Basic Offroading Gear For Your Jeep Trip

What basic offroading gear do you need to start jeeping and wheeling?

Here is some standard wheeling gear that you should procure for your first trip:

Recovery Gear

Make sure you have recovery gear – the equipment that will get you out if you get stuck.

This is essential gear to pack for every trip. Trust us.

The one time you don’t bring along your recovery gear is the one time you will absolutely need it!

Make sure to invest in the following items:

1. Recovery Straps, such as this Warn Premium Recovery Strap. These are used to extract a stuck vehicle safely.
2. Recovery points and shackles.Your Jeep needs a safe location to hook the recovery strap to. Without recovery points you risk damage to your vehicle by trying to pull it from a location not rated for the load. For example, if you don’t have a rear recovery point you may try to wrap the strap around the bumper, which will damage the bumper or completely pull it off from the Jeep.Shackles are used to safely connect the rope to the vehicle.
3. Shovel. You will need a shovel for snow or sand to dig out and ramp up so the Jeep gets unstuck easier.
4. Traction Boards. Great for self recovery in sand or snow. We like these boards from ARB.
5. Pair of leather gloves. You will want to protect your hands from injury from wire rope or while stacking and unstacking rocks.

Make sure to purchase quality equipment! It will last as long as you own your rig and can always be trusted.

First Aid/Emergency

It is very good practice to carry at minimum a basic first aid kit and take a yearly CPR /First Aid class.

For other emergencies, you should base your equipment upon your anticipated destination, but this basic list is a great start:

1. Water
2. Snacks/food
3. Warm clothing
4. Toilet paper and the aforementioned shovel
5. Way to make fire
6. Thick blanket (this has many uses from first aid, to spending the night, to putting on the ground if you have to fix something on the rig…)

It is also tempting to pack too much; if you are not careful this is easy to do.

Maps & Navigation

Of equal importance is your mapping and navigation setup, whatever that might be.

Several great apps exist, but our favorite is Gaia GPS. Just be sure to download your map area before you leave!

You can also download and print USFS Motor Vehicle Use Maps for your destination or check with the local BLM office online or over the phone to get information.

We also recommend always taking an old school compass just in case everything else lets you down.

Company & Street Smarts

Don’t go alone.

And even with a companion on your jeep trip – tell a friend or family member your destination and have a plan in place for checking back in with them when completed.