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Safety Tips for off-road fun!

Going on your first run? Some things to think of!

Its a nice relaxing day in the woods if your equipped for it. If not it makes for a bad day for you and your truck. (Not to mention the rest on the trail w/ you.)

	Get a feel for the rig in front of you, take a good look at it and get to know where they are (how deep) when crossing a hole and know where it will be on you.
	When at a hole, let the rig in front of you clear the hole and move on so there's room for you to get out the other side before you go diving in. Nut tin worse than getting 3/4 of the way thru and having the rig in front of you stuck so now you have to stop and try to back out which usually leads to you now being stuck. Guess what, now there's 2 trucks to recover.
	Recovery points will be stress tested...be it you being recovered or you recovering.
	Its almost always deeper than it looks.
	DO NOT trash the trails. If you take it in, take it out.
	Leave plenty of room between trucks. There's deer, hog and gators out there, if one jumps out and the truck in front of you stands on the brakes...do ya want to rear end them?

Thanks to "Pure Insanity" for his outlook on being prepared on the trails. A couple of other things to consider....

	Don't go without front and rear recovery points! If we can't hook onto something SOLID to pull you out, you'll get left for the buzzards! see more below...
	When stopped on the trail for a rest or other vehicle recovery, don't shut her off in the middle of the road. Try to go off to the side incase other trucks or persons need to come through (remember, you can get ticketed for blocking the trails or intersections).
	If you break down, get it out of the way to work on it.
	Make certain that your vehicle is in good mechanical condition before leaving the pavement.

Recovery Points

This is a must have. Most factory installed "tie down" attachment points are not adequate for pulling your stuck vehicle out of mud. We have even seen aftermarket "brush guards" bend and break. Recovery hooks are a great affordable option. Most come with "grade 8" bolts and may require some drilling into your frame.

Things to consider:

Recovery point breaks - attached to chassis without reinforcing plates - pulls chassis apart.

Recovery point breaks - attached to chassis with bolts that are just not big enough/hi tensile.

Recovery point bends - pull was at an angle & reinforcing was insufficient for lateral forces

Recovery point bends - hook mounted upside down, rope slipped onto point of hook

Recovery point bends - bouncing after first attempt and rope slipped onto point of hook

Water Proofing

To keep rolling on the trails, a little preparation goes a long way. Check out this web page that covers distributors to drive trains. Great information for any off road vehicle!

http://www.off-road.com/jeep/fullsize/ifsjawaterproof.htm

State Forest Trail Info

To quote from the “Wildlife Management Area and State Forest” brochure about vehicles states: “#35. Vehicles may be operated only on named or numbered roads;” and “#38. Vehicles shall not be parked in such a manner as to obstruct roads, trails, gates or fire lanes.”

So, tread lightly and when someone gets stuck they need to be recovered ASAP. If the vehicle is inoperative or needs to be worked on, (try) to pull it off the immediate pathway. I’m guilty of working on my Junker right where it dies myself. If it’s more than a 3 to 5 minute fix it might be best to move it, especially on narrow trails during hunting season.