How to prepare your 4x4 vehicle

How to prepare my off-road vehicle?

We usually ask ourselves this question as soon as we buy the vehicle or at most a couple of days after we have participated in a 4x4 rally.

Don't worry if this happens it's normal.

The question is always the same: but what can I do on my off-road vehicle? What should I do to go to 4x4 rallies or travel off road? how much will it cost me? Who can I take it to?

In the meantime, I confirm that the question arises spontaneously ( as they say) and it is normal for you to ask it.

Usually things develop like this: you start by asking friends about adventures, you proceed with wild searches on Google looking for information and prices, then you proceed to meet someone who has an off-road vehicle prepared, then you go to rallies again. 4x4 and we go around asking left and right to understand how we should move, a few phone calls, a few more nights on the internet then we're ready, we just have to put our wallet in our hands and start the dancing!

There are those who buy the parts on the internet and assemble them with a friend in the garage because he is someone who understands mechanics, there are those who ask their mechanic who has never done an off-road vehicle but puts in all his good will, there are those who put themselves in the hands of super preparers in the face of a " quote " which includes important interventions and promises a half unstoppable!

What should I do with my off-road vehicle?

From this simple question, which you can easily ask yourself by taking up some of your time that you would have spent on the Internet searching on Google or in that famous garage with your friend to assemble who knows what devilry you bought on the internet, an answer will emerge and believe me this thing will make all the difference in the world; for you, for your off-road vehicle, for your wallet and for your health.

If your answer is:

I want to do "heavy" things , take part in extreme 4x4 rallies , do races and competitions or in any case I would like to have as much fun as I can, perhaps driving my off-road vehicle on some off-road track full of mud and obstacles!!

My advice is to think of a used vehicle to be prepared in an extreme way and consider that you will also need another vehicle with a tow hook and a trolley.

You will be able to reach the slopes or the places where these authorized events are held in complete safety with the trolley and play as much as you want without the risk of having your license taken away or your vehicle seized.

If the vehicle breaks down, you can simply load it onto the trolley and go home without problems (apart from the disappointment and your wallet).

And this is the world of the extreme made with conscience, safety and organization.

For the preparation of the vehicle at an extreme level you can turn to various specialists in the sector who gravitate precisely in the world of racing and trials.

I advise against pure DIY but for two simple reasons:

1) , that as far as you can tell, you and your famous friend from the garage will never have the experience and mischief of those who live in that environment every day and the results could hide pitfalls and problems.

2) , what you save by doing it yourself could be spent on breakages and damage resulting from extreme use of the vehicle and its not exactly correct set-up.

If instead your answer is:

I want to do 4x4 trips , off-road trips in Italy but also abroad but without doing extreme things that would break the vehicle or do races and challenges to the "last step"

In this case my advice is to think of a simple reinforced setup (maximum +5cm) and 4 medium tread tires (more robust than the standard ones)

 You can also invest in accessories that are very useful when traveling such as a compressor, a travel refrigerator, a set of workshop tools (bag of tools), a small supply of oils such as brake oil and engine oil, a recovery set with strop ropes and hooks . A sturdy roof rack can be useful.

Installing a winch can be a great thing and even thinking about a double spare tire can make a big difference (hence the connection to the roof rack).

The fundamental thing, however, is the approval of the modifications you make to your off-road vehicle because, while in the first case of use that I have hypothesized (the extreme one) you can transport your super vehicle on a trolley, in the other case in which you use the prepared off-road vehicle on normal roads you would not be compliant with the law and would risk heavy fines with the seizure of the vehicle itself.