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What do you think a new rig build/ overland should prioritize when spending hard earned resources on their rig?
What's do you think the most impactful first upgrade is to a rig?
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Influencer II
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Tires suited for an off-road environment are a game changer. Not only will they enhance the capabilities of any vehicle off pavement, aggressive treads and puncture-resistant sidewalls afford you a lot of protection that isn't there with street tires. Good tires can literally be the difference between driving out, versus walking out.
Enthusiast III
I agree with the Tires ….but needs to be properly coupled with a lift. We found it to be very important to “look into our future adventure wants”, and start our lift build and tire selection to meet all those goals. Once you have that done, all your remaining needs and modes will be based on the capabilities of that foundation.
Pathfinder III
You forgot an option on the poll... tires!
It depends on the type of overlanding you do. I drove forest roads with a sedan on street tire for years. There are someplace I wouldn't go and not wheel. I grew up backpacking, surfing, fishing, camping was aways part of what we/I did. I would start with camping in comfort. A good nights sleep makes for a better day, as does going to bed with a full belly. I have a good friend that owns a company that does AK pipe line service, all of his trucks run Michelin LXT tires, 90% of the time they are a dirt side road. If you want to rock crawl start with tires and training. I carry a very full first aid kit with training, used last month when my GF broke her are in Baja. I think you should decide what you goals and how comfortable camping first, this can get expensive especially if you don't like camping.
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I said sleep system, most vehicles with standard tires can get a lot of places without a lift and new tires. I think nothing beats a good sleep when you're out on the road exploring!
Pathfinder I
Advocate I
Out of those options I picked Driver Training, though I don't consider that an "upgrade to a rig" so the thread/poll aren't particularly accurate. I also wouldn't consider a first aid kit an "upgrade to a rig" but would consider it a requirement. As for actual rig mods the first, and most impactful in *most* cases will be tires, which aren't an option. There are exceptions (things like getting a JLUR Xtreme Recon with factory 35" M/Ts, same for the Broncos with 35"s), but in most cases tires will have the single biggest impact on the capability of an Overland rig of any mod. Beyond that it starts to become vehicle/scenario specific. You listed things like a "sleep system." Well, that all depends on the rig and person. Plenty of folks are fine with their "sleep system" being a tent, sleeping pad and sleeping bag which is wholly separate from the rig itself, IMHO. Others are going to want to build something in/on the rig, or get a FWC like I have. There's no right answer on when/how to priority rank something that is so different for everyone, and somewhat outside of the realm of rig mods.
Now, as for actual true hard-part replacement/upgrade on a rig, I think that again is entirely dependent on the rig and use case. Certain rigs are going to have very obvious requirements for first mods (factory weak points or deficiencies). For example, I had a WK2 Trailhawk and found it extremely capable (if you don't mind hanging tires 3-4' in the air from time to time) but it was very lacking in armor. For continued serious use it "needed" sliders and skids, IMHO and I would have made them the priority. But if you're only soft-roading none of that is needed. If you start with something like a cross-over maybe a small lift and a bit bigger tire is actually needed even for soft-roading, where as starting with a new F150 Raptor w/ the 37" tire option clear bigger wheels/tires would be about the very LAST thing on the mod list.
So, going back to your question if I were forced to pick *actual mods* in a priority order "in general" I guess I'd say:
-TJ
Now, as for actual true hard-part replacement/upgrade on a rig, I think that again is entirely dependent on the rig and use case. Certain rigs are going to have very obvious requirements for first mods (factory weak points or deficiencies). For example, I had a WK2 Trailhawk and found it extremely capable (if you don't mind hanging tires 3-4' in the air from time to time) but it was very lacking in armor. For continued serious use it "needed" sliders and skids, IMHO and I would have made them the priority. But if you're only soft-roading none of that is needed. If you start with something like a cross-over maybe a small lift and a bit bigger tire is actually needed even for soft-roading, where as starting with a new F150 Raptor w/ the 37" tire option clear bigger wheels/tires would be about the very LAST thing on the mod list.
So, going back to your question if I were forced to pick *actual mods* in a priority order "in general" I guess I'd say:
- Tires - nothing else will have as big of an impact on off road capability, and if you're starting with a street-oriented tire the reduction in cuts/flats is worth it by itself
- Self-recovery (aka winch) - this is particularly important if you Overland solo, and even more important if you Overland solo in places with lots of snow or mud
- Sliders/Skids - this assumes you Overland on more difficult trails, you can skip this one for soft-roading, but otherwise almost all new vehicles could benefit from better (or any) skids/sliders
- Mitigations to known issues/weak areas of your rig - sorry, I know this is very generic but after the above items it becomes very vehicle-specific
- Sat comms - something like an inReach or any of the other devices that allow you to share location, keep somebody posted of your location/condition, and send an SoS without any mobile network
- First aid - 'nough said
- Enough food and water to survive - IMHO we should always have enough *extra* food and water (by "extra" I mean in addition to what you pack for your planned trip/duration) to sustain ourselves for at least as long as it'd take a rescue crew to get to you from whatever the most remote location on your trip will be
- "Other life support" - these are all things you'll probably have as part of your regular pack out, but clothes and other gear appropriate for the conditions you'll be in if you had to wait on rescue. If you depend on your vehicle running for any of your life support then you need to have a backup (for example, if you need your vehicle running daily to charge up batteries to run a heated blanket at night you need to pack gear/sleeping bags to survive if the vehicle is not an option, or if you count on a little propane heater you need to pack to survive if it fails)
-TJ
Most impactful mod is a full tank and a budget to replenish it on an ongoing basis.
So new to the hobby , experience is the most valuable asset, so covert money into fuel into experience and identify for yourself what additional mods are needed. Prioritize based on your needs.
So new to the hobby , experience is the most valuable asset, so covert money into fuel into experience and identify for yourself what additional mods are needed. Prioritize based on your needs.
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Fuel. You're going nowhere without it.
Traveler III
Absolutely, without a doubt, it's tires, even without a lift. Street tires are absolute garbage off road, while a good set of A/T or M/T tires will massively improve the vehicle's capability and resilience on off road terrain.
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Thanks for the input so far!
I've added tires to the options, if you ever feel like casting that vote!
I personally overlooked that as I have been lucky enough to have my rigs come with great tires already, but I can see how especially in places that would benefit from mud terrains or dedicated off road tires that would have a noticeable difference
I've added tires to the options, if you ever feel like casting that vote!
I personally overlooked that as I have been lucky enough to have my rigs come with great tires already, but I can see how especially in places that would benefit from mud terrains or dedicated off road tires that would have a noticeable difference
One note for beginners: unless you've wheeled your stock rig sufficiently enough to find it lacking, you don't really know if you even need a lift.
Traveler III
Some more thoughts on the discussion here, and on the poll results so far.
Street tires for offroading - Can you do it and get away with it? Yes, but just because you can doesn't mean you should. If you're sticking to graded FSR's or extremely light tracks, you can probably get away with it, especially with some good skills and if you air down. If you're really hard up and can't afford good tires, to where it's a question of street tires or not going out, well then maybe take the adventure and deal with the risk. It's still not a great idea. Even if you're driving a 2wd, non-offroad car, a good set of A/T's will make a huge difference and are well worth the investment. Best to keep the street tires on the pavement or actual dirt/gravel roads (and even the latter is a bit risky).
Driver training specific to off road - Definitely a good idea if you can get it. There are some great instructors out there, and I've been blessed to benefit from their knowledge and expertise at a couple of overland events. Having said that, I've never seen such training readily available in the real world and it's probably very expensive. When I got my first 4x4, I realized of course that I basically had zero clue about off road driving, so I did a ton of research on the topic of 4x4 and off road driving. There are some excellent resources out there online. For example, youtubers like Ronny Dahl and Andrew St. Pierre White have a massive amount of experience off road and have put out much excellent instructional content on all sorts of topics, and there are tons of articles, not to mention this forum. The advice to be found on here is as a rule quite excellent. I wouldn't discount the benefit of general driver training - if you're an excellent driver on the road, you're likely to do well off the pavement. If you're a terrible driver on the road, you're going to be even worse on the dirt. Another point for the inexperienced off roader is to never overestimate yourself - if you take a cautious approach to everything you face out there and think your way through each obstacle without rushing in, you're going to go a long way and likely not get yourself into too much trouble. Before you drive that obstacle, think, "If this goes pear shaped, how hard is it going to be for me to get back out of it?" If the potential consequences of a screw up are relatively minor, you might decide to challenge yourself. If you're going to get yourself royally screwed if you don't execute the obstacle just right, consider passing it by until another time.
Lift - As some have commented, your mileage may vary on this one. It really depends on what vehicle you have and what you plan to do with it. If you know you're going to do some pretty extreme terrain, you probably want to shoot for 10-11 inches of ground clearance or more with the biggest tires you can get. Realistically speaking, though, for overlanding you really don't need that. You can navigate some pretty crazy obstacles and trails with only a minor lift, or perhaps no lift, and appropriately sized tires. For example, a toyota tacoma has over 9" of ground clearance right out of the factory. If you slap the biggest tires you can fit on the stock height without rubbing, or perhaps with some minor trimming of wheel liners, It's probably going to gain you another inch or maybe more, and you'll be well equipped for 99% of overland trails out there. On the other hand, my first rig, a 99 Honda CRV, massively benefited from just a 2" lift and going from factory tires of 205/70/15 to 235/75/15. That lift and tire combination turned it into an absolute beast, and I took it places most people wouldn't believe. Others who suggest you wheel your rig a bit first and see how it manages are giving good advice - it will give you a good idea of whether you need a lift, and if you do, how much. Just keep in mind, lifts more than 2" on IFS or 4wIS are likely to require further modifications like diff drops, etc. so it becomes a case of diminishing returns.
Lights - I got a chuckle that nobody said lights, because they're right. A lot of newbies want to slap a million lumens of light bars and spotties all over their rig, but lights don't get you unstuck lol. Off road lights are a huge benefit if you do a lot of night driving, no question. Regular headlights are not ideal for off road terrain, and the more gnarly it gets, the less useful they are. Having said that, you absolutely can get by with your normal high beams when off roading even at night, especially on less extreme tracks.
This leads me to another one that surprisingly wasn't on the poll - a winch. Is a winch absolutely necessary for off roading? Generally speaking, no. There are many ways to mitigate a bad stuck situation without having a winch. Is a winch an outstanding insurance policy against a bad day? Absolutely. Winches can be rather terrain specific of course - if you're wheeling in the middle of the bald desert or rocky boulders of Utah, a winch may not be of any use to you, since a winch is only as good as its anchor, so that's something to keep in mind. I had a winch on my last vehicle and I plan to get one for my current ride, but neither of them had/have light bars or spotties. Winch before lights is good advice.
Street tires for offroading - Can you do it and get away with it? Yes, but just because you can doesn't mean you should. If you're sticking to graded FSR's or extremely light tracks, you can probably get away with it, especially with some good skills and if you air down. If you're really hard up and can't afford good tires, to where it's a question of street tires or not going out, well then maybe take the adventure and deal with the risk. It's still not a great idea. Even if you're driving a 2wd, non-offroad car, a good set of A/T's will make a huge difference and are well worth the investment. Best to keep the street tires on the pavement or actual dirt/gravel roads (and even the latter is a bit risky).
Driver training specific to off road - Definitely a good idea if you can get it. There are some great instructors out there, and I've been blessed to benefit from their knowledge and expertise at a couple of overland events. Having said that, I've never seen such training readily available in the real world and it's probably very expensive. When I got my first 4x4, I realized of course that I basically had zero clue about off road driving, so I did a ton of research on the topic of 4x4 and off road driving. There are some excellent resources out there online. For example, youtubers like Ronny Dahl and Andrew St. Pierre White have a massive amount of experience off road and have put out much excellent instructional content on all sorts of topics, and there are tons of articles, not to mention this forum. The advice to be found on here is as a rule quite excellent. I wouldn't discount the benefit of general driver training - if you're an excellent driver on the road, you're likely to do well off the pavement. If you're a terrible driver on the road, you're going to be even worse on the dirt. Another point for the inexperienced off roader is to never overestimate yourself - if you take a cautious approach to everything you face out there and think your way through each obstacle without rushing in, you're going to go a long way and likely not get yourself into too much trouble. Before you drive that obstacle, think, "If this goes pear shaped, how hard is it going to be for me to get back out of it?" If the potential consequences of a screw up are relatively minor, you might decide to challenge yourself. If you're going to get yourself royally screwed if you don't execute the obstacle just right, consider passing it by until another time.
Lift - As some have commented, your mileage may vary on this one. It really depends on what vehicle you have and what you plan to do with it. If you know you're going to do some pretty extreme terrain, you probably want to shoot for 10-11 inches of ground clearance or more with the biggest tires you can get. Realistically speaking, though, for overlanding you really don't need that. You can navigate some pretty crazy obstacles and trails with only a minor lift, or perhaps no lift, and appropriately sized tires. For example, a toyota tacoma has over 9" of ground clearance right out of the factory. If you slap the biggest tires you can fit on the stock height without rubbing, or perhaps with some minor trimming of wheel liners, It's probably going to gain you another inch or maybe more, and you'll be well equipped for 99% of overland trails out there. On the other hand, my first rig, a 99 Honda CRV, massively benefited from just a 2" lift and going from factory tires of 205/70/15 to 235/75/15. That lift and tire combination turned it into an absolute beast, and I took it places most people wouldn't believe. Others who suggest you wheel your rig a bit first and see how it manages are giving good advice - it will give you a good idea of whether you need a lift, and if you do, how much. Just keep in mind, lifts more than 2" on IFS or 4wIS are likely to require further modifications like diff drops, etc. so it becomes a case of diminishing returns.
Lights - I got a chuckle that nobody said lights, because they're right. A lot of newbies want to slap a million lumens of light bars and spotties all over their rig, but lights don't get you unstuck lol. Off road lights are a huge benefit if you do a lot of night driving, no question. Regular headlights are not ideal for off road terrain, and the more gnarly it gets, the less useful they are. Having said that, you absolutely can get by with your normal high beams when off roading even at night, especially on less extreme tracks.
This leads me to another one that surprisingly wasn't on the poll - a winch. Is a winch absolutely necessary for off roading? Generally speaking, no. There are many ways to mitigate a bad stuck situation without having a winch. Is a winch an outstanding insurance policy against a bad day? Absolutely. Winches can be rather terrain specific of course - if you're wheeling in the middle of the bald desert or rocky boulders of Utah, a winch may not be of any use to you, since a winch is only as good as its anchor, so that's something to keep in mind. I had a winch on my last vehicle and I plan to get one for my current ride, but neither of them had/have light bars or spotties. Winch before lights is good advice.
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I will add that you don't necessarily have to pay for training. That's part of what this community is for. Pick an area, create an event, and let it be known what you want to work on: picking lines, using a winch, Hi-Lift operation, feeling what is like to lift a tire, etc.
Traveler III
I hadn't thought of creating a live OB event, but good point! This community is a tremendous resource in so many ways.
Unless you drive the Flintstone mobile, you do not need to upgrade to fuel, it comes standard.
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Point being get out and go. The upgrades become obvious after that.
@HighVoltOverland The most impactful first upgrade largely depends on the intended use. In general, I agree with the majority, the tires are the first thing you would want to change, and by and large that also involves the addition of a lift kit and/or adapters/spacers/different wheels altogether. But no doubt the only part of the vehicle that should ever touch the earth is the part that should have the greatest effect on its performance, yes?
