Off-Roading? 6 Essentials to Bring Along for the Ride
Posted on: 14 April 2017
Your truck is an extension of yourself, taking you places you couldn't (or wouldn't) go on your own two feet. When you take your truck on an off-road adventure, you could encounter snow, mud, slick rock, steep hills and, of course, regular pavement. Fortunately, your truck has room for extra equipment and essentials you might need during any off-roading adventure. Take a look at these 5 important items every truck should carry before leaving the pavement.
Proper Tires
Forget hitting the trail on your safe and sane factory tires. Those might be good for picking up your wife's groceries, but not for real driving. Here are some different tires for different situations:
A mix of off-road driving and back-road traveling requires all-terrain radials. Deep, aggressive tread patterns get you over gravel, rocks, snow, and a variety of other surfaces.
Extra muddy situations require mud tires, which really dig in and propel you forward. Try and use all terrain tires and the mud packs into the tread and will not self-clean, meaning they won't grip as well as mud tires. All terrain tires end up slipping and sliding in deep mud.
For rock crawling, choose a very aggressive off-road tire with ultra-grip rubber, deep-lug treads, and very puncture-resistant sidewalls.
Storage
Storage for your off-roading equipment is as simple as bolting in a bed box for your truck. It is capable of holding assorted tools and truck replacement parts, and may have slide out drawers for even better organization. A bed box prevents you from having to store stuff in your cab, where it can roll around and interfere with your ability to drive safely. Look for a box that can be locked to keep your gear from getting stolen.
A Trail Kit
Consider this kit your survival kit. It can be as simple as a zippered bag, as long as it is portable and all in one place so you can move it around if you have to. Consider stashing a few items inside such as:
- Basic hand tools for vehicle repairs
- GPS, compass or maps
- A first aid kit
- Emergency food and water for at least three days in case you get stranded or lost
- Gloves, a shovel, and materials to build up the road beneath your tires in case you get stuck
- Jumper cables
Off Road Lights
Headlights are not enough. They produce only a low beam that is fine for low light situations when there is on-coning traffic. If its dawn, dusk, or in deep shade you need at least a couple of fog lights to boost the effectiveness of your headlights. Fog lights produce a low, wide beam that penetrates rain, snow, and fog. They provide side to side as well as forward illumination. Even better than fog lights are off-road spot lamps which provide a concentrated beam to focus on a specific area, such as the terrain ahead of you.
Hi-Lift Jack
That wimpy jack that came with your truck is fine for changing a tire in a parking lot, but it won't be much help off road where terrain is rarely level or smooth. A hi-lift jack will help you out of many precarious positions, like out of ruts or off high-center. You can even winch with your jack, although it's easier to carry a winch kit instead.
Also, a jack allows you to make emergency repairs out on the trail. If you happen to break an axle shaft, the jack can hold your wheel on your vehicle. Make sure you also have an accompanying hi-lift base, or a strong piece of wood for stabilizing the jack.
Fire Extinguisher
This piece of equipment is self-explanatory. Your truck should be equipped with a fire extinguisher not only to put out your own unfortunate blaze, but to prevent it from turning into a wildfire.
To learn more about what to take off-roading, talk to services that provide Toyota trucks for sale.
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