If you are into adventure sports, it’s about time you thought about getting into 4WDing, with modern turbo diesel 4WDs having excellent fuel economy. It’s never been easier to get to the snow, find better mountain bike tracks, cleaner untouched surf breaks, further and more rugged kayaking spots and more unreachable unclimbed rock climbing locations.
A 4WD allows you safer access further up lesser maintained dirt roads. 4 wheel driving can even help you find locations that others have never been to before.

With these simple tips and tricks, you will be getting gnarly air and adrenaline rush’s you and your mates never even thought was possible, within a short drive from home.

Get organised!

Storage seems simple enough but how often have you had to virtually unpack your car to find your surfboard fin key, your bag of climbing chalk or your tyre repair kit. There is much to be said about organising equipment as a tidy and clean work environment makes every job a little bit easier.

A solid set of rear drawers will help you keep your gear in an organised state, regardless of how wild and untamed the tracks are. With heavy duty locking latches even your expensive climbing metal gear will be secure and out of sight of thieves no matter where you park. In a good set of drawers you can fit stacks of gear.

A bolted down set of drawers is the perfect spot to tie down bulkier cargo with integrated spring loaded eye loops it will surely stay put.

Another way to bring even more gear and people with you on your adrenaline packed adventures is with a sturdy roof rack system. It will free up the internal space of your vehicle meaning you can bring extra friends, or supplies to make the trip even more enjoyable.

With a hard wearing steel rack you can chuck all your larger bulkier gear like surfboards, bikes, kayaks or even a swag or 2 for longer journeys and is even the perfect place to mount an LED lightbar (in accordance with your state legislation) to light up the tracks on your early morning drives in or late evening treks out.

Get practical.

Many people are put off by obnoxious modifications but you’d be surprised with how little you need to make your 4WD a practically go anywhere machine!

A good set of all terrain tyres, a 12v car compressor and a tyre deflation tool will open up 95% of 4wd tracks, even to an un-modified 4WD, with the remaining 5% being an adrenaline challenge in their own right and not necessary to tackle.

By dropping your tyre pressures down to about 16psi when you are offroad, you’d be surprised with just what your vehicle is capable of.

Having nearly double the footprint and half the ground pressure, your tyres will have double the float on soft stuff, and your tyre sidewalls will be protected from punctures and tears, but be cautious, dropping pressures too low has its own dilemmas.

A good compressor is a must, when you are back on the hard, and you are heading back into civilisation it is important to bring your tyres back up to highway pressure. Extended journeys on reduced pressures can be terminal for any tyre.

There have even been cases of less than 15kms where a set of tyres was ruined driving at highway speeds on offroad pressure.

Backup plans!

As with all adrenaline sports, it pays to have a backup plan, for if the weather changes, or if you cannot progress any further.

Make sure you have a way out, a stuck 4WD can be a simple fix, but can also be a life threatening hazard if no one knows where you are. Recovery gear will allow you to get out of a pickle but most gear is next to useless without another vehicle to recover with.

If you are hitting the tracks with only one vehicle, make sure you have a reliable winch fitted to your vehicle that is rated for the weight of your vehicle, or are well practiced in the art of using an offroad jack as a come-a-long hand winch. Professional training definitely helps in these nail biting situations, and will pay itself off, the first time you need to get yourself out of trouble.

Have fun!

It’s important to make sure that no matter what your adventure is, that you have a big smile the whole time. It is easy to get lost in a situation and to forget why you are out there, so pack some refreshing drinks into your fridge or icebox and don’t leave your mates at home!

When all is said and done, with the right equipment you will have a blast, and have many pub stories for years to come!