Is it possible to safely keep my gear in my vehicle?

[Jared0425]

I am on a volunteer Dive Rescue & Recovery team in Michigan where it gets cold in the winter (below 0 F some days) and hot in the summers (above 100 F.) From late summer until now I have kept all of my gear in the trunk of my vehicle so that I could respond to any calls as quickly as possible, as running to my house to get my gear before going where needed could add 30+ minutes to my response time.

I know that gear isn't supposed to be exposed to direct sunlight or left in extreme temperatures. Is there a way to keep my equipment with me so I can respond quickly while I am at work or living life without risking damaging my equipment?

I'm part of my county sheriff's recovery team also in Michigan. My gear is in my vehicle and ready to go 24/7. I work in Warren where the risk factor for theft is increased, but for the last 6 years I haven't had a problem with gear being stolen or seals going bad. The only problem I have had is the smell in my truck bed smells like scuba gear.

 

[lordrath1069]

I'm part of my county sheriff's recovery team also in Michigan. My gear is in my vehicle and ready to go 24/7. I work in Warren where the risk factor for theft is increased, but for the last 6 years I haven't had a problem with gear being stolen or seals going bad. The only problem I have had is the smell in my truck bed smells like scuba gear.

Thank you!

 

[Jared0425]

Thank you!

You're welcome. I never believed I would ever be close enough to a scene to save a life but I was on two occasions. Ever since, my gear is always in the truck. If I dive, I have a spare suit and 2 tanks with a pony ready to go. The only time things come out of the truck is when I take it in or am going out of state.

 

[SlugLife]

I often keep my gear including several scuba-tanks in my car, in the Texas sun, during the summer. However, I also have a car-cover, which I essentially always use if I'm going to be anywhere more than 2 hours during the day.

If a scuba-tank gets hot enough for the air to expand about 50% (from 3000psi to 4500psi) the burst-disk in your valve will blow. The result is a steady but rapid release of air, but not an explosion. When scuba-tanks are taken in for hydrostatic testing, the "testing pressure" is somewhere around 5500 psi (for a 3000 psi tank) if I remember correctly, which is well beyond what your burst disk should handle, but less than whatever should cause your tank to explode.

The riskiest thing you could do, is leave Oxygen in a car and that bursts or leaks, because that oxygen turns into a fire-hazard. However, if you use an exterior car-cover, temperatures should stay well within safe limits.

Aside from tanks, UV light and excessive heat could break down (over time) various other materials, like BCD bladders, glues, and o-rings.

Theft is a risk too of course. I'd prefer to leave equipment where it's not visible through a window. In my vehicle, there's a nylon cover which goes over my scuba-equipment when the trunk is closed. My vehicles has windows into the trunk area. I don't know if a car-cover makes your car more attractive and noticeable to thieves or not, but in-theory, a car-cover also helps block any potential-thieves from taking a quick peek to see if there's anything worth stealing. My bigger concern is mostly on a good way to secure my car, when I'm solo-diving, given I don't want to take my car-keys with me underwater, or leave them on the shore. I wrap my FOB in about 10-layers of aluminum, and put it in a cheap $15 safe attached to the underside of my car. Perhaps a motivated thief who knows where to look could get in, but almost nothing is ever truly 100% safe.

---

In order to quickly use a car-cover, I have two recommendations:

1. Draw arrows on your car cover, on the front, back, sides, and top. Every arrow pointing towards the front of the cover. This allows you to quickly identify the correct orientation.
2. If you're semi-frequently adding and removing a car-cover, you want it to be quick, easy, and secure (including during windy conditions). Sew a few large pieces of hook-and-loop strips ("velcro") in place of the wheel-tie-straps, and be generous with length. Alternatively, add some quality decent 1-inch plastic buckles onto 1-inch webbing (straps).

 

[lordrath1069]

You're welcome. I never believed I would ever be close enough to a scene to save a life but I was on two occasions. Ever since, my gear is always in the truck. If I dive, I have a spare suit and 2 tanks with a pony ready to go. The only time things come out of the truck is when I take it in or am going out of state.

Yeah, that is where my mindset is. I don't think I will ever be able to get somewhere in time, but I would never forgive myself if I could have been there on time but didn't have my stuff with me. However, it also wouldn't be worth it if it meant when I arrived my gear was damaged from being kept in my car. This feedback is really helpful, thank you!

 

[lordrath1069]

I often keep my gear including several scuba-tanks in my car, in the Texas sun, during the summer. However, I also have a car-cover, which I essentially always use if I'm going to be anywhere more than 2 hours during the day.

