-snip-
I also think that the odds of needing it in an emergency are minor.
-snip-

Might be true up there in NY, but out here in the lower forty acres of Hell,
we think otherwise. Just about everybody I know that plans on driving
farther than the end of their street carries stuff related to a 'coolant
emergency': spare radiator/pressure cap, spare hose clamps in different
sizes, spare thermostat and gasket, some spare hoses, tools, etc. and a full
replacement capacity of water/coolant or mix. In sixteen years here, I've
had to use 'em all one point or another, more than once sometimes, and I'm
pretty good at maintaining my stuff.
  We also carry plenty of drinking water just in case- 150% of what you
think you'd need for say, two days for everybody in the car- thermal
blankets, stuff for a desert still, you name it. I drive from the pissant
little desert town we live in (one of the 'gateway(s) to death valley) to
the little pissant town my Dad lives in (AZ) all the time- ambient temps
this time of year over most of the trip will be 110-120, nevermind what the
temps get to on the asphalt/concrete of the highways, and it's sometimes 70
miles between 'services'. Little kids and old people can be in big trouble
in the time it takes to get towed anywhere out there. One of the reasons I
like the Vanagon is that there's plenty of room for all this stuff and the
other less necessary stuff, like clothes. : )

People that have just moved here get dangerously dehydrated before they even
realize they're in trouble; you see travelers on the news and on the side of
the highways all the time that had no real idea of what they were getting
into.

Not trying to be too melodramatic, necessarily, but it is what it is. I'm
sure 'ol John up in AK could come up with a similar list pretty quick, and
I'd be willing to bet 'coolant' (antifreeze) would be on it as well. If
you're gonna plan a trip into a hostile environment, you should really
_plan_ your trip.

Ok, I'm done now. : )

Cya,
Robert