Please understand that the following information/advice is based on my own personal experience i have amassed in my years.This is by no means endorsed by Prado Point, nor is Prado point or myself liable for any damage or injuries that may occur due to reading this article.

You read this in the full knowledge that this is a guide only and that you accept full and total responsibility for any 4 wheel driving you participate in.

With that out of the way..

Congratulations and welcome to 4wheel driving.

Read all you can on here and other websites , learn from others with experience. Prado Point has some very experienced people who have a wealth of information.

If possible attend a certified 4wd training course.

Read your vehicle manual..it is actually very handy. So when you see RTFM in anyones posts online it means READ THE F**KING MANUAL.

Purchase the basics for offroad as a start and with experience buy as you need.

Typical basic off road starter pack (only my opinion).

1. Good quality Compressor, tyre gauge and tyre deflator. (spend the cash on these items..do not be cheap)

2. A good quality long handled shovel, or a 3 piece shovel like a Bushranger Digga (very handy for storing inside the vehicle)

3. Good pair of leather gloves..I find Riggers gloves are the best)

4. A rated tow strap ..DO NOT BE CONFUSED WITH A SNATCH STRAP (get a strap capable of handling your vehicles weight and or that of the other vehicle) 8000kg’s should be ample and a pair of rated 4.75 ton Bow shackles.

5. A Bridle equalizer strap
.
6. At least a 1 pair of recovery mats, like Maxtrax, Treds or similar. (worth their weight in gold)

7. First aid kit

8. Fire extinguisher

9. If you plan on driving in sand dunes or on windy sand tracks please purchase a sand flag and mount to your vehicle when you are about to enter the area. the flag should be at least 3 metres high from ground level, so a 2 meter high flag mounted on the bullbar is sufficent.


Learn how to and when to use the aforementioned items.. Remember, Your most powerful tool you have in your kit is your Brain. Use it.


When venturing offroad for the first time, dismiss 95% of everything you have or might have seen on Youtube, it is pure BS and will get you into trouble.

For your first time out off roading I recommend going with a friend with 4wd experience or go on a "bring your own 4wd" tour with experienced guides.

If however you decide to venture off to parts unknown on your own.

Remember this rule: Observe all land management and conservation and private property rules and regulations.

The future of off roading is in our hands to be sensible and responsible for ensuring we do not not harm our environment.

I have in my time seen my share of 4 wheel drive morons, You probably have too.

They have their own Club im sure of it. it goes like this:

Hey Johno ya wanka, wez gunna take the farkin 4by out for a farkin thrash in the farkin doons, Me and bazza gonna getz a few farkin slabs in the farkin 4by and go farkin bushbashin, ya farkin cummin or wat?

They get their 1983 Nissan patrols with 6 inch lift kits and almost monster truck sized tyres and drive over everything and or anyone that gets in their way. No respect for the environment or private property, they drink while driving which is bad enough but even worse when offroading.

Please don't be one of them.

Do not be the Macho man or woman and drive down that sandy track in your shiny new 4wd, just because it is a 4wd and therefore can go anywhere and do anything and we will be home for dinner.


STOP!

Get out, assess the situation.

Do I have an alternative route that is safer/easier?

What they don’t tell you in books and online is follow your gut.

If you have any doubts about your ability or the nature of the terrain, go with your Gut feeling and back on out, and live to fight another day.

Most new four wheel drives are more than capable of going into places you never dreamed of, and that too becomes a problem, The vehicle often out does your own abilities.

Like I said before..go with the Gut, if it doesn’t feel right to you, don’t do it, just for the sake of “look I have a 4wd and can do anything”.. Famous last words.

Ok, so you assessed the situation.

Ok no alternative route. Now what?

Think like Dirty Harry? “Do I feel lucky Punk.? well Do ya?”
Or are you confident to proceed?

So you choose on move on.

