Hi I'm David Hughes, I spent a lot of time in the back blocks how do I get
there? In my D-Max whether I'm out for a hunt
or up some remote river looking for a trout, or helping out a mate on a station I
want to know I can get in and out of the backcountry and there's never an issue
with my D-Max
it's one thing to have a whole lot of flash four-wheel drive accessories in
the back of your truck but it's more important to know when and how to use
them. Let me take you through some of the gear that I've got that comes away on
every single trip. We all got one of these a shovel and I use it to dig
myself out of trouble, or I can turn it over and I can use it as a pole to test
the depth of rivers and bogs. A heavy set of jumper leads and then in the rest of
my kit I carry one of these a PLB, a personal locator beacon so if I've got
to pop the pin I've got a helicopter coming to save my ass. A couple of
two-way radios so if your mates out of earshot let's say he's on the other side
of a river you can keep in touch and he might be able to tell you where there's
an obstacle or something you've got to watch out for. Then one of these because
most of the places I go to a pretty darn remote and there's no cell phone
coverage so a satellite phone means I can ring home or I can ring for help.
My recovery kit, well I've got a tree protector a snatch strap and then a
decent tow strap. I also carry spare D shackles and a snatch block one of the
most important things about all of this recovery gear is it's rated, okay don't
buy cheap nasty stuff get good gear because when you're under recovery the
forces are unbelievable. High lift jack, so if you're in a
situation where a standard jack won't work these are going to be a lifesaver.
Then I also carry a lift mate so I if my truck is stuck in a deep bog and I
can't get this jack underneath it then what I do is just fit that onto the
wheel, jack it up, pour some sticks or some some stones underneath the wheels and drive out.
A decent bull bar, don't muck around with nudge bars, get yourself a
decent bull bar and if you're really serious about four-wheel driving get
yourself a winch. Good set of spotlights so you can see where you're going at
night.
And then if you are serious about river crossings get yourself a snorkel and
don't get yourself a two-piece get yourself a really good one-piece snorkel.
I've got an air compressor so if I need to deflate my tires, then I can pump them
up again. And if you're really serious about four-wheel driving a set of air
locking diffs. A decent rack for those longer adventures and then probably one
of the most important things on a four-wheel drive is a really good set of
all-terrain tires. And last but not least a recovery point. It only takes two
seconds to swap out your towball, you don't want to be towing off this because it
can become a deadly missile. Well that's pretty much all the gear that I take
when I go on a trip. We all know that four-wheel drive accessories can be
spendy, but buy them as you can afford them and buy the very best that you can
because when you're in the remote back blocks and you need it, buddy you really
need it. When you're out in the back country in your D-Max, show some
respect for the environment and the people you share it with. I've put
together some handy four-wheel drive tips so check them out online then get
out and enjoy the great New zealand back blocks and your Isuzu D-Max, it's a,
hell of a truck