Disasters can strike at any time and it’s essential to be prepared ahead of time for any scenario you may encounter. While prepping your home with emergency supplies is a great idea and it’s equally important to ensure your vehicle is properly outfitted to handle an emergency. There are a number of top auto accessories that will go a long way toward ensuring you have a vehicle that is disaster-ready.
1. Emergency Jump Starter
While you may have jumper cables in your vehicle, a dead car battery can only be started with another working battery. In a disaster scenario, you may be unable to find another driver nearby who will be willing to help you out with a jump. However, with an emergency jump starter you can jump start your dead battery without needing another vehicle’s working battery. Even if you are in the middle of nowhere and find yourself with a non-working battery, an emergency starter will get you back on the road in quick order.
2. Locking Tonneau Cover
Another excellent accessory to have in times of emergency if you are a pickup truck owner is a tonneau cover, also known as a truck bed cover. When combined with a locking tailgate, a lockable tonneau cover will provide security against thieves. Unfortunately, in a disaster scenario, there will often be quite a lot of opportunists who will use the chaos of the situation to their advantage, snatching anything they find valuable. If you use your truck for making a last-minute supply run and you have a locking tonneau cover, you can leave your vehicle unattended knowing that your cargo is secure in its truck bed.
3. Emergency Lighting
Emergency lighting is a great addition to your vehicle in times of trouble. When an emergency is at hand, the added visibility you get from turning on a rotating LED light system can help your vehicle stand out on the side of a highway or rural road and keep you from causing any further accidents. It is always best to ensure you are safe before you step in to help another vehicle or person in distress, but if you do happen to find yourself in this situation, having emergency lighting on your vehicle will allow you to focus on the situation at hand without worrying about whether other vehicles can see your vehicle at night. In these times, your standard hazard lights will often not be enough for communicating urgency and raising your vehicle’s visibility.
4. Grille Guards
While grille guards are often installed as a style upgrade to a truck or SUV, they also offer considerable protection to your vehicle’s front end. They are sometimes referred to as “deer guards,” because of their ability to shield a vehicle’s front end from damage done by collisions with deer. In times of emergency, you never know what kinds of obstacles you may encounter on the road. Having a sturdy grille guard installed will provide maximum protection for your vehicle’s front end, allowing you to drive with increased peace of mind even in times of emergency.
5. Roof Racks and Cargo Carriers
Another concern during times of emergency is whether or not your vehicle has enough storage capacity should you need to bug out or make a quick supply run. Roof racks and cargo carriers are excellent options for increasing the storage space available to you on your vehicle. A simple base rack system can provide enough leverage for you to tie down cargo on your vehicle’s roof. Other storage options, like cargo bags or hardtop boxes, can be key lockable, providing additional security which can be valuable during disaster situations.
7. Interior Storage Boxes
While roof racks and cargo carriers will expand the exterior storage on your vehicle, there are also a number of options available to you to increase the interior storage. Under-the-seat storage boxes offer you additional room to organize and store supplies and can provide a hiding place where thieves may not even think to look should you happen to fall victim to a break-in. An additional benefit is you can keep your emergency supplies stored safely in your vehicle so it is ready at a moment’s notice should you need to pick and leave quickly.
Conclusion
When in an emergency, you shouldn’t be worrying about whether your vehicle is properly prepared to handle it. It’s of the utmost importance to do the things ahead of time to outfit your vehicle in the appropriate way so that you are not scrambling at the last moment in a serious situation where every minute matters. These top auto accessories will ensure that your vehicle is much better equipped to handle the stresses that may come your way when you are faced with a real emergency.