There are dozens of horror movies made about people being stuck in the wilderness unprepared and ill equipped. Whilst the guy with a chainsaw and hockey mask wont come running out of the bush, we can think of at least 100 things worse than a crazy guy that could do you and your passengers harm in the Australian bush.

So we’ve put a list together of all the ESSENTIALS you absolutely must not leave at home when you take the 4WD out into remote areas.

Shovel

Shovels have existed in one form or another for around 5000+ years, they are a great way for humans to use man power to move large amounts of dirt from one spot to another, and because of this reason. You MUST bring one with you for a plethora of reasons – the dozens of uses for a shovel make this an indisposble tool on the tracks, starting with going to the toilet, all the way to clearing debris from underneath your vehicle on the tracks and even for moving hot coals on the fireplace.

By bringing a shovel you are most of the way there with just about anything you need to do on the tracks.

UHF radio

When things go wrong, they never go wrong within mobile phone reception areas – by fitting your 4WD with a reliable and powerful UHF setup you will be able to keep in constant communication with your convoy as well as being able to call in help on the tracks – there are permanent installed models that wire in directly to your 4WD and hand held models that are rechargeable or even run on standard AA or AAA batteries available at the supermarket.

Using a UHF is pretty straight forward, and until you have one installed on your 4WD you wont realise how useful they can be on the tracks.

Recovery gear  

This one goes without saying – Recovery gear covers everything from shackles and a snatch strap, all the way to a fully fledged winch and includes anything in between that could get your 4wD out of trouble, like a high lifting offroad jack!

By bringing a reliable recovery kit that includes rated components you can rest assured that when push comes to shove, you and your mates will be able to pull each other free from trouble on the tracks – but having the gear and knowing exactly how to use it are two different things.

Recoveries involve a lot of energy, and if undertaken incorrectly you open the possibility of serious injury and even death, by taking a course in safe 4WD recoveries you will ensure that when you pick a bad line your 4WD won’t come out looking second best!

First Aid Kit + Fire extinguisher

Just like recovery gear – when things go wrong, they go wrong quickly, a first aid kit (and training) will mean that if something goes wrong, you and the team can patch yourselves up and get back on the track and while many people bring a First Aid Kit with them on the tracks not many actually know how and when to use it!

Proper first aid training makes a 4WD trip that much more comfortable and will reduce the risks whilst away by many factors.

Vehicle fires are caused by many different things, from wiring to fuel leaks and even dry grass – by packing a fire extinguisher you instantly increase the likelihood of saving your vehicle from an absolute disaster – even a small 900g powder fire extinguisher can help you prevent small flames from blowing way out of proportion.

Air Compressor

When you are off the grid, pumping up your tyres back to highway pressures or even after a repair job – there is nothing more disheartening than not being able to re-inflate your tyres. This is why bringing a reliable 12v compressor with you will make your trip that much less stressful.

The range at 4WD Supacentre offers a compressor for everyone with the Thumper MAX dual piston and the Thumper MKII compressor.

Navigation

Don’t get lost – Grab a VMS Touring700 HDX for trouble free touch screen navigation wherever you are with its backlit 7” LCD screen and 32gb of preloaded Australia maps, you will be able to find over 1000+ free campsites with turn by turn directions and even topographic maps where the tracks just don’t exist!

Spare water

Dehydration is the enemy – when you are on the tracks, if you encounter catastrophic breakdowns nothing is more valuable than enough drinking water, the more water you have the better and having your water stored in 2 different water tanks will mean that you have water for cooking and drinking for many days.

On top of that, when you are off grid, water doesn’t grow on tree’s, particularly if you are in the desert, so bringing enough for everyone could be a matter of life and death and could even get your 4WD out of trouble in a pinch!

Tool kit

Whether you drive the toughest brand-new Dual cab, or you have an old bush basher it is inevitable that when you punish your equipment hard on the tracks, that you have a way to fix what you might break.

With just about everything you need to fix your 4WD the Adventure Kings Bush Mechanic Tool Kit is just the ticket when it comes to getting your rig back up and running when things don’t go to plan. Extreme tracks, definitely push your vehicle to its limits, and if you do find your limits, then it is definitely time to roll up the sleeves and get your 4WD back up and running and rolling on down the tracks!

Spare fuel

A well setup touring rig has enough fuel range to travel the distance you need plus more, but even with auxiliary fuel tanks with a couple of hundred extra kilometers range, packing a jerry can will allow you to extend your 4WD range further down the tracks.

Particularly if you are offroad, it is not unheard of that fuel tanks take a puncture, and if all of your fuel is in the one vessel you may find yourself using your UHF and jerry can to get your mates to give you a lift or a syphon of some of theirs.

Good Spare tyre + repair kit

Even if you’ve dialed in the perfect air pressures for the tracks, the longer you are off the tarmac the more likely you are to take a puncture or bust off your tyre valves – The Hercules Tyre Repair Kit includes the right stuff to repair inner tubes, punctures and even replacing valves and valve cores.

However even in the most experienced hands a tear in the tyre carcass or even a puncture to the sidewall may leave your 4WD stranded without a reliable spare tyre, whilst most 4WDs have a spare located somewhere on the underbody, tailgate or even on the tray, it is important that it is the same size as your other tyres, there is next to no offroad tracks you can hit with one of those speed restricted space savers that look like they are more at home on a wheel barrow than on your lifted 4WD.

Don’t forget to also make sure that your spare tyre has enough tread (don’t forget to occasionally rotate your rubber, as well as keeping it up to pressure when you do your regular tyre pressure checks.