If you're a gearhead who loves the great outdoors, one of the best past-times you can have is going on an off-road trip. Off-roading gives you a chance to put some of the best SUVs and pickup trucks to the test in hard-to-reach areas, which is great for boosting your overall physical and mental health.
However, while off-roading can provide an amazing sense of adventure and achievement, it's inherently full of difficulty and risk. As such, if you decide to venture off-pavement, it's crucial to ensure that you have all the necessary items your vehicle needs to conquer tough terrains, as well as items you need to stay safe, comfortable, and happy. Let's explore ten off-roading essentials.
10 Recovery Essentials
If you're going to a place with no roads, you'll probably get stuck a few times, even if you're driving one of the best 6*6 trucks. As such, you'll need various recovery items, starting with a recovery kit. A recovery kit should have a recovery strap, shackles, tree trunk protector, and snatch block.
An earth anchor can also come in handy when you're stuck, especially if there are no trees or rocks nearby. If you're stuck in mud or sand, recovery boards will provide the required traction to get you out.
9 Tire Repair Kit
Tire health is vital during off-road trips. For starters, you need an air compressor to ensure that you always have the right amount of pressure in your tires. You'll probably encounter situations when you have to deflate your tires momentarily to get past various obstacles.
You also need to be prepared for a flat tire. Should a flat tire happen, you'll need an off-road jack with enough load capacity for your vehicle and a tire repair kit.
8 Jump Starter
When a car battery dies, the solution is usually to jump-start it using another car with a functional battery. That may not be an option when off-roading, particularly when you're alone.
To avoid an early end to your off-road adventure, make sure you have a portable jump starter with you. Make sure you choose one capable of accommodating your vehicle's battery size.
7 Personal Items
It's important to have all the personal items you need to stay happy and comfortable during your off-road trip, especially if you plan to spend one or more nights out there. First of all, make sure you have sufficient food and water for the whole trip. Don't trust your hunting or fishing skills.
Pack some fire-making supplies should you need to cook or stay warm. Blankets and layers will also protect you during extreme weather changes.
6 Mechanic Tool Set
A breakdown is never far away when you're going through rocks, bushes, rivers, and other obstacles you come across on your off-road adventure. If your vehicle breaks down when you're in the middle of nowhere, you need a mechanical tool set to repair it, or else you may have to spend a fortune on towing fees.
The tool set should have various wrenches, ratchets, drivers, pliers, sockets, and other handy tools. A work light will also come in handy should you need to work on your vehicle at night.
5 Duct Tape And Zip Ties
No matter how good a mechanic you are, you may not be able to fix everything when it gets damaged. In such cases, you may find that the only thing that will help you is some good old duct tape and zip ties.
These two items are often underrated, but they provide flexibility in difficult situations. Carrying duct tape and zip ties will make impromptu fixes like broken equipment, loose bodywork, and other minor repairs quick and easy.
4 Off-Road Navigation System
Getting lost is part of the whole off-roading experience. In fact, many consider it to be the fun part of off-roading. However, the fun can quickly turn into fear when you're lost for too long and have no Google or Apple Maps to help you.
In that case, you'll need an off-road navigation system that doesn't rely on remote networks to work. The system should have enough power to last you for much longer than your trip will last.
3 Emergency Communication System
Anything can go wrong when you're off-roading. An accident, animal attack, allergic reaction, food poisoning, and other unfortunate incidents may leave you in urgent need of emergency services when you're far from civilization.
As such, you need a way to communicate with emergency services. A phone will work in most cases, but if you know you're going to an area with poor network coverage, you might want to buy a satellite phone, CB radio, or VHF radio.
2 First-Aid Kit
As mentioned above, a medical emergency can happen at any time, and if you're far away from a hospital, a well-equipped first aid kit will come in handy. A first aid kit might be at the bottom of the list of items you think you need, but it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
A proper first aid kit should have bandages, an antiseptic, tourniquet, cotton balls, and safety pins. You may also need inhalers and anti-allergic medications, depending on the people you're with.
1 Portable Generator
A portable generator may not be essential when you're taking a short off-road trip, but if you plan to stay for a few days, it's advisable to have it - well, unless you have the new Hummer EV or Ford F-150 Lightning, which have their own power reserve for you.
A portable generator will keep all your devices juiced up for emergencies. Find one with enough capacity to meet your needs.