What are the essentials for offroading a vehicle?

[bushidorunner]

Hello All,

I'm new to the forum and new to the Life. I just purchased a near cherry 1993 SR5 V6 4WD Toyota 4Runner. She's clean but very stock. My question is what are the "must haves" of modifying your 4runner before hitting the off-road? Lift kit, wheels, etc?

Thanks in advance.

[Good Times]

welcome to ultimate yota. technically NOTHING. a stock running vehicle can explore and have fun. just can't hit some of the difficult trails but your vehicle is capable of the basic 4wd trails. make sure your vehicle is mechanically and electronically sound (no known issues) and make sure to stick to the trails. bring a friend and never go out alone. first aid, water (lots of) and food are a minimum.

My recommendations:
hit the trails w/ your stock vehicle and explore and find out what your limitations are. By knowing what your limitations are you'll be able to better build your vehicle. Remember that no two driver drive their vehicle the same so building would be relative to the drive. Learning how to drive on the terrain you are on is key as 90% of your success comes from your driving skills while the 10% is what the vehicle is actually capable of doing.

good luck and don't forget to post pictures in the trips and report section as well as joining some of the upcoming events in the event planning section.

welcome aboard and tread lighty!

[Robinhood4x4]

The only things that are necessary are a 4wd truck, you, and some legal trails. That's it. There are no "must haves". Don't do any mods yet, take your truck out and have some fun. Always go with a buddy so you can help each other out in case either of you get stuck or break down.

Go out and learn how to wheel your stock truck first, then you'll start figuring out what mods you'll need to do. Too many people go for the big tires, big lift, solid axles and lockers way too soon. They never learn to wheel, they use the truck to make up for their lack of skills.

But there are a few things you should probably have.

-A recovery strap. Twenty thousand pound straps are perfect. Make sure there are no metal hooks on the ends.

-Functional spare tire (Lance will tell you that).

-Camera.

[reggie 00]

A good jack

An assortment of common hand tools and the know how to use em.

A resource book if your like me and dont or cant remember everything.

a sense of direction, so you dont become dinner.

[all_terrain17]

Some good info! Like the others have said, wheel stock until your rig just isn't up to the task anymore. If there is anything that would be suggested to upgrade, it would be a good set of sliders. Those will cover up a lot of mistakes you may make..

Strap, tire, tools, fix-it book, and ANOTHER RIG are some other things you should consider bringing.

[AxleIke]

This is very good information. Everyone here has hit the nail on the head.

Practice makes perfect, with all things, and you can only get better and learn how your truck handles by driving it. Take it out, shift the short lever, have fun.

[Robinhood4x4]

To get you started down the right road once you do get hooked on 4wheeling, some of the first things you're going to want is armor, bigger tires (~33") and a mild suspension lift. Start with rock sliders, then a rear bumper, then a front bumper.

After that, then lockers.

Some people will probably disagree with me on the order of the above and that's ok.

[blknblu]

A resource book if your like me and dont or cant remember everything.

In my case it's "can't remember anything"

[Ric]

i say never wheel alone....

but i agree with everyone else, wheel it stock, learn your rig.

[slosurfer]

One more thing to add to the wisdom that has already been bestowed. When it comes time to mod your rig, it is a good idea to try to do as much of the work yourself or directly involved with the installation at least. YOu will learn much about how things work when you do the work yourself. This can also include mechanical issues. The more you know about your vehicle, the better off you are if something breaks out in the middle of nowhere.