One of the things that
you DON'T want to happen to your Jeep is for it to catch on fire. However,
things happen and we can not always control them. All we can do is be prepared
for anything that does happen. With that being said, I personally recommend
putting a fire extinguisher in your Cherokee. I HAVE used a fire extinguisher on
and off the trail to put out fires. Since my first experience of having a fire
on the trail, I've kept one in every vehicle so far, and for around $10 it's
well worth it.
So the questions
you may be asking are "Where do I put it?", and "What kind should I buy?" Well,
there are a few different choices for mounting. The closer and more accessible
to the driver it is, the better off you will be. It all depends on where you
don't mind having it. There are lots of discussions concerning good places for
the extinguisher. Most people will agree with the above of as close as possible
to the driver. Cherokees are already compact vehicles with things layed out with
just enough room. My best suggestion on pre '97 vehicles is between the drivers
seat and the door edge. I have seen extinguishers that are skinny enough to fit
in that area. However, I'm sure most of you are already using that area for
possibly more useful things. Another good spot is on the passenger side of the
console. This applies to both the old and new versions of the Cherokee. Once
again, a lot of you mount your CB in that area. So now where? Well... be
resourceful! Wherever you can get it to fit that is easily accessible. As far as
what kind to get, most auto parts stores sell extinguishers specifically made
for vehicles. At least get a class B and C extinguisher. Class B covers
chemicals and class C covers electrical fires.
Where did I mount
mine? Well, since I removed the spare tire to put it out back, I mounted the
fire extinguisher in that area.
Some may say that it is
not in the most accessible place, and I agree that it could be more accessible.
BUT I think it is more important to have it, than to not have one at all. Since
I haven't decided on where I'm going to put everything up front, I'll keep it
where it's at for now. In fact I already had an occasion to use it, but that's
another story :-) It really wasn't that bad to get to, and I'll be it took me
less than 5 seconds to get it out. You'd be surprised how fast you move when
something is on fire!
So after I decided where to
put it, I lined it up and mounted it as per the fire extinguishers instructions.
Then I
simply locked the extinguisher in place. This was a VERY easy thing to mount and
would be a great first step for anyone, and you can do it yourself!
Here is another
good source of information on vehicle fires and general extinguisher knowledge:
Vehicle Fires
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