I wanted to pass along a "few" tips for those new to off-road adventure in an effort to help you prep beforehand and to make the trip more enjoyable. :)
*note, there are sooo many other "overlanding basics" lists that tell you what should have on hand like recovery equipment, first aid kit etc. so I'm not covering those*
1. The trails/roads are VERY dusty. Anything you put in the open bed of a pickup, roof or basically anything outside of the cabin of your vehicle WILL get coated in dust. Place bedding and anything you don't want coated in dust inside plastic bins. I prefer stackable bins that can be locked and are easily cinched down with bungee or ratchet straps.
Plano bins are very popular as are the basic "
yellow top" bins found at Home Depot, Target, Kmart etc. We use the HDX bins and a
Remington all-weather bin we picked up at Sportsman's Warehouse which has wheels and weatherstripping in the lid to keep out water.
2. Cinch down items in the bed and cabin to hold them in place. The trails can be rough and bouncy, especially if you hit a waterbar or whoop at speed because you didn't see it! Items not cinched down may fly out of the bed or fly around the cabin which can very very dangerous to occupants.
3. Buy a headlamp if you don't already have one and attached it to your headrest for quick and easy access. *if you have very tall passengers in the rear then adjust the light to rest on the side of the headrest instead of the rear in the event of an accident the rear passenger's face may slam into the light otherwise.
4. ALWAYS have a roll of toilet paper, sunscreen and mosquito repellent in the vehicle. You will hate life if you need any of these and don't have them. ;)
5. Music: While I don't always listen to music while driving because I am always listening for other vehicles or analyzing noises coming from my vehicle, sometimes it is nice and 80% of the time there is no reception or you are tired of whatever is on your thumb drive. So to fix that you can either buy a larger memory stick and add more new music or buy a
subscription to Pandora which allows you to download your playlists to your phone or other mobile device and continue to listen to your music when cell reception runs out.
6. Baby Wipes: Just buy them. So fresh & so clean clean. Also good for cleanup after "events" see list #2. ;)
7. Keep drinks hot or cold: Because we spend A LOT of time just driving around it's nice to keep your favorite beverage hot or cold the entire time so invest in quality drinkware. I buy a lot of
RTIC stuff because it is dirt cheap, especially right now! For example the
30oz tumbler is only $10.50 right now vs. $35 at regular price or more for Yeti. All of their products I have purchased from coolers to drinkware to pop up canopy have been of excellent quality.
8. Bring lots of water: You'll use a lot of water for cooking, cleaning and fire dousing. It's also nice to have on hand to wash hands after handling your dusty gear (see #1). 5ga containers can be purchased almost anywhere. A lot of folks use
Scepter (or other military style containers),
Rotopax, or
square/rectangle containers which are easier to strap down in a vehicle.