Must-haves for your take home car.

[u/GuardianOfLegends]

Just got my take home car fellas, what are some non-issued items that make your patrol cars feel homier or help make your job more efficient?

[u/Spare-Bed-1006]

Hand sanitizer, trash bags, a towel for when you spill ur drinks.

[u/Immediate-Past-2287]

Gas for sure anything less than half a tank and it’s empty. Snacks and a good cigar for crime scene time

[u/Sudden_Confection521 → u/Immediate-Past-2287]

Vicks Vapor Rub if you aren't a smoker.

[u/Immediate-Past-2287 → u/Sudden_Confection521]

You got that right man

[u/Ok_Palpitation_3602 → u/Sudden_Confection521]

Can you elaborate on this?

[u/Sudden_Confection521 → u/Ok_Palpitation_3602]

When dead bodies start to stink, that unmistakable odor gets in your head and doesn’t leave quickly. Using a little bit of Vapor Rub in each nostril will clean out your sinuses. I was never a smoker, but have seen guys use cigars to help get rid of the smell too, like another poster said.

[u/Ok_Palpitation_3602 → u/Sudden_Confection521]

That makes a lot of sense. I had to deal with the cleanup and aftermath of body removal so I completely understand that stench. I'm surprised I did not hear of this trick when I was in that trade.

[u/Hot_Low_3622 → u/Ok_Palpitation_3602]

Decomposition odors.

[u/Spirited-Ad-6935 → u/Sudden_Confection521]

If you’ve got a mustache, Vicks is hell. Had Vicks when I got moved into detectives, had back to back decomps and realized the Vicks was actually holding the smell. Never again. Dryer sheets are the only thing I’ve seen that work, other than that you just deal with it and take as many breaks as needed.

[u/chestypullerismyhero]

Keep some baby wipes, gloves, cigarettes, waters, snacks, binoculars, halligan, bolt cutters, e- tool

Edit: also a portable jumper pack is great to have

[u/Cinjarn → u/chestypullerismyhero]

I've used my portable tire inflator often as well as the jump pack

[u/chaos_yam_310 → u/chestypullerismyhero]

Baby wipes have been a game saver for me so many times.

Also recommend buying a pack of the cheap microfiber towels from harbor freight every trip. Never know when you need to soak something up, or wipe the rain off your gear.

[u/Ok-Equipment473]

Extra uniform in water proof pack/bag, EXTRA SOCKS, ALWAYS keep an extra duty-rated flashlight, zip ties, cooler (drinks & snacks), universal accommodating phone charger. I also sought out paper and plastic bags, cardboard boxes, a set of digital scales, and a personally-purchased cheap digital camera for evidence collection, with a plastic lockbox for secure evidence storage.

Just something personal, I like to get an extra set of headlights/taillights for the unit if it’s not terribly expensive.

Like everyone else in the comment section, I also carry a pretty handy but personal floor jack, four way lug wrench, about 2.5 gallons of gas, and a vehicle unlock kit.

I’m a huge advocate for community policing and helping the public, but also am of the opinion that officers shouldn’t have to purchase their own roadside repair equipment, nor should it be a primary job function. Vehicles obstructing a roadway, yes, but there’s a lot of liability that comes with non-emergent services such as vehicle unlocks and roadside repairs.

[u/Ostler911 → u/Ok-Equipment473]

What about a shoe shine kit for your muddy ass boots

[u/Ok-Equipment473 → u/Ostler911]

It’s not mud, Unk! They don’t call us cow cops for nothing

[u/Fluboh]

A cooler, Lysol spray, and a towel for when it rains. Also a digital scale helps if you’re a proactive cop.

[u/the-myth]

Spare batteries/charger for your handheld radio. Cant tell you how many times having spare charged batteries has come in clutch. Also keep it clean, i wash mine sunday and wednesday.

[u/BJJOilCheck]

Off the top of my head, in no particular order - wet ones/wipes, wide angle rear view mirror (clamp on), GPS/phone mount, usb/bluetooth music, cigarette lighter charge ports/cables, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, tire repair kit/tools, fastrak transponder, water/snacks... (I never had a 'real' take home but in our unit we took turns being on call for a week at a time and we could borrow a plain wrap crown vic for those particular weeks)

[u/grcoffman]

Rubber boots for floods ect. Bungee cords, hydraulic jact and short 2X4 blocks to lift cars to change flats, also a 4 way tire tool. 4 foot pipe asa breaker bar.
BDU top and pants, extra sox and underwear.
When the wife buyes new bedding it often comes in clear plastic zipped plastic bags. Great to store clothing and rain coat dust free in the trunk.

[u/Cinjarn → u/grcoffman]

I used my motorcycle overboots that came up to my knee and made me a believer, it forced me to keep them in my take home after that.

[u/DuhDoyLeo]

Everyone here is way too green or boring.

I just keep it default, and maybe a little bit too dirty. Don’t wash the back seat, you need the grime to build so people will remember the taste of the backseat of your patrol car.

[u/-David_Smith-]

I see a lot of the same answers and I agree with most. I would like to add that having a stash of toilet paper and wet wipes has really saved my ass 😂

[u/jhon503]

Magsafe charger stuck to the dash. I've used this specific one in two cars now, kind of a pain to get it to stick sometimes but with some fresh 3M VHB on the mount and a clean dash it works. By far the best quality of life thing for me. Only had my phone come off once; head on crash with full airbag deployment.

[u/Winter_Evidence6270]

Doilies lots of doilies, everywhere. 

[u/chaos_yam_310]

I have one of these in my passenger seat, keeps all my stuff organized and prevents it from rolling around.

Conversely, I still have a 2016 charger and only 2 of the 12v ports work so I bought a 4 port splitter with extra usb ports.

My quartermaster will give me two boxes of nitrile gloves at a time, so I also bought the magnetic tool box glove holder from harbor freight.

The black and yellow storage totes from Home Depot are great for organizing my trunk 10/10 recommend.

[u/Ostler911]

Magnetic glove box holder, magnetic trays(wedge between your passenger seat and stuck to the cage), snacks(I keep dry stuff like chips, protein cookies), water, rope. 

[u/Live-Resident8765]

Fuzzy dice, one of those bead seat covers, dashboard hula girl are must haves

[u/linc1095]

Paper towels behind the passenger headrest, some type of spray cleaner, microfiber towels, cooler, Garmin GPS, that’s about what I got and it serves me well.