Put the vehicle into 4wd High range (this is where i said read the manual comes in handy). Often this just means ensuring the centre lock switch is enabled and thus provides equal power to front and rear axles.

You will be surprised how many people i have come across who have not been in 4wd. Again i say..Read the vehicle owner manual.

Do a bit of a walk down the track and see how the track winds.
Observe if there are other vehicle tracks (which often is a good thing..it means it is well travelled and leads somewhere)

Now for Tyres. Please remember to lower your tyres down BEFORE driving onto the beach or sandy track, as it can be a bit embarrassing if you get bogged at the only entry exit point on the beach and then let your tyres down..No names mentioned Mr Smartbar.

This is where tyre pressures come into their own.. Tyre pressures are your best friend..cannot stress that enough.
Sure it can be time consuming to air down and air back up..are you in that much of a rush?

You can safely air down to 15 psi for sand work.( you can go lower..but get some experience under your belt first and know the possible consequences) (Lot more to tyre pressures for different surfaces, you learn as you go). But for now air down to about 18 psi.

Things to remember.
Airing down does reduce your ground clearance a little.
Reduce your speed on low pressures
Lower tyre pressures does tend to leave the sidewall more vulnerable to side penertrations (Light truck tyres have stronger sidewalls)
Avoid wheel spinning as you can pop the tyre off the bead
Avoid sharp turns
Avoid braking hard and digging the wheels in.
Try and follow in other vehicles wheel tracks
Where possible try and drive on the firmer sand
If you intend to park on the beach try and park your vehicle nose down towards the water, makes for a much easier take off.

The trick with driving on sand is much like a boat in the water, have you ever watched a boat head out to sea? It sits low in the water and as speed increase it rises onto what is called the "plane".

Believe it or not you are trying to do similar driving on sand, the tyres kind of ride on top of the sand rather than dig in and through it.
Not too fast not to slow.
Feel the steering wheel..you will get the hang of it.

By now you will be feeling great, the wife ooohhhing and arhhhhing or the alternative EEEEEEEEEKKKKKK, OMG OMG OMG , slow down we will roll over, get bogged or hit a beach whale.

This is the time the radio comes into it's own..it can drown out that squeaking sound on the passengers side.

So you are feeling all "Hell yeah..best $70 grand we ever spent" but that feeling is about to change.

You slow down a little too much in really soft sand and then it happens..chug chug chug you stop moving forward, but your right foot instinctivly presses down harder and harder and as you watch the TACO needle spin through redline and hit the stops the wheels are spinning like crazy and the only place you are going is down.

Ideally, common sense and the hours of reading should have told you to resist that lead foot the moment you stopped.

But we don't live in a ideal world do we? no..for if we did we would have honest politicians, and kids that showed respect.

So now you are officially bogged..........in the eyes of your wife. But at the moment you are only momentarily stuck.( Don't worry..we have all been momentarily stuck and even bogged..if anyone who goes 4 wheel driving tells they haven't is either lying or not trying hard enough)

Ah yes...When does momentarily stuck become bogged? Momentarily stuck means just that and with a bit of elbow grease you get yourself going. Bogged is when you try all you can but still can't get out and you need the assistance of another vehicle.

But...if nobody saw you get stuck or bogged.....It never happened. If you have kids in the vehicle with you..now is the time to bribe them to keep quiet..after all your manhood is at stake.

Get out and have a look at the situation.

The first thing newbies do is go " Holy Crap..Im bogged..what a piece of shit 4wd this is, the salesman said it will go anywhere"
That is a reaction to FEAR....fear of getting ear bashed to death by your mates if they ever find out.

But who knows? The wife.........Hmmmmm you get the shovel...Then quickly dismiss that idea and start thinking rationally.

Ok' i have sand infront of my wheels and behind my wheels..the ground in front of me looks even softer than where i came from.

Eureka moment! You decide that going back the way you came is a good idea.

Excellent first move..

Now go read Part 2 of the Blog as i have run out of space..LOL