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Seeking out adventure? Off-roading alone can be a rewarding experience that can boost your confidence and improve your skills. However, you need to make sure that you’re well prepared to make the trip a successful one, as well as a safe one.
In this article, we’ll take you through some essential safety tips for off-roading alone along with a handy equipment checklist.
7 safety tips for off-roading alone
Always let someone know
Unless the journey is an unplanned necessity, it’s nearly always possible to let somebody else know where you are planning to go, the rough route you intend to take, and estimated timeframes. If something were to happen, then at least you know that there’s somebody who knows what your plans are and who can raise the alarm. You might also want to pre-arrange times for your designated contact to check in with you throughout the trip.
Be ready for recovery
It’s more than likely that if you’re well prepared, everything will go smoothly. However, it’s always wise to have a recovery plan in place just in case. After all, it isn’t always very easy to think clearly in an emergency, so having it all worked out beforehand will be worth the extra effort in the planning stages. Make sure your vehicle has essential equipment on board for this purpose, such as winching, towing and recovery gear, or appropriate jacks, tyres and tyre-changing equipment.
Understand and modify your vehicle
Don’t be too over-confident in your 4x4. Read the manufacturer’s manual carefully to understand its capabilities and limitations so you don’t push it too far. This will also enable you to make any necessary modifications before you set off. This could mean extra equipment for recovery and towing, a different lift kit or it could mean setting up your vehicle with some extra lights. You might also want to consider using a suspension lift kit to give your car that extra height and ground clearance, which is a useful modification if you’re expecting to traverse more rocky ground.
Depending on the type of terrain and the time of year you will be off-roading in, you will also need to make sure you have the appropriate tyres for the expected conditions. This will improve the performance, grip and safety of your vehicle. See our recent piece on winter tyres for more details.
Get clued up on simple mechanics
Ideally, you should know the very basics of car maintenance before embarking on an off-road journey. Understanding the essential parts of your vehicle, particularly the engine, can help you no end on your journey, particularly if you run into challenges. Bring along some basic tools to help you carry out any simple mechanics, too. And of course, you will need to learn how to change a tyre — this one is essential.
Practice makes perfect
Snow, ice, unstable ground - all of these pose different challenges for a driver than regular conditions. If you can, do a little research beforehand or maybe even practise driving in these challenging conditions where possible.
And if your vehicle has any in-built systems that help with off-roading, such as diff lock or traction control, it’s important to understand them before using them for the first time so that your off-road trip goes smoothly.
Pack for emergencies
In addition to all of the relevant recovery and tyre change equipment, you may also want to pack an emergency kit too. It may seem a little drastic, but it’s more than wise to prepare for any eventuality, especially if you’ve never gone off-roading by yourself before.
Pack extra food, such as canned or dried food, water, blankets, torches, batteries, a first aid kit, and a map; even though we’re firmly in the age of the internet, if you find yourself without a signal, you’ll be very thankful of your paper companion.
Have all the right gear
Having the right gear is absolutely vital for the success and safety of your off-roading trip. Before you leave, create a checklist of essential equipment that you think will be required. This will include the emergency essentials described above, but also things like suspension lift kits to grant you more ground clearance or recovery equipment to help you out in a fix. This equipment list is likely to differ for every trip and every vehicle, but see below for our generalised equipment checklist — we hope you will find it useful.
Your equipment checklist for solo off-roading
This is a handy equipment checklist for a basic off-roading trip, but always remember that each individual trip and vehicle will have its own requirements, so think carefully about what you could personally add to this list to make it more tailored to you and your needs.
- Jacks
- Recovery gear
- Mobile phone (charged)
- Basic tools
- Extra fuel
- Batteries
- Spare tyre
- Tyre-changing equipment
- First aid kit
- Suspension lift kit
- Dried or canned food
- Water and water filter
- Towing equipment
- Matches
- Torch
- Blanket
- Map
- Extra parts e.g. fuses
- Shovel for snow, dirt etc.
Also, it isn’t enough to simply have this equipment — you also need to check it’s in good condition and ready to roll. This might involve replacing or upgrading equipment that you currently have. Remember, it’s always best to be prepared.
Planning your solo off-roading trip? Here at Milner Off Road, we have all the equipment you need to make your journey a success - this includes recovery equipment, towing equipment, tyres, jacks, lift kits, clutch kits, and much more. Simply get in touch to learn more about our comprehensive stock of products for your make and model of vehicle.