whats needed for your samurai before you go offroading?

Made plans to go offroading with my samurai, ive never been, either has the samurai. what shall i do to the vehicle for it to handle  the offroad?

That all depends on what kind of trail you are going on, the distance, and what your rig can handle.

I would suggest taking the basics like snacks, water, change of clothes, small bag of tools, first aid kit, the list goes on.

Also check with who you are going with and see if they have any ideas (I hope you are not going alone... that = bad news if something goes wrong.) Have you ever heard of the movie or book 127 Hours?

Good luck and happy wheeling!

Really all that is needed are some aggressive tires and moderately dry weather.  Both my Trackers did fine with just tires.  Of course it depends on what kind of trails you are doing. 

Start off with mild trails and go as she sits. Make sure you are in good mechanical shape and go. Start off with easy trails and try harder as you confidence builds. Once it does you will see where you need to improve. But stock Suzuki's on the trail can be a lot of fun. And like stated above, don't go alone until you are experienced, and then only go alone if you are prepared to get out on your own if you have a mechanical failure.

Zig

There's a lot of good advice here. Make sure your rig's in good condition, with good tires, a good spare with tire-changing tools that work. In case of a breakdown, plan to stay for a while, maybe overnight, or walk out.  Water, some non-perishable food, hat, sunglasses, walking shoes, extra clothes for a trail-side repair, radio (if you've got one), a couple of flashlights w/batteries.  I carry wrenches for the metric tool sizes Suzuki commonly uses (8, 10 12, 14mm).  I once had a throttle cable break on me in Death Valley.  We idled out just before sunset.  Get an experienced 4WD friend to go with you.  Tell someone where you're going and when you plan to return.

whats needed for your samurai before you go offroading?

Made plans to go offroading with my samurai, ive never been, either has the samurai. what shall i do to the vehicle for it to handle  the offroad?

Gas.

Quote from: CaliSamurai on October 30, 2011, 09:17:58 PM

whats needed for your samurai before you go offroading?

Made plans to go offroading with my samurai, ive never been, either has the samurai. what shall i do to the vehicle for it to handle  the offroad?

Gas.

Yes GAS supprizing how much more you use in 4 low.  And that is important if you are driving to and from your trails. 
Go with friends, people you just meet at trailheads (to run with) are not as understanding of inexperience as those who know your experience and abilities.  All the answers above are good, and it mostly depends on the trail, or back road you are running. 
Take a CAMERA.

skid plates and sliders

Nothing is needed... alot of stuff will be wanted though. Mostly it depends on you and what you intend to do. When we go we go to try and put stuff to the test. That means you better have your crap together cause your going someplace that you probally shouldn't. That means the likelyhood of breaking something is probable. That means dropping into holes that your lights go out in. That means you and Jimi Hendrix have something in common with the words Reach up and Kiss the Sky....

Around here we do / bring:
 
Silcone the plugwires / distributor
Tape down the dipsticks
Run the differential vent tubes up inside the body
Pack the wheel bearings prior to the trip
Grease every zerk prior to the run...
Take along xtra air filter elements...
Don't forget the toolbox!!
Bring some fluids for you & your ride
Air Compressor / Starter Fluid / Tire Repair Kit
Jack
Snatch N Strap / Chains / Tree Hugger
Shovel
Hand towels / Rags

Don't forget the camera..... 

OK, all the above is really good advise, but I think you guys are gonna scare him away from a simple trail ride with all this talk of packing spare parts and boxes of tools and such. As long as his Sammy is maintained according to the owners manual and FSM, has a decent spare tire, jack and handle, runs well and doesn't puke all it's fluids out every time it runs, going for a simple trail ride can be done without all the disaster prep.The idea is the further out and away from civilization you want to go, the more you should prepare. Going for a weekend day ride with friends, not so much. Just make sure your truck is in good running coondition before you go. Common sense maintenence, full tank of gas, bring your brain. 

Sorry.... I sure wasn't tryin to scare anybody... fer sure! He asked a simple questions and I gave an honest answer to what we do / pack to go play. Sure you can go as is... but all of the wheeler places in my neck of the woods have been well used. If it's a stock Sammy you can play but it's gonna be deep, steep, and ugly. There aren't many casual fire roads, logging roads, or rocky runs around for any stock vehicle left.

Stock Sammy... go with several friends that have 4wds and a have good snatch n strap ready for use. Hopefully your friends won't let that lil Demon that tries to over-ride the rational side of your brain get away with you. 

It can all be good ... it can all be fun ... if you use Bentparts common sense theory.

The after you get hooked real good "Let The Mods Begin...." 

Yeah, these lists are pretty darn extensive.     I don't even take that much on my thousnad mile trips to Moab.

Bring a buddy with another rig, a tow strap, a fire extinguisher, and make sure your fluids are topped off.  That should be enough for a nice little trail ride.  If the terrain looks too rough for you, it probably is.  Turn around and go a different route.

Go to your local outdoor store and get a 3-5 gallon water container, fill it up with drinkable water and put it in the back.  And as cryoguy6075 said, bring enough snacks to last a day or two.  Better safe then sorry.

As for took kit stuff, if your making an emergency part pack then pick up some of those .99 battery terminals from the auto parts store.  I have given 4 or 5 of those out on the trails to people who have bad ones on their batteries. 

Yea, some of the suggested "prep" gear is a bit much for a "day trip"

So ...
#1,don't go alone (especially if you've not done that trip area before)
#2 make sure YOUR rig isn't going to be the one that breaks from neglect and ruins a day for the rest
#3 have fun and learn from it.

I do have a list of light easy to pack stuff I always make sure is in the rig ...
* tow strap and a d-ring or two
* basic tools
* old belts.
* 2-3 "space blankets".
* a roll of twine
* a package of beef jerky
* a collapsible water jug
* a fully functional flashlight
* a fresh "presto log"

The primary reasons for the above is:
* the strap and d-rings allow others to helpfully "get me out"
* a broken belt could be replaced with the old belts and basic tools
* if a serious breakdown occurs, I could survive at least one night (and the next day I could set the forest on fire )