When you’re living on the road full time, its inevitable that things break. A lot.

This one’s for the designated fixers—the ones who are constantly patching, tinkering, and duct taping their way through life. Shaun is that person for us. Lucky for me, he’s a carpenter therefore skilled with tools and always thinks ahead when it comes to repairs, clever fixes, and mitigating drama with our caravan and car.

After two years on the road around Australia and now preparing to tour New Zealand for 6+ months, we’ve got a go-to set of tools we rely on constantly. These are the ones that keep us rolling, camping, and out of trouble.

Here’s what’s in our essential travel toolkit—and a few real-life ways they’ve saved us:

🔧 Tools Shaun Uses Regularly:

• Duct tape
• Drill
• Hammer
• Chisel
• Cable ties (lots of them!)
• Thin rope (eg for things like makeshift clotheslines, holding up lights at night ect)
• Allen keys
• Socket set
• Multigrips
• Screwdrivers
• Wrenches
• Spanners
• Shifter
• Fuses
• Assorted screws, nuts, and bolts
• Plumbing sealant tape
• Hose pipe fitting tools/ spare plastic water fittings that are on your water tanks
• Head torch
• Multi metre – tests you’ve got power and the power voltage
• Bungee cords or ratchet straps -strap items to your car such as firewood, MaxTrax rubbish ect.
• Wheel Lock Nut Socket -if you have special lock nuts on your wheels make sure you have the special socket for the wheel stud lock nuts.
• Small roll of electrical wire -in case a wire breaks; like from a rock hitting your electric brakes, and you need to extend the wire. You can use the wire to extend it to get you out of trouble until you find an auto electrician.

🛠️ Our Real-World Tool Win Examples:

When the caravan side wall detached…:This is an extreme example given we were travelling in our 1980s Millard caravan; when or family was driving along the Nullabour (the worlds longest straight stretch of road) Shaun looked in the side mirror and noticed the caravan wall was wobbling (more than usual) and pulled over to have a look. He then realised the side wall had detached because the screws stripped from the all the corrugations we recently drove over. With a chisel, screws and drill he managed to reattach the side wall at the famous Nullabour sign all whilst I made lunch in the caravan for everyone- a win-win!

Water tank 2 us 0: Our water tank fitting got smashed by a rock not once but twice and caused us to lose all of our water and leave camp early. Shaun recommends carrying a spare hose pipe fitting and some plumbing tape just in case this happens on your travels too.

Cupboard door fix: When Max was around one year old he pulled the cupboard door clean off the hinges. Shaun had a small container filled with assorted screws, a drill, and a circular saw (I told you he was a carpenter) and sorted it on the side of the road.

Power issues: Fuses are the unsung heroes. If something electrical stops working (fridge, lights, solar), check the fuse first. We’ve replaced more than we can count including in our new caravan.

🚐 Before You Leave/ As You’re Travelling

It’s so handy to carry your tools in a quick accessible spot like in draw of the boot of your car or toolbox. One time Shaun noticed a weird sound while driving and popped the bonnet to find the battery bracket had shifted. Having tools close meant he could quickly fix the issue and check belts, radiator fluid, and the air filter whilst there.

Even if you’re not mechanically minded, it’s worth learning how to:

• Change a tyre! (Shaun thinks you should change a tyre as part of getting your license. I say he sounds like a Dad but it’s true)
• Check your fluids (oil, radiator, washer, etc.)
• Look for loose bolts or signs of rubbing
• Identify unusual noises or movements under the bonnet

The earlier you spot something, the easier it is to fix—or at least avoid a major breakdown.

🚨 Bonus Recovery Equipment Worth Packing:

• Recovery tracks/ Maxtrax (for sandy or muddy campsites)
• Jumper leads (ever left the light on in the car overnight and the car won’t start the next day? This has happened to us more than once and the jumper leads have saved us again and again!)
• Snatch Strap (to pull you out of sticky situations)
• Bow shackles (these are what holds the snatch straps to the car)
• Shovel (not just for recovery but miscellaneous uses like building trenches in the wet weather to mitigate the rain, digging holes for bush 💩’s ect)

This equipment has absolutely SAVED us! One example was at our favourite camp in all of Australia – Winderbandi, WA. This campsite is quite literally on the beach and an hours drive to the nearest town. The caravan was like an anchor in the sand getting out and we got bogged. Without the help of friends we met there, our MaxTrax, shovel and snatch strap we would be still stuck on that beach!

🛍️ Not Sure Where to Start?

If getting these tools feels overwhelming and you’re starting to build your toolkit from scratch, Shaun recommends the Kings Big Daddy Bush Mechanic Toolkit (this isn’t sponsored). It includes most of the basics we’ve listed and is a great starting point for full-time travel or long trips and won’t break the bank.

👨‍🔧 Shaun’s Tip:

Before a big drive, take a few minutes to check under your bonnet. Even if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking at, you’ll get familiar over time. That way, if something looks off later, you’ll notice it sooner.

Full-time travel isn’t always glamorous—but being prepared makes the bumps in the road a lot smoother.

What tools do you carry on the road? I’d love to hear your must-haves!

❤ Britt AND Shaun
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