Heading out into the desert or mountains demands a certain amount of self-reliance, and choosing the right off-road gear will give you more peace of mind when you are on the trails or in the desert.
Over the years we’ve learned that good equipment does not always have to be expensive. There is even a lot of very decent secondhand equipment for sale, especially closer to the summer, when expats leave and can’t take all that equipment with them back home.
We have compiled a list of essential tools we recommend carrying with you on your offroad adventures.
Tire deflator and pressure gauge
Obtaining the right tire pressure on the trails or in the desert is crucial, so there is no point making shortcuts. A good pressure gauge should be accurate enough to measure the tire pressure even at very low pressures. The choice of a digital or analogue model is easy: just get both. The reason is that the digital one is usually a bit more accurate and if you’re lucky it will have a small light and backlight so inflating or deflating in the dark won’t be a hassle. The analogue model can be your backup in case the digital one has a dead battery (which happens more often than you’d think).
You can read all about tire deflation here:
How to deflate your tires β Explore * Prepare * Go Further
Offroad Flag
During off-roading in the dunes, you need to make yourself visible, so other vehicles in the area can spot you. For your convoy member this is even more important as they will be able to see if you have crossed a dune or not. You can mount this flag with a suction cup or by installing a flag bracket on the rear door or roof. The suction cup will work fine but struggles with big and heavy flagpoles and flags.
A proper shovel
This is THE ultimate tool you should always carry, without exception. Getting stuck in the desert can happen, but this is where the shovel and the proper technique will get you out in 80% of the cases.
Don’t get those small foldable ones, but a proper shovel with a handle and a V-shaped tip. These models can be found in most hardware stores.
Two-Way Radio (aka Walkie Talkie)
Staying in touch with your convoy is essential, so you will be needing a two-way radio.
Two-Way radios can be purchased in Dragon Mart and some hunting shops as well.
In the UAE, all radio communications are regulated by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). You are allowed to use the PMR446 frequency band only if you did not obtain a license.
Premium brands like Yaesu, Kenwood, or Motorola are not that easy to find in the UAE, and for most hobby users will find that Baofeng, TYT, Crony, Kangda, are totally fine to use. Programming them can be a bit of a hassle, but what you can always do is put the radio in VFO mode and just enter the desired frequency. Make sure the sending and receiving frequency is the same.
Fire Extinguisher and Medical Kit
These items are usually standard in every vehicle. The only problem is that they are not sufficient for off-roading purposes. The small extinguishers will only work for 5-6 seconds, and the medical kit is really not suited to any first aid in remote locations. We recommend upgrading both: a proper medical kit, and a bigger size extinguisher (5kg).
12V Air Compressor
After deflation comes inflation, so you will be needing an air compressor. There are hundreds of different models for sale, but take note of the following points when choosing them:
- Buy a compressor that can connect to the car battery directly, not the ones that work on the cigarette plug. These ones are not powerful enough to inflate 4 tires from 12 to 35psi.
- Compressors run very hot. Wear some gloves when handling them.
- There is no point in buying a 300 liter per minute compressor to inflate one tire at a time, because the valve core of a single tire can only cope with around 60-70 liter per minute. Get a 2-hose or 4-hose inflation kit as this will also keep the compressor a lot cooler (lower headpressure). πππ-ππ¨ππ π‘π¨π¬π π»π°πΉπ¬πΊ π°π΅ππ³π¨π»π°πΆπ΅ πΊππΊπ»π¬π΄πΊ
- You can’t go wrong with ARB, Viair, TJM, Bushranger, Dobinsons, or any of the branded models that offer warranty and service. They cost a bit more but will work for years. Cheaper units can be found in Dragon Mart and you can be lucky with them, or not… expect a hit and miss here.
- Allow time for the compressor to cool down after inflating your vehicle. If you want to inflate your friend’s vehicle’stires as well, the compressor or hoses might start to overheat (unless you buy a 100% duty cycle compressor).
- When choosing, don’t pay too much attention to the rated output flow in liters per minute (lpm), as some manufacturers state these numbers at zero psi, while others state it at 40psi (big difference). A good indicator is looking at the total Amps (A) the compressor is drawing to understand how powerful it will be.
GPS Device or GPS App
From a dedicated GPS device such as the Garmin Tread, Overlander, or 276cx, or a smartphone or tablet with your favorite navigation app, it will be important that you start practicing navigation, putting waypoints, entry and exit points, and seeing the difference on your map between specific type of dunes or topographic terrain differences. Apps like MyTrails, Caltopo, Wikiloc, and GaiaGPS are very popular and allow you to properly prepare for your route / track beforehand.
Take note that Wifi-only tablets do not have a GPS antenna on board, so you will need to select a model that has a cellular (4G/G5) option.
Recovery Rope
Having a proper recovery rope is absolutely essential. There are different types of ropes in the market, and finding the right one might be very confusing.
– A Polyester Tow Rope is meant to tow a vehicle on the road, NEVER for off-road recovery. These are the basic tow ropes you will find at the petrol station.
A Webbing Sling is a Polyester rope that you can buy in hardware stores and is meant for industrial lifting, but can also be used as tow rope in specific cases (to re-direct a stuck vehicle with gentle tugs). This material does not stretch.
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A Snatch rope (flat) or Kinetic Recovery Rope (round)Β is a rope made ofΒ NylonΒ that allows to stretch for about 20% and is extremely useful for offroad recovery as the stretching creates a kinetic energy and the recoil effect helps in recovering vehicles stuck in the sand.Β
When choosing a kinetic recovery rope, you should select a rope that has a breaking strength of 2-3 times the weight of the vehicle you will recover. For example; if you recover a Nissan Xterra which weighs 2 ton, the breaking strength of the rope should be at least 6 tons. Most recovery ropes have 10-15 Tons breaking strength. The reason for this is that the forces involved when a vehicle is completely stuck in the sand are far higher.
Floor Jack / Screw Jack / Hydraulic Jack
Replacing a wheel in the desert or lifting the vehicle to fix a popout (tire came off the rim) requires a heavy duty lifting jack, and the scissor jack that came with the car won’t be stable enough in unstable terrain. You will need to have a proper 2ton floor-jack, or a sturdy hydraulic jack. A Unijack is a good option as it also includes jackstands.
In any case you will also need to put a thick wooden board underneath it for stability purposes. Scaffolding planks are a great option.
Toolkit and Fluids
A basic toolkit with various spanners, sockets, screwdrivers makes total sense. Things like WD40, cable-ties, ratchet straps, breaker bars, a multimeter, are all tools that eventually will become part of your toolkit over the years.
Carrying some extra engine oil, ATF oil, Brake fluid, and plenty of water is also crucial.
We hope this overview gives you a glance of the essentials. Have at our Mobile App to find a more detailed Offroad Checklist: