Put Your Vehicle Door Pads to Good Use

Sometimes I feel like I take my prepping overboard… and my car is no exception. I literally have stuff shoved everywhere, from the nooks and crannies of the spare tire well to the glove box, under seats, and in bins and bags in the back. Sometimes I wonder if I could actually fit more stuff in there. 😉

Obviously, that sounded like a challenge to me and so I finally decided to try and put my door pads to good use. Unfortunately, door pads don’t offer much space to make use of and certainly come is all manner of sizes (e.g., depth, length, width). My particular doors pads were just big enough to add the following:

Door pad contents
Door pad contents

Though I couldn’t add much I still was able to add a few items that I felt could be most useful to me should I ever happen upon an accident. In this case, I included items that would allow ME to stay safe when dealing with others who could contaminate me while rendering aid but also to help avoid contaminating them. Of course, with Ebola being a concern that factored into wanting to add these particular items but, in reality, the more likely use of these safety items is for protection from general bodily fluids.

With that in mind, I added the following:

  • N95 mask x 2 – though even a basic face mask would work, I figured I had plenty of N95 masks and adding two could be useful for protection from bodily fluids in my mouth but for other uses too such as from airborne particulates.
  • Disposable latex gloves x 2 sets (kept in a sandwich bag) – I figured I should include two sets so that I could either put them both on myself for better protection or to give one set to a passenger.
  • Clear safety glasses – in the future I may want to upgrade these to goggles but at least glasses protect from direct hits to my eyes such as from somebody coughing up blood.
  • Emergency mylar blankets x 2 – I read somewhere that good Samaritans who cover a person with their jacket or other supplies can’t get them back when the EMTs arrive because they don’t know if the jacket you used is really yours or if you’re trying to steal it! As such, I figured adding two mylar blankets (of which I wholly despise by the way) would be a good compromise and I wouldn’t miss them whatever happens.
  • Compression bandage (e.g., Israeli bandage) – I thought both about adding a second compression bandage and/or a tourniquet but ultimately settled on just one bandage due to space restrictions.
  • Mini flashlight – obviously things happen at night too and being able to see in the dark is a must. I may eventually choose to swap this out with a headlamp so that I have both hands available.

And here’s what it looks like when added to my driver’s door pad:

doorpads-1
Supplies added to door pad

I’m still not sure if I want to keep the flashlight there since I already have a Maglite that’s next to the driver’s seat that’s easily within reach; Regardless, I may still add a headlamp since I have a few laying around. I might also choose to put the N95 masks in a bag to keep them from getting dirty or dusty over time. Other than the above I couldn’t think of much else to add.

Ultimately the idea was to add items that I may need at a moment’s notice within easy reach in order to respond to an accident and to keep me safe while doing so. What about you? What would you add?


by

Discover the 5 Minute Survival Blueprint course and get yourself prepared fast, easy, and inexpensively! It’s my gift from one prepper to another. 🙂

Comments

21 responses to “Put Your Vehicle Door Pads to Good Use”

  1. Just what I was looking for. Thanks.

  2. Great post i must say and thanks for the information. Education is definitely a sticky subject

  3. Thanks for the info. I’ve bought them but we’ve never actually used one, so I was wondering.

    1. It’s not that they’re useless I just think they get too much credit where it isn’t due. For their weight and size I have no problem keeping one or two in my bags and in the cars since they may come in handy in some fashion but I still keep better quality supplies, even whole blankets in the cars.

  4. Why do you despise mylar blankets? Do tell!

    1. For starters, they’re not nearly as useful at keeping you warm and cozy as most people think. Something like an AMK heatsheets or similar would be better. Mylar blankets are also incredibly noisy (I’m a light sleeper), and all but impossible to fold back to their original shape. They can also rip and puncture easily. That said, there are some potential benefits to them such as a heat reflector, for signaling, and so on (look it up) and for the weight and cost I don’t mind keeping a few in my bags but I just don’t want people wrongly believing that they will keep you warm in an emergency.

  5. olivia

    to add to my recent comment about the seatbelt cutter. Mine is too big for a key chain. I am concerned that even the Velcro from the hardware store might not be strong enough. So will try to get the husband to drill a hole and do the paracord thing.

  6. olivia

    I like my seatbelt cutter because it is bright orange, but it does need a way to attach it to something in the car. I do like the idea of keeping it on the seatbelt, but there is no way to attach paracord. Might see if my husband can drill a hole in one end. If it is attached to the buckle part of the seatbelt, it could rest out of the way.

  7. Woody Duncan

    Thanks…actually use the bag method as i have health issues requiring carrying items. I eas hoping you might have heard of/had another idea. I
    Found a condor ‘briefcase’ like bag i use for edc. It not only carries my lunch but also has light, water, fire, cordage, knife, space blanket, basic 1st aid… i believe in the rule of ‘3s’ so what can be already kept in vehicles is there, & i’m the redundacy part. Oh well we do what we can with what we have & drive on! Thanks and keep up the good work.

  8. These are helpful ideas. Though, this is subjective, I think I’m going to add something that’s going to cut, make fire, and maybe a bottled water.

    1. Douglas, my thoughts were more about being able to respond to an accident as a first responder. You could, of course, add anything that YOU feel is most useful and certainly items that make fire and a knife are tops on the survival list. Bottled water would be great too but, in my experience, door pads aren’t very deep and I’d suspect that bottled water won’t fit easily UNLESS the door pad was purposely designed to hold a drink like my wife’s new car is.

  9. Olivia

    Thanks, Kim, Velcro never crossed my mind. Will glue a piece in the door pocket today. Good place for the belt cutter/glass punch

  10. Kim Liddle

    You could use Velcro to hold seatbelt cutter/window breaker in place.

    1. Velcro sounds like a great idea but considering the forces involved in a car accident I wouldn’t bet on it staying in place! Do something else like attaching to your key chain or the seat belt as I suggested in another comment reply.

  11. TK Meyer

    Yep I live in the Great Plains very cold winter below zero so I just hide medical, some OTC meds, hard candy, hand/toe/body insta-heat etc

  12. olivia

    I bought a thing that will cut a seat belt or break a window. It is bring orange, so it is easy to find, but it has no strap to hang it anywhere. Not sure where to keep it so if I’m in a car wreck it won’t get thrown around. Figure it needs to be easy to reach in an emergency. Any suggestions?

    Like you I have a ton of stuff in my car since I travel on the interstate several times a week. Seems like I keep adding items.
    I think your items are all good choices. And I would keep the extra flashlite…..you can never have too many. I keep a headlite hanging on my gear shift.
    Living in the South I don’t have to worry about extreme cold, but everything in the car is affected by our summer heat….a problem I haven’t been able to solve.

    1. Most people recommend adding the seat belt cutter to your key chain. Now that I think about it, you might even be able to figure a way to attack it directly to your seat belt, perhaps with a little paracord loop that way it’s always in the vehicle no matter who drives it and shouldn’t fly around in a serious car accident. Personally, I’ve yet to purchase one but have always had it on my never-ending list. 🙂

  13. Woody Duncan

    I have an older car (91 Maxima) that doesn’t have ‘pads’. Like you though I found different ‘hidy holes’. Only problem is I live where cold (below 0) for 2-3months straight does not allow you to leave battery operated items outside. I tried the crank type flashlights (plastic & cold don’t mix for mechanical operations) & I even tried one of the old ‘shake’ type flashlights. Nothing handles 20-30 below 0 for those type of extended timeframes (me included). So if you’ve got any ideas other than the flares I have now please let me know.

    1. Sadly, I don’t have any great ideas for something you can leave in your vehicle… nothing works well in such cold weather. I briefly considered cyalume glow sticks but they’ll freeze. Solar lights *might* work if they use a capacitor to store the charge. Like you say the shake lights and crank lights aren’t too great either.

      About the only thing you can honestly do it to either have a small bag with supplies that you take in and out of the car with you and/or EDC gear. Both have their pros and cons but redundancy is great too.

  14. Rev. Dr. Michael E Harris

    I have done something similar, but have never needed any of it.

  15. Jon Rhodes

    A window punch

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *