What Offroading gear are must haves for a newbie?

[Delta1Seven]

Looking to start taking my truck on some trails. I live in Florida, and to my understanding, the trails aren't too difficult down here. Mostly dirt/gravel roads, with the occasional mud and sand. My experience off-roading is near zero, other than a ton of youtube videos.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of what are some of the 'must-haves' for a new comer? Traction Boards? Kinetic Recovery Rope? Tow strap? etc.

Also, I have a limited, so it's a 4x4 but there is no rear-locker. How much of a disadvantage is that? (I do have Wildpeak AT4's on the truck fyi)

Bonus points if you can tell me your preferred brands of the products you recommend!

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[Sagebrush]

Can anyone point me in the right direction of what are some of the 'must-haves' for a new comer?

This is what I carry in the middle of Idaho in my Smartcap.

In the bag, there's a recovery rope, a tow strap, and soft shackles. The saw is a Silky Pro. The axe on the other door is a Cold Steel Trail Boss.

 

[Pappy]

Your recovery gear will evolve over time. Since I air down on trails, having some way to air back up is necessary. An air compressor, or CO2. I like Viair compressors. You can cobble a CO2 kit cheap off Amazon (10# tank, regulator, hose), or purchase turnkey from PowerTank. I have/use both. Mostly the compressor is used when I run out of CO2. Keep in mind that the price of CO2 has gone through the roof the last few years, so an air compressor is probably your best bet.

Recovery points on the front, and rear. ARB, and others, make solid bolt-on recovery points for the Gen4 Tacoma. They will not only be used to save yourself, but others. Recovery points give you a place to safely attach bubba ropes, or tow straps. I like Agency6 and Factor 55 (now a Warn company) for hardware. For software (straps, soft shackles, bubba ropes, winch ropes) I like JM Rigging (small USA business). I really like the receiver shackle from Agency6, though my bumpers have d-rings for shackles. I mostly use the receiver shackle when helping others. Never, ever, strap to a trailer ball. Get yourself one or two 3/4" d-ring shackles. Get USA if you can.

Traction boards are popular, but I haven't found much use for them.

Shovel. Axe. Chainsaw/hand saw. A winch is a good idea too, but between the winch, and the bumper, you are looking at a big expense.

 

[tacorancher]

Looking to start taking my truck on some trails. I live in Florida, and to my understanding, the trails aren't too difficult down here. Mostly dirt/gravel roads, with the occasional mud and sand. My experience off-roading is near zero, other than a ton of youtube videos.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of what are some of the 'must-haves' for a new comer? Traction Boards? Kinetic Recovery Rope? Tow strap? etc.

Also, I have a limited, so it's a 4x4 but there is no rear-locker. How much of a disadvantage is that? (I do have Wildpeak AT4's on the truck fyi)

Bonus points if you can tell me your preferred brands of the products you recommend!

Not mentioned above: Flashlights (good ones), tire repair kits (tread and sidewall), tow straps, a knife.

 

[NecroCommander]

Space blankets for when you get stranded

 

[24Canuck]

I think recovery gear also has a lot to do with were you live. I'm in Canada so my needs might differ from others.
Lots of good ideas here so far. Start with the basics...solid recovery points front and rear. Shackles or soft Shackles, kinetic rope, shovel and a air compressor are an excellent start.
Get with a local club and see what they carry, you'll be able to learn the most that way.

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

I think a lot of comments in this thread thus far are quite sound. And in fact per 24Canuck's comments your gear will depend on where you live, and where you want to off road. For example. I live in Arizona, and can pretty much Offroad anywhere for the most part. That said, after living here for 7 years now, I dispise rock crawling. It's just not my bag. So all of my off-roading, be it my '97 TJ, 24 Honda Africa Twin, or 2021 Polaris RZR Turbo S, and finally my '24 Tacoma is really just trails, or washes.

I'd say at a minimum, a tow strap, perhaps tire plugs and maybe a good tire inflater. Again, do a little reading and understand what your goals are for offloading. A tow strap is entirely useful for when you're stuck and someone comes along who can help you but doesn't have a tow strap to help you. There's also recovery ropes, slightly different. If your mudding then a recovery rope, is what you'll want. We don't "mud" here in Az much as you can imagine.

 

[Duck Amuck]

A winch is a good idea too, but between the winch, and the bumper, you are looking at a big expense.

