Off-roading is an extremely thrilling experience. The thrill of taking your big rig through terrain that most land vehicles find to be impassable is more than enough to attract a large number of enthusiasts. But the sport is not without peril — there is a plethora of things that could go wrong. Sometimes this can even results in injury, or worse, death.

Common sense would dictate that as big truck enthusiasts, we need to be ready for any scenario that might befall us during our thrill-seeking sessions. This is especially true for those who are just starting to get into the hobby. So without further ado, here are 5 of the most essential off-road truck accessories:

1. Traction Mat

There’s a big reason that it’s common to see expedition vehicles with traction ramps mounted onto their roof racks. These ramps are extremely useful in situations where you find that you’re stuck because your tires aren’t gaining enough traction. You simply unfold the traction ramps and wedge them under your stuck tires.

2. Deflator

If you’re planning on taking on trails that are mainly composed of deep sand and rock, then it’s most recommended that you reduce the air in your tires to increase traction. This also reduces the chance that you get stuck in sand, which is a headache to say the least! You need a deflator because you need to go below 15 PSI — off-road tires often come inflated at 30 PSI — and getting rid of all that air is going to take a lot of time without one.

3. Tire Inflator

Once you finish trekking over sand and rock, you’re going to want to re-inflate your tires to road-worthy pressure. Obviously, blowing into your tires is off the table. Even if you had the lung capacity of Michael Phelps, you’re not getting any results anytime soon. A heavy-duty tire inflator is nothing short of essential for this reason.

4. Tool Kit

With all those moving parts and the steep trails, there’s going to be a high chance that something in your truck is going to break. As a general rule, it’s best to come prepared, both in terms of tools and in terms of technical know-how.

5. Medical Kit

Sometimes injuries simply cannot be avoided. There will be times that no matter how much you try, you still might end up in an accident, whether it’s by your doing or somebody else’s. The important thing here isn’t whose fault the accident is — you need to be able to overlook that for the time being to be able to respond appropriately to any emergency.

Bonus: Be sure to equip your truck with safety features

There are a wide variety of safety features to install in your truck. These can range from a low center of gravity chassis to an AWD continuous mode. We recommend that you get these features from this TATRA supplier in Australia, as these are some of the best on the market.