Three Tips for Selecting Off-Road Equipment

While off-roading can be a fun way to spend an afternoon, if your rig isn’t outfitted with right gear, your day may end up longer than you expected. The key to successfully navigating any trail and making it back home is to install the parts and carry the equipment needed to tackle any riding environment. With Goodyear Duratrac or BF Goodrich tires, heavy-duty wheels, and a properly stocked tool kit, you can surmount any obstacle that the trail throws at you. Some equipment is easier to acquire and install than others, but if you have the wheels and tires handled, and the tools for any emergency, you have enough to keep rolling in any situation.

Tires

Whether you choose tires from Goodyear Duratrac, BF Goodrich, Mickey Thompson, or another manufacturer, it’s important to select the right type of tire for the environments you’ll commonly traverse. Tread pattern, ply-construction, and overall design are important factors to consider with tire selection. All-terrain tires are a good choice for daily driving mixed with the occasional, mild off-road excursion. For more serious off-roading, you will have to install specialty tires, and the type of tire will depend on the terrain. Mud tires are suited for wet, sloppy, and swampy surfaces, while side-biters and rock crawlers are suited to hard-packed surfaces.

Wheels

In addition to Goodyear Duratrac or BF Goodrich tires, the type of wheels you install on your rig will be vital to determining everything else about it, including where it can safely travel. There are two types of wheel: alloy and steel. For serious off-roading, steel wheels are preferred, as they are stronger, and can take more of the punishment doled out by demanding trails. Alloy rims are lightweight, and ideal for applications that will see a lot of highway action with a little light off-roading. Alloy rims greatly improve braking performance, making them suited to long-haul towing applications, and they are available in a greater variety of designs, but their light weight makes them susceptible to damage from tougher terrains.

Tools

Make sure that you have the right tools you need to tackle most common situations out on the trail. If you have a flat, you need the right equipment to change a Goodyear Duratrac tire, especially with a lifted vehicle. Carry a Hi-Lift jack with you to give you the clearance needed to change a tire. Also carry a kit that includes a ratchet and a set of sockets, in metric or standard, a screwdriver, spare hoses and clamps, a flashlight, and anything else specific to your make and model of vehicle.