Beetle - Sold

[67rustavenger]

Meh. I carry a spare 009 dist. Loaded ready to go. It'd take me 5 minutes to change. Rather than waiting on a tow truck for over an hour or more. Usually.
longer than an hour.
8mm wrench
10mm wrench
11mmwrench
13mm wrench
17mm wrench
19mm wrench
An adjustable spanner wrench
Two straight bit screw drivers, both large and small bit.
A phillips screw driver.
A 10mm socket for setting timing.
12v test light.
Feeler guages
Cell phone
Good insurance with towing. The towing can be a bit dicey. Some drivers charge a fee to load the car on the slip bed and others don't. YMMV!
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GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[VW_Jimbo]

Add a fan belt into your tool boxes! That was the number one thing that failed on VWs when I was wrenching.

I carry all the tooling necessary to break down the engine if needed. Additionally, jumper cables, a AAA card and finally a pair of tennis shoes. I often wear flip flops, but there have been a few long walks through the years. Learned to carry good shoes for walking.

[olspeed]

Anymore it's a jack-lug wrench, flat blade screw driver to adjust the brakes and my phone. If you take care of them they don't break down anymore than a newer car... shouldn't anyway.
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66- Ghia
76-Beetle

[Tim Donahoe]

The OP said he was just driving it around town. For a road trip, sure, I carry more stuff; but for in town, regular driving, I don't carry more than a few items.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[hopkin]

Spare throttle cable and clutch cable. Someone else already mentioned a spare fan belt, I second that.
_________________
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1974 SunBug (past)
1972 914 (past)
1991 Honda Civic (Original Owner)
1996 'Open Air' Mexican Beetle (current)
2015 Golf (current)
2017 Dune Edition (daughter's car)

[hperez71]

Fire extinguisher...

[Clara]

owners manual
print it out if you don't have an original https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/70beetle.php

spare clutch cable
accelerator cable
fan belt
spare points
quart of the oil you use.
good spare tire
extra fuses

stock tool kit, which includes tools to change fan belt and/or flat tire

This will get you out of the general things that tend to go wrong. Have AAA card with you. My bug is pretty reliable, though the radio failed recently.

Maybe carry some bottled water and an extra sweatshirt and hat. Package of wipes in case you get greasy and that bothers you.

[Mudpump]

I usually tow my Honda behind me

[airschooled]

Sunglasses.
Reusable shopping bags.
Towel to cover the seat when I leave the top down on summer days.
Garage door opener.
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[Zundfolge1432]

x2 on the fire extinguisher and because I have a cellphone and a AAA card why worry about anything else?

[VW_Jimbo]

x3 on the fire extinguisher!! I have seen many burned out Bugs in my time!

Zund-
I carry those as well, but sometimes it is something simple. Plus, I hate waiting patiently for anything which I could take care of myself if I only had a ........

One time, back when I was a kid in high school, I had a 1955 oval window. I had a fuse go bad because of a PO attempt at a repair which was occasionally failing. I had replaced this one fuse (out of the four) maybe 10 times and forgot to replenish my supply. I did not have any spare fuses (that does not happen now), but I did have a balled up gum wrapper from the foil type of gum wrappers (I think it was Big Red). I flattened that out and folded it, then I bridged the fuse points. That gum wrapper got me home to fix the PO crappy wiring job in the body channel which I did not know about. I do admit that I was lucky that something else did not fail because of that wrapper! I think it was a rewired 15 circuit, back to the coil through the A pillar, through the roof channel and down into the engine compartment. The original one had burned up before and melted a few wires along with itself.

Sorry, I was reminiscing! You get my point. I do also carry the AAA card and a good pair of shoes!

[Skruffy2]

A repair manual
Test light
Starting fluid
Good flashlight

[67rustavenger]

[gt1953]

Depends on the trip.
I have assembled a small tool kit/replacement parts. If the repairs are beyond that then tow it home for the repair. The whole idea is to know the vehicles reliability. I do have distances to travel where the towns are far apart, like 85 miles between stop lights. Try that easterners.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})