You’ve picked up an SUV or pickup that’s straight from the factory to the dealer and you want to get out on the rough trails and see what it can do. Adding a few upgrades to your truck to make it handle varied off-road conditions is a great idea. You can never be too prepared.
Here are four upgrades to think about adding to your truck.
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Release Your Exhaust
The exhausts that regularly get factory-fitted to an SUV or 4×4 pickup are designed for low noise emissions rather than performance. Sometimes they hold back performance when going off-road because they’re not designed to handle it well. Getting an after-market exhaust system handles the pressure and avoids it kicking back to the engine. Most after-market exhausts are also wider than factory-fitted models, to help get the black smoke out faster to avoid the vehicle getting backed up. Black Smoke Media are the people to talk to if you want an impressive exhaust that can handle it all.
Suspension Lift Kits
Unless your vehicle already has a lifted suspension, it’s not going to be far enough above the road to handle steep banks, deep washes, and road trails with sudden changes in elevation. It’s easy to impact the underside of your truck when riding down dirt roads when you’re running too low to the ground. A suspension lift kit is designed to boost the suspension by lifting it off the ground to create greater clearance to handle the worst terrain you can find. With a lift kit, you can use tires in larger sizes with bigger lugs and a greater tire surface gripping the ground at any given time.
Upgrade the Tires
Whether you’re adding a suspension lift kit or not, your SUV or truck will benefit from a tire change. The tires put on the vehicle initially are street tires designed to deliver a smooth ride rather than great off-road performance. What you need are a rugged set of tires that are both wider and taller, if they fit inside the wheel well. Be sure to do a suspension lift first to fit the larger tire size with the greater underside space you now have with a kit installed. The best tires have different lugs that provide improved grip on uneven terrain and are capable of evacuating water quickly, which allows better contact with the ground.
Light Up Your Life
Being out late in the evenings means you will see a different side of the surroundings and perhaps light a campfire and pitch a tent for overnight stays. Adding some after-market lighting with a set of lights that bolt onto the front and back corners of your vehicle lights up the whole area. While making sure you can see your surroundings clearly and not trip or drive over anything you shouldn’t, it also warns local wildlife to stay away. Some of the lighting setups allow you to change the direction of each light once it’s affixed to your truck or SUV; these are perhaps the most useful.
Adding some after-marketing goodies to your off-road vehicle is half the fun of the purchase. There are so many product options to choose from that you really get to customize your ride to your heart’s content. It’s also a talking point with fellow off-roaders who love to compare modifications.