If a scuba-tank gets hot enough for the air to expand about 50% (from 3000psi to 4500psi) the burst-disk in your valve will blow. The result is a steady but rapid release of air, but not an explosion. When scuba-tanks are taken in for hydrostatic testing, the "testing pressure" is somewhere around 5500 psi (for a 3000 psi tank) if I remember correctly, which is well beyond what your burst disk should handle, but less than whatever should cause your tank to explode.

The riskiest thing you could do, is leave Oxygen in a car and that bursts or leaks, because that oxygen turns into a fire-hazard. However, if you use an exterior car-cover, temperatures should stay well within safe limits.

Aside from tanks, UV light and excessive heat could break down (over time) various other materials, like BCD bladders, glues, and o-rings.

Theft is a risk too of course. I'd prefer to leave equipment where it's not visible through a window. In my vehicle, there's a nylon cover which goes over my scuba-equipment when the trunk is closed. My vehicles has windows into the trunk area. I don't know if a car-cover makes your car more attractive and noticeable to thieves or not, but in-theory, a car-cover also helps block any potential-thieves from taking a quick peek to see if there's anything worth stealing. My bigger concern is mostly on a good way to secure my car, when I'm solo-diving, given I don't want to take my car-keys with me underwater, or leave them on the shore. I wrap my FOB in about 10-layers of aluminum, and put it in a cheap $15 safe attached to the underside of my car. Perhaps a motivated thief who knows where to look could get in, but almost nothing is ever truly 100% safe.

---

In order to quickly use a car-cover, I have two recommendations:

1. Draw arrows on your car cover, on the front, back, sides, and top. Every arrow pointing towards the front of the cover. This allows you to quickly identify the correct orientation.
2. If you're semi-frequently adding and removing a car-cover, you want it to be quick, easy, and secure (including during windy conditions). Sew a few large pieces of hook-and-loop strips ("velcro") in place of the wheel-tie-straps, and be generous with length. Alternatively, add some quality decent 1-inch plastic buckles onto 1-inch webbing (straps).

This is all great info, thank you so much for both the information and context!

 

[DAJ]

I retired after 30 years of recovery work and team leader for our county dive team. I never carried any of my gear in my vehicle in case we were called out. I even lived in a different county in my last few years and I still beat most of the team to a location on a callout. Even though “rescue” is often used in the title of describing a dive team, “recovery” was the main response and there is no need to hurry in a recovery.

Rescue is not common for a volunteer dive unit because by the time the callout is activated, divers report 10-7 or 10-8, and enough divers arrive at the scene to perform a dive response, the golden hour is long passed. Go back through your dive unit reports and find out what the usual response time is from actual incident, initial callout, and the start of dive operations and that will give you your answer as to whether carrying gear at all times should be considered.

Granted, you might want to carry it just so you don’t need to drive home and get it but that is up to you. We were sworn and carried firearms while in uniform so that adds another element of leaving gear in your vehicle at all times.

 

[Jared0425]

I retired after 30 years of recovery work and team leader for our county dive team. I never carried any of my gear in my vehicle in case we were called out. I even lived in a different county in my last few years and I still beat most of the team to a location on a callout. Even though “rescue” is often used in the title of describing a dive team, “recovery” was the main response and there is no need to hurry in a recovery.

Rescue is not common for a volunteer dive unit because by the time the callout is activated, divers report 10-7 or 10-8, and enough divers arrive at the scene to perform a dive response, the golden hour is long passed. Go back through your dive unit reports and find out what the usual response time is from actual incident, initial callout, and the start of dive operations and that will give you your answer as to whether carrying gear at all times should be considered.

Granted, you might want to carry it just so you don’t need to drive home and get it but that is up to you. We were sworn and carried firearms while in uniform so that adds another element of leaving gear in your vehicle at all times.

I agree. Being county based and spread wide spread over 2000 Sq miles means that 98% of the calls are recovery. Out of a couple hundred calls, only two so far were rescues. It's just easier to carry it with me than go home and try to grab sheriff's gear over my recreational or tech gear.

 

[inquis]

If a scuba-tank gets hot enough for the air to expand about 50% (from 3000psi to 4500psi) the burst-disk in your valve will blow.

If the temp rises that much, your car interior will be toast (temp above 335F / 168C).

 

[happy-diver]

Texas sun

It would be reasonable to cite this in your diminished responsibility defence for your post above