Off-roading is a fun way to be in nature
and to test the limits of yourself and your vehicle. However, because you're
not on smooth, safe asphalt, your truck is going to face wear and tear. Below
are four things you should check after every off-road trip.
1. Tires
Tires are your car's first point of contact
with the ground and can wear down quickly over the course of an off-roading
trip. Even if you aren't driving through hard, sharp rocks, your tires will
still go through a lot while off the road.
After the trip, check to see if your
dashboard TPMS light is on. Your TPMS checks the pressure of your tires and
will notify you if you have a leak or a puncture. Even if you don't see the
light, look over your tires at the end of a trip to see if there's any damage.
It's also common to air down your tires
before going off-roading. Decreasing your tire pressure means more of the tire
is touching the trail or the road, which gives you more traction along the way.
However, when you come back to civilization, be sure to refill your tire to the
proper psi. Otherwise, you will do damage to your tires even while on smooth
asphalt.
If your car has special off-roading tires,
remember to replace them with your road tires. Off-roading tires are designed
for driving in the dirt, rock, mud, or sand, and are not specialized for
asphalt or concrete driving. Driving on asphalt will wear these tires down
faster, which means another trip to the tire store when the treads are bare.
2. Undercarriage
The clearance of your vehicle is how high
your undercarriage is from the ground. This is your main limitation while
off-roading. Even if you know your clearance down to the millimeter, a stray
rock could still lodge itself in your undercarriage. Listen for any rattling
when you finish your trip. Even if it's just some trail debris, you still want
it out of your undercarriage before it can do real damage.
You cannot escape dents and dirt as you
off-road, but make sure that everything is in good working order after your
trip. If you don't feel comfortable looking over everything yourself, have a
mechanic make sure everything in the undercarriage works correctly.
3. Alignment
The uneven conditions of off-road trails
have a good chance of knocking your wheels out of alignment. This means that
both wheels don't track straight. To check the alignment, drive your car on a
smooth road and let go of the steering wheel for a couple of seconds. If your
car keeps going straight down the center of the road, your alignment is fine.
However, if your car slips or drifts, you'll need to get your alignment fixed.
4. Body
Your truck will get scratched and dented as
you drive off-road. Even the most durable truck body cannot withstand the
damage done from rocks, sand, dirt, and tree branches scraping the side of your
car. Luckily, most of this damage will be purely cosmetic.
You can either show off the scratches as a
badge of pride among other off-roaders, or you can get a little touch-up work
done to make your vehicle look like new before you head to the trails again.
Design the perfect truck for your needs
with the help of Diamond Truck Body
Manufacturing. We pride ourselves on the quality, durability, and
versatility of our builds, and we will make sure you get a truck body that will
survive all of the work you put it through.
