Equipping your SUV with off-roading essentials has many benefits besides making your experience worthwhile. For example, you can make a few detours to discover new gems and more challenging trails.
You won’t worry about traction or punctures. Two, you’ll enjoy your trip without worrying about the car breaking down or getting stuck. That’s because you’ll have a range of accessories to recover your SUV. So, which accessories does your SUV need? Here are five must-haves.
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Essential Accessories for Off-Road Driving
The accessories below aren’t the only things to carry with you. However, without these, you risk ruining the entire off-roading experience.
1. Tire Repair Kit
It’ll have accessories like a sealant to repair punctures. It’s better than driving for miles with a worn or bare tire because you lack the accessories to fix it. Additionally, it’s easier to repair than to replace a tire while on the trail. As you get this kit, ensure it’s suited for an SUV so it can have enough sealant.
There are some punctures you may not repair on the trail as they might be too large, say over 6 mm. At such times, you’ll prefer to use your spare tires.
And, of course, you’ll already have your spare tires with you. Since you’ll be traveling to different terrain, you’ll probably have all-weather tires, as you can use them even on snow. That’s different from all-season tires that serve you in three seasons except for winter.
As you pack your tires, also have a heavy-duty lug wrench and an electric jack.
2. Off-road LED Lights
Since off-roading is about enjoying days and nights outdoors, prepare for nights in the bush by adding LED lights to your accessories kit. They’ll also help you when you need to see the ground as you dig your tires out of the mud.
Also, it’s better to depend on LEDs than dim lights while repairing or re-airing your tires. Another advantage is that they’re more energy efficient than other options. Plus, they serve you longer than halogen light.
By now, you’re probably wondering where you’ll put all of these accessories we’re listing as must-haves. Plus, you’ll have your camping or sporting gear too. That’s where the rooftop cargo box comes in for extra storage space.
Some designs have up to 14 cubic feet of space, giving you a 110-pound load capacity. If you worry more about the security of your items in a cargo box or the effects of the weather, you can buy waterproof cargo boxes enhanced with a lock.
3. Recovery Kit
Now, if you forget this one, be sure you’ll have a difficult time if your SUV fails. Hence, carry a complete kit containing accessories like bow shackles, straps, a shovel, work gloves, and a winch kit. You never know when or how your car will get stuck, so have the recovery kit within reach. You’ll save time if you can grab it from the driver’s seat.
That’s because you might get stuck in a way you can’t even reach the trunk. Also, when it’s easy to pull out the recovery kit from your driver’s seat, you don’t have to wade through mud to reach your trunk.
Recovery straps are easier to work with than traditional ropes, as ropes are thick and heavy. You see, recovery straps have loops on either end. Also, you’ll have shackles in your kit to loop either end of the strap.
On top of that, recovery straps are nylon, so they’re more durable. As such, you hook them to a tow hitch or winch easily. When you have straps in your recovery kit, it’s safer than depending on the straps of strangers who find you stuck, as theirs may not even support the weight of your SUV.
A shovel will make your work easier when you get stuck in muddy, snowy, or sandy trails. You could do some work by hand or using a tree bark, but a tool designed for the particular task will clear the obstacle fast. Plus, it’s safer than digging debris under your tires by hand.
4. Tire Deflators
Off-road terrain can damage your tires, especially when driving over sand and rocks. Therefore, it’s wise to deflate your tires to lower the pressure. That way, you increase the contact patch so that tires can have more grip.
Additionally, when your tires have a larger contact area, it’ll reduce the damage your car causes on the trail. You might have to reduce pressure to about 15 PSI (pounds per square inch) from 30 PSI. You can do this manually, from one tire to the other. However, you’ll release pressure without knowing how much you let out.
Thus, to avoid wasting time and doing it unevenly, carry a tire deflator. You screw it over the valve stem, preset the pressure, and have the four tires deflated at an equal level.
5. Air Compressor
Once you’re out of the rough terrain and on your way home, you prepare your tires for the highways. Hence, you require an air compressor to inflate the tires. Also, you may use it to re-seat your SUV tires if off-roading has them slipping off the rim.
There are also air compressors that you can install permanently, especially if you’re always traveling off-road.
Final Thoughts
You need to be prepared for the worst, whether you’re an avid off-road driver or this will be your first trip driving on rough terrain. There are essentials you can’t leave behind, like the ones listed above. For example, what will you use if your tire punctures?
Further, you ought to be ready for mud trenches by carrying a recovery kit. Carry LED lights just in case you’ll be digging your SUV out of the mud at night. Once you pack these, you can add others you think might be essential in the specific terrain you’ll explore. If there’s no space in your trunk, use a rooftop box.
Last Updated on March 9, 2023
