Why should I never go four wheeling by myself? What is safe practice and why should I worry about anything? Well let me tell you a story that happened just the other day.I went out on Sunday to pre-run trails for the Poker Run; it just so happened that the rest of the club was on the border run. I needed to get trails set for the up coming poker run, so I figured I’d just go out by myself. I’ve been out alone a hundred times before and nothing has ever happened, so what could go wrong this time? For starters, I only packed a small lunch with about 2 liters of water; after all, I was only going to be gone a couple of hours. The tools I carried along consisted of my OEM jack with a four way jack handle, a small hatchet and a tire plugging kit under the back seat.

After completing most of the pre-run, I came across a road that I didn’t quite remember. Oh well, a quick turn to the right and along the trail I go. It wasn’t but a mile or so when the trail became very rough, rocky and off-camber. There were dead fall trees and brush everywhere; this is where the problems started.

My first obstacle was a large dead oak tree that had fallen across the trail. Oh well, I figured I’d just pull it out of the way and be on my way again. Wrong! I’d taken no strap - or anything else for that matter - to use to hook up to the tree and pull it out of the way. Ok, no problem; I’d just cut it up. Wrong again! After searching the Jeep, I found that I only had the small hatchet with me. I grab the hatchet and commence chopping. After a while, I realized I was getting nowhere and gave up on this idea. Oh well, at this point I figured I’d just drive through it; after all, old dead wood will break fairly easily. Well, that worked, so off down the trail I went.
A little further down the trail and I ran into an old pine tree smaller than the last one, so I began driving over it, too. Bad idea! The tree didn’t exactly like the fact that I had decided to use it for road fodder. One of the branches became lodged between the body and the transmission. I had become hung up and not moving forward or backwards. OH &^$#@%%#$#$!!! After a few minutes of thinking, out comes the hatchet again. Under the HOT jeep I go to try to cut off the offending limb.
Finally free, I was off again only to rip the side wall out of my tire on the same section of the tree I had just cut off. Talk about pay back! So now I’m on a steep side hill with a flat tire; oh and did I mention that I ripped the vacuum lines out of the front axel and xfer case on the tree (can anybody say “No 4 Wheel Drive”?)? What a challenge this had quickly become.
I finally made it to the top of the hill, got turned around and thought it would be wise to head back home. After changing the tire, I quickly head back the way I had come. Back at the evil pine tree, I push a branch through the tread on the rear tire creating a hole about an inch in diameter. Needless to say, the air began escaping rather quickly. I drop the front tire in a hole to get the back tire off the ground, and then jump out to see how to fix this next problem. I’d already used up my spare tire on the ripped side wall, so that wasn’t an option. So, out from under the seat comes the plug kit. I used every plug and all the glue I had to fill the hole, and then sat there in the hot sun for at least an hour waiting for the glue dry. I only have about 3 lbs of air in the tire when all is said and done, but that’s better than nothing! Now, If I could just get back some place where the cell phone works, or even some place to get air without slipping the tire off the bead. If I’d only had that 12v tire pump that’s sitting on the shelf in the garage…
Well, believe it or not, I finally made it back home safely after such an adventurous day. I had come away from this day with a new understanding of why you never go out alone; well at least don’t go out without proper tools, parts or other things you may possibly need.

So the question now becomes, “What should you take with you on a 4-wheeling adventure?” The list could be endless and would be affected by personal preference. However, here’s a good start:

1. Spare tire
2. Some tire patching/plugging equipment.
3. A small 12 volt air compressor. They may be slow but the will get you back on the road and not leave you doing the long walk.
4. A good tow strap (only loops on the ends, no hooks!). Anyone who goes four wheeling should have places to hook straps on both ends of the vehicle. This is mandatory on many organized events. Tow straps allow you to be pulled from places where you have no means of movement with out help. Can you say “stuck”?
5. While we’re at it, a Hi-Lift jack can save you if you should venture out alone. Versatile, not only will it lift you out of holes, but it can also be used as a winch to pull out of trouble. Just be careful as Hi-Lift jacks can be dangerous and will hurt you if you’re not paying attention.
6. CB radios are a must – and another mandatory item at most organized events. They allow you to communicate if you get lost from the group, or if you have problems and need assistance. Even out by yourself you can sometimes get in touch with other people that may be near.
7. Other good things to have backed away are short lengths of hose, a spare vacuum line, fuel line and heater hose. I also keep extra hose clamps on various hoses under the hood just in case one should fail.
8. Duct tape and electrical tape are also necessities as they can be used to repair a myriad of things and will help get you back to civilization where you can get further assistance.
9. Also don’t forget plane old bailing wire. It can be used that for everything from holding up broken exhaust systems to being used as a hose clamp.
10. A good fire extinguisher is also a must; it’s amazing how fast those wires that have been rubbing together for years will pick now to start a fire. Or, how that fuel line picks now to start leaking. When picking out a fire extinguisher, make sure you also consider mounting locations. You do not want to have your fire extinguisher launching around inside your vehicle should you hit some bumpy road, or worse, roll your rig. You will also want to make sure you look for an ABC fire extinguisher as not all extinguishers are equipped to handle electrical fires.
11. Last but not least should be a small assortment of tools. Pliers, adjustable wrench, screw drivers, and a few other size wrenches or sockets common to your vehicle should be packed along in a properly stowed away toolbox.
    

*The above list is not meant to be a comprehensive list of everything you should carry along with you. It is only meant to get you to start thinking of what you will need if you have problems on the trail. Many items should be added for different types of vehicle, areas of travel, length of travel, etc.