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Your overlanding rig’s cabin must be as convenient as possible with the most regularly used items readily accessible and the ones less often used stored in a safe and secure place.
In today’s article, we are going through the items you should always keep within arm’s reach when in the driver’s seat of your 4WD.
Overlanding Gadgets to Keep in the Door Pocket or Console
Gloves
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The first item that should be kept in your door pockets are some gloves. Have two pairs, one to use with recovery equipment and the other to use when filling with gas or diesel from jerry cans.
Filling up your truck using jerry cans guarantees that you will get some fuel on your hands. If you are in the middle of nowhere, wasting precious water just to clean your hands isn’t a good idea. Therefore, use gloves and save water.
Hand Saw
Keep a small hand saw for trimming branches that may be blocking the track. If you are on an overgrown trail you don’t want to be going back to the trunk every time you need to grab a saw to do some track trimming.
Bush Hat
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If you are living in a country with a hot climate, bring a bush hat with you. Avoid the normal hats as they do not protect you from the sun as well. The last thing you want is a sunstroke out in the middle of nowhere. It’s not the sexiest overlanding gadget, but it’s a necessary one!
Binoculars
Binoculars might not be something you use that often; however, there are some situations when you might need them while on the tacks. They do not take much space; so, store them in the door pocket or console for quick access.
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Two-Way Radio
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Communication between vehicles is key when overlanding in a convoy. Obviously, you don’t want to be looking around for the radio every time you need to say something to the rest of the crew. The best place to mount an overlanding gadget like a radio usually is the dashboard, but you can also easily reach a radio that’s clipped to the door pocket or resting on the console.
Flashlight
The best thing to do is have two flashlights, a small and short one and a big one. Short flashlights can many times be plugged into the cigarette lighter; so, get one of those and keep it plugged in at all times – this will prevent you from losing it.
The small flashlight can be used around camp or if you want some additional light but don’t want to carry around a huge flashlight.
The bigger flashlight will come in handy for bush repairs, spotting another vehicle at night, checking for damage on your vehicle, clearing the tracks at night, and many other applications. Store the bigger flashlight at an easily accessible location in your vehicle, like the console or glovebox.
Overlanding Gadgets to Keep Under the seat
Tire Deflator and Gauge
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Deflating and inflating tires is one of the most common things we do when overlanding. To save yourself a lot of time and frustration, store the tire gauge and deflator underneath the seat where it won’t get lost and can be accessed quickly.
Toolbag
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Keep the most commonly needed tools like screwdrivers and wrenches under your seat. If anyone has a small mechanical issue, you can grab them quickly from under your seat, fix the issue, and carry on with your adventure.
Keeping the items mentioned above close to you will ensure you can access everything you need quickly. This will ensure the convoy makes progress a lot faster and will save you the time and frustration of looking around for stuff you cannot remember where you stored.
What do you guys think? Do you keep any other items within arm’s reach when overlanding?