We all keep basic supplies in a basement box just for in case. However, if you’re Lappies Labuscagne from Somerset East, your emergency trunk will just about ensure you’ll survive a nuclear disaster.

You can always run out of money, but never run out of plans, my friend Johan Stapelberg from East London always says.
If only I had heeded his advice while delivering school furniture in the sticks of the Transkei in 1989 … On that day, my truck broke down... and let me tell you wheel nuts are not common in that part of the Eastern Cape.
To cut to the chase: I had to wait three days for a mechanic to bring the right spares, which meant I had to remain at the truck, unprepared for the situation. 

There and then I decided one had to have an emergency trunk.
The trunk serves a dual purpose: to get you out of a fix, and as backup for the most important items on your usual packing list. 

My first emergency trunk was huge and difficult to handle. With time, I removed some items and added others, until I had the current package – small and compact. 

I use my emergency trunk regularly and if I’m driving long-distance without it, it feels like I’m not properly dressed.

This trunk is for everyday use and isn’t recommended if you are about to go camping in the desert for three weeks. Then you obviously have to be better prepared...

The contents of each one’s emergency trunk will differ, but you have to keep a number of important basic things in mind when you compile the contents:
1. communication in an emergency,
2. how to save the situation and
3. how to survive until help arrives. 

For example, this emergency trunk includes a cellphone with two SIM cards in case the one who goes to seek help gets lost or goes missing. This way, you can contact him/her or someone can leave a message. 

Then, in case your cellphone’s battery goes flat after only a few calls, so a wind-up charger would be handy.
In addition, a GPS is important to let the outside world know exactly where you are. 

In my view, the best equipment in the emergency trunk are a GPS, two-way radios, a cellphone, duct tape, Super Glue, Pratley Putty, a Leatherman, a headlamp, and a bag with screwdrivers of all sizes.
I’m planning on getting a larger, watertight container for packing more first-aid items, maybe also a few tins of food and bottled water, and a compressor and tyre plugs.

Handy hints

• Compress.
  Pack everything in the smallest possible format.
• Brand new.
  Keep extra batte-ries in their original packaging to remember they haven’t been used. It also doesn’t leak as easily as in a torch.Play it again. Rechargeable batteries work well, but keep the charged batteries apart from flat ones.
• Hello … hello?
  With a time switch, you can set two-way radios so they charge for two hours daily, and therefore are always ready for use when you’re going somewhere. Continuous recharging isn’t a good idea.
• Keep track.
  Keep a notebook in which you note the contents of your emergency trunk, or note something in the trunk that has been used up or is broken. Unless you write it down, you will forget. Also write down important telephone numbers, addresses and GPS coordinates in it.
• Watertight.
  Plastic bags are useful for transporting water or keeping things dry.
• Oh no!
  The emergency trunk’s contents have to be checked at least monthly. Ensure everything is still there and in working order.