For now, OP can get a winch that slides into the hitch receiver. A lot simpler and lower-cost than a winch-bumper, and leaves that door open down the road if they choose.

 

[Will-Stillen]

Looking to start taking my truck on some trails. I live in Florida, and to my understanding, the trails aren't too difficult down here. Mostly dirt/gravel roads, with the occasional mud and sand. My experience off-roading is near zero, other than a ton of youtube videos.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of what are some of the 'must-haves' for a new comer? Traction Boards? Kinetic Recovery Rope? Tow strap? etc.

Also, I have a limited, so it's a 4x4 but there is no rear-locker. How much of a disadvantage is that? (I do have Wildpeak AT4's on the truck fyi)

Bonus points if you can tell me your preferred brands of the products you recommend!

I would highly recommend some good tow straps. The sand in FL can make things difficult!
A winch would be super helpful if its within your budget.

 

[Delta1Seven]

Your recovery gear will evolve over time. Since I air down on trails, having some way to air back up is necessary. An air compressor, or CO2. I like Viair compressors. You can cobble a CO2 kit cheap off Amazon (10# tank, regulator, hose), or purchase turnkey from PowerTank. I have/use both. Mostly the compressor is used when I run out of CO2. Keep in mind that the price of CO2 has gone through the roof the last few years, so an air compressor is probably your best bet.

Recovery points on the front, and rear. ARB, and others, make solid bolt-on recovery points for the Gen4 Tacoma. They will not only be used to save yourself, but others. Recovery points give you a place to safely attach bubba ropes, or tow straps. I like Agency6 and Factor 55 (now a Warn company) for hardware. For software (straps, soft shackles, bubba ropes, winch ropes) I like JM Rigging (small USA business). I really like the receiver shackle from Agency6, though my bumpers have d-rings for shackles. I mostly use the receiver shackle when helping others. Never, ever, strap to a trailer ball. Get yourself one or two 3/4" d-ring shackles. Get USA if you can.

Traction boards are popular, but I haven't found much use for them.

Shovel. Axe. Chainsaw/hand saw. A winch is a good idea too, but between the winch, and the bumper, you are looking at a big expense.

Awesome info!

As far as bubba rope, is there a specific size you recommend for our trucks?

 

[Kielly]

Especially with no lockers, I highly recommend a winch, even a tow hitch winch as the very least if you're going to be doing solo adventures.

I'm fairly new when it comes to wheeling with a truck my self but if there's one thing I learned, it's to never go in unprepared.

Shackles, tow ropes, traction boards, 24h survival kit, aftermarket recovery points, something to air down and up with, a small shovel, a hatchet for easy storage (but chainsaw saved your energy I usually throw mine in the bed everytime I go out)

All of the above listed is stuff I never had when snow wheeling with friends I've definitely regretted not having atleast once.

I had my girl pinned up against trees on an icy snow packed hill offroad and it look us about 3 hours to safely get her pulled out and up the hill. The manual transmission and lack of lockers certainly didn't help my case but at that point in time, I really wished I have all of the above. A winch would've saved my butt dearly.

 

[Pappy]

Awesome info!

As far as bubba rope, is there a specific size you recommend for our trucks?

I would go with at least a 3/4" rope. That said, it seems I end up pulling heavy 80-series Land Cruisers, so I have 7/8".

 

[Pappy]

I don't know if Florida has this kind of issue, but I will tell a story.

Back in 2020 I did the Washington Back Country Discovery Route (WA-BDR). I was on one section over Labor Day weekend after they had horrendous wind. As I was going up the forest road I was dealing with dead fall. One after another. Finally, I came to a tree that was too big for my hand saw, but I was sawing anyways. This fella pulled up behind me and asked if I had been clearing trees. I said yes. He said they were falling down behind me!

Anyway he had a battery powered chain saw and saved the day. You can never be over prepared. Other equipment I used after cutting the tree was a recovery strap, a tree strap, and a pair of shackles.

 

[rijc99]

I would bring a Garmin InReach Mini 2 or Starlink Mini if you’re going out alone to areas with no cell reception for medical emergencies or when all the tools don’t get you unstuck.

 

[4GTD]

A tire deflator is EXTREMELY underrated. I got a cheaper set from "ALL-TOP" on amazon and they work great! Way better than having to sit at each tire to wait to deflate. Set it and get going.

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