The essential tools you need to have in your car when you go Overlanding
Recovery gears and other extra additions for your 4x4. Our recommendations and top suggestions. We tried to gather some of the most useful information into this one source to get you started.
What essential tools do you need in your car when you go Overlanding?
This question is frequently asked on many Overlander forums. You can also always find good “round-up” answers around the internet.
But we decided to gather some of the best information into this one post – one source to get the basic gear list and ideas for expanding.
When planning your first overlanding trip, one of the first questions is usually, “What equipment do I need to get for my car?”
There is no definite answer to this question, but we tried to gather a list of at least the basic safety and everyday gear you will need to have for a pleasant and mostly trouble-free time on the road.
Let’s start!
Basic Recovery Gears You Need to Have in Your Vehicle
A good Recovery Gear Set that includes (at least):
* a towrope
* a snatch strap/kinetic strap
* snatch block
* tree saver
* sturdy D-ring shackles (2 or 3)
* thick leather/fabric gloves
You will need this basic set to recover your vehicle after getting badly stuck.
Having a winch in front of your car is optional but may become more than handy if you are alone and no other vehicles are in sight to pull you out of trouble.
Ensure that your winch is strong enough to support the weight of your vehicle, and always keep it in good working order. Check regularly that the cable or rope is in good condition!
The last thing you want is to notice that your winch is not working when you’d need it to pull yourself out of that mudhole you got stuck in… ;)
Your vehicle also needs strong recovery points, which are usually attached to the front and back of the chassis. If you don’t have those, you can get them added to your chassis in a professional 4x4 equipment/accessory shop.
Ensure you won’t ever use the “attachment points” for recovery! Those points that most vehicles have are for attaching the vehicle only to i.e., a flatbed, and if used for recovery, they will break off and cause extremely dangerous situations!
Other recovery gears to have
* A good metal shovel (A MUST HAVE!)
* Recovery boards (2 or 4 of them). We have the Treds, which are just as good as MaxTrax. But do NOT even think about getting those flimsy “traction mats,” etc.!
* A great flashlight
Most of the time, these gadgets will get you out of trouble. Digging your tires out of the sand or mud and putting the recovery tracks under your tires will give you the traction you need to get out. But many times, you can just push yourself out of trouble, so don’t immediately deploy your recovery tracks if you get stuck. They are just the plan B. :)
* Comprehensive tire repair kit
* Maybe a bottle of the tire filling foam (for quick, emergency flat tire repair to get you going).
* Sturdy bottle jack for changing the tire and getting the vehicle up.
* Hi-lift jack for use if you need to lift the vehicle a bit (for example, when stuck somewhere).
This piece of equipment is optional, as it’s usually not needed, and it weighs a lot. A high-lift jack can also be very dangerous, bone-shattering equipment if used incorrectly. So, learn how to use it properly before using it in a real-life situation.
Other Great Things to Have
* Radiator seed net (prevents all those nasty seeds, etc. from getting into your radiator and blocking it)
* Q20/WD40 spray bottle (for cleaning electrical connections)
* Duct tape (for fixing almost anything, really!)
* Cable ties of different lengths
* Electrical tape (for repairing/protecting electrical wires)
A Basic Tool Set
This doesn’t need to be a huge and heavy box with every tool you imagine, but just a basic set of tools (wrenches, spanners, etc.) that’ll get most of the things done (tightening those screws, bolts, and nuts, etc.).
The Basic Spare Parts for Your Vehicle
Do your research and get the most common culprit parts in your vehicle.
Think of parts known to sometimes break in your car and which may be hard to find in your destination country (or countries). Take those spare parts with you.
For example, for our Land Rover Defender Puma 2.4, we usually carry (to mention a few items) a few tie rod ends, bushings, wheel bearings, spare relays, and an ignition switch.
Also, taking one set of basic maintenance parts is not a bad idea. Talking all the diesel, air, oil filters, etc., here.
You can also carry a small amount of the liquids your car needs, such as a few liters of motor oil, one liter of coolant, and a bottle of brake fluid. Sometimes, those may be hard to find when you need them the most!
So, there you go. Having the items on this list will set you off nicely. You can add more special gear if needed, but these basic items will already get you far.
Have a great Overlanding trip, and enjoy the adventure! 😎
Stay wild,
A Downloadable PDF of this essential gear list
Here is a handy…