Heading into the bush for a bit of 4WDing action might be a bit intimidating to a newcomer to the world of getting your rig dirty, but it isnt all that scary, getting your head around some of the essentials worth considering will be worth its weight in gold! 

Be Prepared – Weather, clothing, supplies, and a recent service

It’s an old scout motto, but it rings true for almost any adventure, it pays dividends to prepare yourself for any outcome, packing enough drinking water, warm/dry clothing and making sure your vehicle is fighting fit by keeping on-top of your service intervals. By packing enough supplies, if the worst happens you might be stranded but you won’t be hungry or thirsty.

Preparation also involves, making sure you have checked the most updated weather report for the area you are 4WDing in, this will give you a good idea of the conditions of the track, and might even give you some more info regarding whether or not the tracks might be flooded out, full of bog-holes or potentially even closed by the authorities.

Packing a reliable recovery kit like the Hercules Complete recovery Kit will save your bacon when it counts!

Preparation is key, just because your vehicle is all terrain, doesn’t mean it will tackle all terrains.


Hold your horses!  

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, you’ve probably heard this before but by going slow and reducing your track pace you give yourself more reaction time to plan the next obstacle you increase your control gain more traction and more importantly when you aren’t rushing yourself you tend to breath more, relaxing into a much more settled and sustainable pace on the track.

By slowing yourself down you also are demanding much less from your 4WD’s suspension and drivetrain components, it may not seem like it, but the faster you are traveling the more energy you are punching into your springs and shocks which in turn produces exponentially more heat, and over time will degrade the performance and lifespan of these components.

Another reason to reign in your right boot is because when you are travelling offroad, we usually drop down our tyre pressures using a Kwiky Tyre deflator to maintain grip when tackling soft surfaces, these low pressures can cause issues when traveling at speed with potential for pulling your tyres off the rims and even loosing traction. 

Driving slower, has many benefits not to mention causing less damage to your vehicle

Know your car like the back of your hand-

Before heading into the bush it’s a great idea to jump out of your vehicle and giving it a once over, looking at everything from the width of the vehicle, the overall length ground clearance as well as low hanging engine parts or things like the axles.

Things that you may not be able to tell by just looking at a vehicle is the information regarding wading depth (this is how deep the water you can drive through will be), as well as the safest operation of low range gears, this data is clearly detailed in your vehicles owners manual.

Keep calm and think for a minute –

When you encounter an obstacle, it may be tempting to give it a whole lot of right boot. DON’T.

The ability to stop, get out of the vehicle, and assess the obstacles ahead of you, will instantly earn you “old salt” points when you can get yourself back to camp without destroying your vehicle.

Trust in your vehicles capability
When everyone hi ts the tracks for the first time, it can be pretty intimidating putting your vehicle in what feels like vulnerable situations, but if you have taken precautions by reducing your tyre pressures, engaging low range, using any technical accessories your vehicle may be fitted with such as hill decent control, abs and traction control.

it will serve you no good by second guessing your vehicles capability halfway through an obstacle, this tactic can be extremely dangerous, and by committing to your well planned line, you will make it through the obstacle sweat and swearword free.

Thumbs up for the boys!

We don’t mean for the insta-pics, it’s a practice learned from years ago, but even with modern fly by wire steering systems, it’s a good tip to keep your thumbs pointing outwards from the steering wheel. This is because of the tendency for a steering wheel to kick back when your tyres hit a rut tree root or large rocks, stones or wombat holes. Even if you have power steering, this kickback can hit hard enough to break bones in your thumbs or at a minimum give you a really nasty jarring.

Another old fella tip you may or may not have heard, is to keep your windows either fully up or fully down when you are offroad, this is because on the rare occasion a jarring side loading in a half supported glass window is enough to cause it to fracture and shatter, leaving you exposed and unsecured.


Wait for a mate

When heading offroad, particularly early on in your 4WD career, it is a really good idea to have a mate drive along with you, if you have a mate with a little bit of experience this can come in really handy, as when you are new, there might be factors you never thought of, having an extra set of wheels means you can have a mate pull you free as well when things don’t quite go to plan.

The added benefit of bringing a mate to drive with you means you can use them as a crash test dummy on the track ahead, making certain that your vehicle will certainly get past the upcoming challenges.

Having a mate is also great when you get to camp, you can unwind and regale each other with tales of the journey past!

To see all the gear an accessories you can add to your vehicle to gain better performance, and to see the latest updates to the range head to www.4WDSupacentre.com.au call our team on 1800 88 39 64 or drop into one of our fully equipped showrooms to see the gear in person and head home with a bargain for your next 4WD Adventure!