Quote from: bird on June 05, 2014, 09:34:40 PM
I can't remember if anyone mentioned a tool that stays attached to me everyday--- a GOOD pocket knife. When I wake up in the morning, I check to see if my wallets in the back pocket, knife in the left pocket, and tape on the right! I don't know if anyone changes their own tires anymore...... but a good long wrench you can jump on to get bolts off tires is nice to have in the car...... for those of us that aren't super strong!
cheers,
bird

Duh!  I take pocket knives so for granted!  But then, I'm never without one (unless on a commercial flight).  I even have a super slim drop point for the times I need to wear a suit (haven't looked at it for a while).  Gotta have a good pocket knife.  I generally carry two, an Opinel next to my wallet, and one in my left front.  Yep, and a small tape measure in my right.

Got tired of wrestling with over tightened lug nuts myself.  Picked up an 18 inch Plomb breaker bar and haven't had a problem since.  Picked up another breaker bar at Horror Fright for my stepson the last time he had a flat tire and yucky tools.

Quote from: bird on June 05, 2014, 09:34:40 PM
but a good long wrench you can jump on to get bolts off tires is nice to have in the car...... for those of us that aren't super strong!
cheers,
bird

   I put together a compact outfit for my truck.
Its a 1/2" drive deep socket that fits the lugs and an old school "L" driver handle. These came with cheaper socket sets once. (a string of sockets in a tray with the L handle on top to keep the sockets coralled) They cost a lot less than a ratchet at the time.
  Anyway, its not very long to store is my point. About 8" overall.
 
  Then I made up a 2 part handle for my little hydraulic bottle jack. Telescoping.
Now I have either a short or long handle for the jack, and a generously long cheater pipe to slip over the L handle to step on. Fer breaking the lugs loose.

    I can't say it makes changing a tire on the side of the road a pleasure, but it does work really well, and it stores in less space than some outfits.


  The great big cross lug wrenches? Like they used to use in the tire shops before pneumatic took over?
   Were just ever so cool.
  They sold amateur lug wrenches at the time too. About 1/2 size. The small ones didn't have the balance or centrifugal force though.

   The big ones though, were perfectly designed to make a heinous job quick and pleasurable. Spinning one with your hands, whirling at lightspeed, made you feel like a god on earth! 

  But nobody ever tried to travel with those monsters. They were strictly for the shop.
       yours Scott     

Make sure those Wrench kits and Hex Key sets include metric.
My SAE stuff is slowly building up a layer of dust.