Page updated: 11/10/2001 12:31 AM

Well, it's come to my attention on the forum that some safety issues need to be brought up about when were wheeling our glorious rigs in the out back. I'm electing myself the safety guy just for this purpose so's maybe it will help some newbie somewhere to not get his ass in a crack out there. So to speak!

I know how it is to get your rig and you just can't wait to get it in the outback and see what it can do. There are some things you should consider however before venturing out with an unknown 4x4. Especially if it is a used one. Who knows what the guy or guys before you have done to it. Or not done to it to make sure it's as safe as possible to wheel with. After all, your most precious cargo is yourself and your family ain't it! Lets hope so anyway.

It's real easy to just slide on out there and we all know that there is always that little unknown dirt road that we've always wanted to check out and now can due to our wondrous 4 wheeler we just purchased. Hey! The guy said everything worked ok last time he drove it. So, lets go get it on. Hopefully if this is your attitude you brought plenty of water and some good hiking boots. Because what you see ain't always what you get. And of course, the seller is always motivated so he might just have told a fib or two during the transaction about the condition of the Jeep. "also known as a truck from here on out for practical purposes of writing this article"

Anyway, the first thing you should do after you get that prized beasty home is check it out thoroughly to make sure it is in good working order. First things first. Lets open the hood and make sure all the fluids are in good shape and all the reservoirs are filled to capacity with the right fluids. There is a big difference today in some of the fluids used from one truck to another. The seller could just as easily dropped tranny fluid in the steering fluid pump for all you know. Trannys need different fluids and so do some transfer cases. Personally, when in doubt, trade it out! Change all the fluids no matter how good they look before wheeling it. Antifreeze should be changed every year for instance. How do you know? who cares it's cheap insurance so just do it. I pump out my steering fluid every year also and replace it. Dump the gear oil out of the tranny and transfer. Same with the rear ends. Give those drive shafts a good hard wiggle to make sure the joints are all tight. Nothing like having a shaft come loose on the freeway to liven up your afternoon let me tell you. It could come through the floor board and change your voice in a split second.

Make sure you lube all the u-joints and steering linkage. On the mechanical CJ clutch linkage there is a fitting that is pretty much ignored until the whole shebang falls off on some big rock ledge while your sitting there wishing you would have had a chrome trailer hitch installed in your seat. All right black anodized then!

Jack that baby up and give the wheels a good shaking vertically and horizontally for any wheel bearing problems. If they are loose take it apart and re-pack the bearings and if you got them, the mechanical locking hubs also, While you have it up on stands take the drums off and check the brakes to. It's pretty easy to check the front brakes if your blessed with disc's which most are these day's. Take a good look at that rotor also. Do a little run out test on it to make sure it isn't warped and if you got the means run check on the thickness to see if they've been turned yet or not. Remember, these are the only thing between you and a semi at 65 mph and the front brakes do 75% of your stopping. Adjust that e-brake while your down there and lube it up. Nobody ever bothers until they need it on some major pile of rocks and it won't work. I let mine go once to the point where I was pulling in my own driveway and with ought going into any detail I had zero gears. In other words, putting pokey in gear was an exercise in futility. Never had that happen before! Anyway, I decided I better get out and see what was wrong. I set the e-brake and started to hop out (there's a hill right where I was stopped) old pokester just about rolled out into some pretty heavy traffic from the weirdo's coming from the casino up the road. And worse yet! from the golf course bar and grill. Hahahaha!

Needless to say an old salt that's been around 4x4's for longer than I want to think about, this was sort of a funny predicament to say the least! hmmmm! What to do, what to do next. I'm looking at the fast lane of traffic like 10' behind me. Can I just out and throw something under the jeep real quick? hahahahaha! I have to let the adjustable steering up just to clear my dammed belly. Nah! To risky. So, should I just sit there for 8 hours and wait for the wife to come home or what? Sheesh! Hahaha! by now I'm pretty much cracking up but at the same time I'm just a little bit pissed off at myself for being so stupid.

OK! I'll tell you why it wouldn't stay in any gear. Because I had just installed the 4:1 on the D-300 transfer case and the sticks came loose. I mean it was ok until I moved the twin sticks for grandma to test it out. It then went right into neutral and I was screwed ok! There, i admit to being an old fool but if happens and it happens to you young intellectual I'm the greatest types to. Believe me!! Anyway! I'm still sort of sitting there wishing somebody would stop by even though I would be a tad embarrassed over it. I'm looking around the jeep and see a cardboard box just in front of the riders seat. heh heh! I reach for it over my distended gut and every time I do I let off the brake just a tad and the dammed jeep rolls back again. I keep trying, getting closer and closer to the unsuspecting traffic. Finally I make a mad dash for it and overcome my royally fat gut and have box in hand. Hmmm! Kind of flimsy to be stopping my bitchen double throw me down pokey but what choice is there. I reach out as far as possible and time it just right to let off the brake and toss the dammed box under the drivers side wheel. It crushes it but dammed if it didn't stop it. I get out slowly and grab a huge log and toss it under there to save the day. Crawl under it and put it back in gear. Now there ya go, I got the 4:1 in and just couldn't wait to get it into granny. It all falls apart because I didn't get the linkage hooked up right to begin with. Ya! I'm still like a little kid at christmas when it comes to new jeep stuff! But, it's just a good example of how serious of an issue safety really is. It could have been dammed disastrous and I ain't kidding! Just one example of what I'm trying to get across here.

So, where were we. Oh yeah! Make sure all your brake lines are in good shape. Like, the last guy that wheeled it didn't scrape some big boulder and the hard lines were burned almost through. hey! It could happen! When you pull the cover on those rear ends look at the cover real good to see if the bottom is protruding below the third member. If it is, grind it off before replacing it so some rock doesn't catch it and ruin you day by releasing all that new bitchen fluid your putting in there. Oh! And check the ring and pinion while you have it off to. I mean why not, it's open right!

Has the jeep been sitting for a long time before you bought it? If so, check the tires real good. If they have been sitting for a long time, they may look ok but tires need to be traveled on once in a while to keep the resins flowing and the tire in good shape. The atmosphere is a killer of tires and especially if they just sit around on the ground for any period of time. Next time your cruising down the freeway just take a gander out the window at the concrete going by. Those tires are the only thing separating you from that concrete. Also check to make sure there weren't any plugs inststalled by the last owner that weren't properly patched by someone that knows what their doing.

Check the spring out and make sure none are broken and see if the last owner tightened the shackles just right. If he over tightened them your suspension, no matter how new, won't work worth a crapola! I mean it's only going to work as good as it's connecting points and if they are all jammed up the springs won't be doing what they were meant to be doing.

Move the steering around and check to see if all the steering components are tight. Check the tie rod ends and drag link for any wobble also. I know, this doesn't seem like safety stuff necessarily but believe you me if it breaks it could cause some serious problems for you and yours. This is some boring crap ain't it!! hahaha!

Anyway, lets move on up the ladder some. I think you get the general idea on what needs to be done to the mechanical parts and if you don't already know, get yourself the field service manual and read it well. It's one of the if not "the" most valuable tool you can own when you own a wheeler and actually wheel it and do your own maintenance. Which you should be doing because there just ain't a whole lot of gas stations in the outback when your out there all alone and whimpering about what to do to evade a long assed walk home.

Now, the roll cage. You do all have a cage right? I hope you do, because if you don't, that should be the absolute #1 thing to get on your rig. After all it will save you from your own mistakes and possibly keep you out of a wheel chair all your life or a casket forever at an early age. Does it have to be tied into the frame? Not necessarily! It can be tied into plates on the floor and serve just as well as any frame mounted cage providing your not a desert racer and do most of your wheeling at very slow speeds. Would it be better off tied to the frame? Well, obviously it would. This would make the cost of an already pretty pricey item double however so if you don't need it don't worry about it. Any kind of fairly well set up cage is better than just the stock one that comes with the truck though. So, do your very level best to get one before building your rig into a giant boulder killer and regretting it later on. Me, being the arrogant fool I sometime am rolled Pokey on top of Moab rim with just a double bar a couple of years ago. heh heh! It brought the light of day into my future wheeling experiences I can tell you that much. I got it rolled over and looked over that 2K foot drop I was next to and just started to realize what an idiot I was for having 30K in a jeep with just a double roll bar installed. Still didn't really hit me until the next day when I was traversing out of the park to go on another run with no windshield and not top. Thought I was dune buggy heaven until it started to sink in that I had had a real sense of false security with a bikini top and a 2.5" bar over my head and that was about all that was keeping my noggin and the rocks from having an affair. The day I rolled I had a friend in there with me too! What kind of idiot would put his friends or wife and kids in a dangerous situation like that I say's to myself as I go tripping down the street on my way to some huge assed rock piles with my wife sitting next to me. I tell you It made me think real hard. And that ain't something I'm used to doing to often.

Anyway, I'm following these guys into some big old rock climbs with the best traction on earth and I ain't liking it one bit all of the sudden. Hahahaha! Lucky for me it started to rain and we skeedadled on out of there for that day. I was real careful the rest of that week not wanting to admit to myself that I had done such a stupid build on my jeep. I mean if I were building a jeep today, it would be the first dammed thing on the jeep. Period.When it's to late, it's just to late man! ok !

How about winches? We all end up getting one. They are about the most handy thing there is to get you out of a stupid maneuver aren't they? Well of course they are ya knuckle head! So, what kind what kind of equipment should we get. Depends on what type truck you have and what type wheeling your going to do. If your a hard core rock crawling rear end bashing type guy/Gal then you should probably get at least an 8K with a roller failead. The rule of thumb is double your vehicle weight I believe. That would about do it for the average wheeler and with a pulley you would be pulling 16K lbs. Course you'd need a tree strap to be PC to use it, but you can pull around corners with one and it slows the speed of the winch to half it's normal speed. Which would probably be a good thing for most of you rummies.

Now there just about ain't anything on your rig that is as dangerous as a winch if you abuse the rules. It can take a head, leg or cut your daughter in half in a blink of an eye believe me. Always use a blanket of coat of whatever you have with you to throw over the line when winching. If it should brake, it will semi stop the whipping action of the cable coming at you at 1000 mph. Of course make sure everybody around knows what your doing and make them all stand back out of harms way before engaging the winch. If you don't have a remote and can't stand back yourself then open your hood to protect yourself as much as possible. If you used a cheap hook or d-ring it just might let go and trust me it will go through that hood and your head. So take all the precautions you can. It's no joking matter when that cable lets go. Use at least grade 5 and preferably grade 8 bolts on all hookups. And don't forget to use the same grade nuts etc along with them. You'd be suprised at the dopes that get the bolts and neglect what's holding them on.

Always let the other guy connect to his rig but, always go take a look at where he's connecting to and how well it will hold up under the tremendous stress that a cable can put on a connecting point. I've seen some real stupid hookups before and usual they have the whole family standing right next to the cable to witness the save. Sheesh! On your own rig, you should have a receiver and d-ring on the rear bumper. Hopefully you've tossed the original bumper and got one that will hold up to the riggers of such wheeling things as winching by now. If not, make it a priority in the near future or don't go out and put yours and others lives in danger until your properly set up. Sounds harsh but it's the facts man! This doesn't mean you can't go out and get it on with the guys that are set up. It just means that you should let them know your new to what's up and your equipment may not be up to snuff.

All connectors should be of the highest strength material you can buy. Remember yours or someone else you love dearly's life could depend on it. This is no place to skimp. I use a wire rope for a cable on my winch. I've seen what the so called safer newer rope acts like on the trails. It's true, there's no whipping problems involved with it like there is with the wire rope but, I've seen it in action and to put it bluntly, it just plain sucks. Gets caught up in the roller fairlead (which all winches should have to reduce fraying and drag) and gets snarled up on the tub so bad you can't pull it out to save your life. I wouldn't want to be using it to drag over a big jagged rock pile either. And when your pulling over a hill, if it's possible run some logs under the cable on the hill to prevent drag. I wouldn't want that new rope for this option either. It's up to you of course but I think it causes more problems than it's worth and it's more expensive than wire rope.

Hydraulic winches. Yuk! Here's another bad idea if you ask me. I mean there isn't anything better than hydraulics for moving most things such as in the case of tractors etc, but these guys have huge reservoirs and separate pumps to make the hydraulics' work. On your jeep, it's your steering pump that is making this thing run. taking away from your steering and it is with ought a doubt the slowest winch on the market. It needs the pump to keep pulling too. What happens when your in the middle of a deep creek and you drowned out the engine. No winch! If you have an electric winch, you simply drag yourself to a dry land and remove the plugs and blow out the water and get back on that puppy.

Everything you do safety wise should be taken as if your going to be alone when the nasty things happen. forget your buddies because you sometimes venture off on your own. Or at least I do. So, sorry to say I'd not like to have to be saddled with one of those losers. Always make sure your lines are protected from such sharp edges as your grill or whatever they run through. Remember they are not much different than a welder if they short out on your rig. I once blew 6" out of a grill and started a fire by a bad run set up. And Warn set it up too! Hahahah! So use hoses or grommets or whatever to protect them from arcing on your body or frame. Whenever you are done wheeling and have been using your winch make sure you clean it and wrap it back up in a tight configuration. Never let it get left unattended until next time or you may end up with a rats nest and even cut the line on the next pull. I like to put some weight on my line when re winding it. I have a hill on my property that I put pokey on and hook the cable up to a tree at the top of the hill. I start up the truck and stand outside with guiding it onto the spool cleanly and in a good row all the way to the end. You won't regret doing it the next time your out and are needing to get unstuck. Well these are some of the basics of winching so, use em or don't, it's your life.

Safety belts::::: I use them. I grew up when there was no such thing and have always thought only sissies would wear them. I wear them on and off road now however. I've rolled and rolled seriously more than once and was very happy I was wearing them. If you just have the ones that came with your rig, get at least a 3" lap belt to along with them. I wear only the lap belt even though I have full harnesses and every time I've rolled that's what I ws wearing. Oh yeah! When your upside down and wanting out of that dammed rig. Remember to put your arm over, or in this case under your head before releasing the belt. You could break your neck dropping that few inches if you don't. Yah! I've been dropped on mine a few times that's how I know it dagblamb it!

There's usually no need to worry about fires or gas etc when your rolled over but you do want to exit the truck soon as you can just in case. If you don't already have optima's, get them. Some of the worst damage I've had after a rollover was from battery acid. Your rig , if fairly new, late 70's or so has safety valves for when you turn over of you fuel. It won't run out while your upside down in other words as long as the system is in good shape. You have them on your return lines, deliver lines and on your carb if you have one and haven't messed with it. These should be periodically checked for being in good working order. They're a one way valve similar to what should be on the end of all your vent tubes for your axles,trany and transfer case. you do have those for petes sake don't you??If you don't, get em, they cost penny's compared to what they are protecting costs.  

As far as full harnesses go, they're a good idea but you don't really need them. Unless your into severe rock or hill climbs. Like I said I run them and like the passenger to be hooked up with them since they are there. They sure do hold you in your place if you were to get into a multiple roll though. Your choice! I've been on some stuff that was so steep and so far down I've had my wife and me take all belts off just in case the road gave way or ?. I'd rather have been thrown clear and take my chances than slide off to a very certain death strapped in the jeep. Stay off these roads and you won't need to worry about it. And when in doubt and your determined, let the family and the dog out if your going to take that kind of chance. It may help you to make up your mind whether you really want to take the chance in the first place.

Fire extinguishers should be a part of your always there kit. One in the front and one in the rear. I just run one on the rear tire carrier, figuring that most likely a fire would start on the dash or under the hood. I would extricate myself mucho quick if it happened and figure that's the best place for it. If it's mounted under the dash well, it's probably going to burn up with the jeep. I do keep a little tiny one in the console though. I was on a deserted road next to the colorado river once, Just tooling along with the stereo wide open. Sauced to the gills and alone when a dash fire started on me. I had no extinguisher with me and couldn't piss that far under the dash so U started popping open the bottled beer I had with me and finally put it out that way. I was early on my way to meet up with a honey ( I was single then but old enough to know better) and was definitely going to be late.

I walked all the way to a ranger station I knew of to see if I could get some help. I was still snockered pretty good and I couldn't frieken believe the rangers daughter was getting married right there in the camp grounds. This is like 20 miles either way in on a very nasty road. This guy from England said he would take me into town when the wedding was over. He was in a Land Rover needless to say. heh heh! I said okee dokey! And proceeded to rid them of all the alcohol I could get hold of. With their permission of course. well, anyway, they give me a ride into Yuma and I get to the hotel where this girlie was patiently waiting with a couple of swabbies at the bar for me. I wasn't as wily as I am at getting out of wheeling trouble back then and wasn't sure what to do about my dammed jeep 20 miles up river on a swampy road. Just so happens there was a hot rod convention going on at the hotel I was at. I asked some savvy dudes about how to get that dammed thing out of there. It was actually an International traveler. Yes winch V-8 and all. It was hot to!

Anyway, these guys gave me some clues as to how to hot wire it by bypassing all the electrical. So! I takes my girl friends Dodge car all the way into where the truck was. And yes, by this time we were both 3 sheets in the wind. Hahahaha! Hey! It was the old days ok!! I got to the truck and re-wired it. Turned the key on to get it started and dammed if it didn't work first time. Only problem was that about 100 yrds down the road the frieken dash was ablaze once again! Yikes! But, when ya least expect it, here comes some old guy, about 10 years older than dirt down the road in an old flatie with this huge assed fire extinguisher and a wife with one of those old hats on like a covered wagon type hat. Walks up kinda slow and puts the fire out. Leans over the door where I was just getting ready to pull my wanker out and try to extinguish it with all the beer we had left and says, Had a little fire huh! Hahahahahaha! I liked to fell in the river I was laughing so hard.

I finally got it figured out that I only needed the dammed key to start the engine with. Didn't know the solenoid trick back then. So after the dash started on fire a few more times I would start the truck and them turn off the ignition which of course what was starting the fires. Hope I didn't lose none of you tender foots there. Oh yeah! and the Dart wasn't doing so good either with a drunken women in it that had never even been off road. Anyway, the old guy gave me the extinguisher to carry with me on the way out and said he'd foller us outta thar!

I did finally get out of there and the old guy suggested I take the extinguisher home with me when he found out I had to go all the way back to San Diego with nada but the engine running and me running out of day light! Haha! Anyway I give the old guy 20 bucks to re-fill the tank which he was all pissed off about and I didn't understand back then that he was just happy to be helping me out. I drove home on engine only and made it just before dark. Had the insurance co fix all the damage and when I picked it up, I went straight towards the mountains. Blew a dammed power steering hose which blew fluid all over the plug wires which in turn--yet! you guessed it! started a gauldern fire under the hood. Did I go straight to the 4x4 shop and pick up an extinguisher before venturing off on another trip? Nope and there I sat with my brand new insured truck on fire once again.

Well, God seems to take care of fools such as myself until they get old enough to learn something and I'll be dammed if I wasn't right smack dab across the road from a water company. Some guy sees me flailing away in the middle of the road and the obvious smoke coming out from under the hood and runs out there with an extinguisher and puts the fire out. Hahaha! Did I got straight to the store and buy myself one? Your dammed tooten I did. Hey I ain't no dummy ya know!! Well, I suppose ya got the idea anyway so just be careful. Fires ain't nothing to fool around with in a jeep.

I suppose it's necessary to tell you you should be carrying a very good and well supplied first aide kit. I mean go down to a good medical supply house and get the good stuff. Hopefully, you won't be glad you did.

How about guns? Well, it's up to every individual whether he/she wants to carry them when wheeling. Personally I think it's a darned good idea for all the obvious reasons. I carry them even where I ain't supposed to usual. State parks etc. I've had people tell me, Oh my god! do you know that's against the law? Hell yes I know it ya numb nuts. And don't worry! when that crazy guy comes around and is slashing your tent up and all who reside within I'll be sure to not save your worthless ass because I wouldn't want you to get arrested or any such thing as that. And when that big black bear decides your toes taste good I'll just pretend I didn't notice so I don't have to get arrested for carrying in a state park ok! Geez! I'd rather be sitting in front of a judge than have my family be standing in front of a casket with me in it. Although, there should be some safety rules to go along with carrying when wheeling. Your gun should probably be unloaded and separated from you pistola unless you need it. Especially if there are any kids around and it should always be locked up when not in your possession. When I carry mine, it's loaded all the time. But it still makes me dammed nervous. It's your choice as usual. Just some things to keep in mind is all.

How about drinking on the trails? do you? I do sometimes. Not to excess to be sure, well not lately any ways, but, Yeah I'll drink a beer or two when we stop for a break. And I stop a lot. I've been doing it for so long that I just don't over do it anymore. It's dangerous and very stupid. I'm talking about when you pretty much on a cruising trail and your rig is so overbuilt for it that it's kind of boring. I mean your just checking out the scenery etc. When on the scary stuff, I drink water these days. Never touch the hard stuff on the trails under any cercumstances. Again, it's a persoanal choice. I do what I want and you do what you want. If you don't like it, don't wheel with me. I'm to old to change my ways. And, I'm not interested in your views just in case you want to rag on me about anything privatly ok! Your best bet would be to keep the booz for at night around the fire place probably. Oh yeah and in keeping with the subject, don't swallow the VO bottle cap! Well, I sort of got off track there it seems but I think we covered quite a bit on safety issues. I'm sure I missed a few hundred things and I'm sure your just dieing to let me know which things I missed so feel free and add whatever you can think of for the benifit of the masses that don't know squat yet, ok!

Cee'Ya on the trails!!

Bud