Gear and planning

Gear shelf

What rides in Sucia on every trip, what comes along on big trips, and what we tried and left home. No prices and no store links: where we've shown something in a video or written about it, it links there.

In the Jeep every trip

  • Kidde fire extinguisher

    In its mount on the overhead rack.

  • Kinetic recovery rope

    1 in by 30 ft. It stretches before it pulls, so a stuck rig comes out with a smooth tug instead of a jerk.

  • Tree saver strap

    Wraps around a tree to make an anchor point without cutting into the bark.

  • Snatch block and shackles

    Turns the direction of a pull, or doubles a winch line's pull.

  • ARB twin compressor

    Onboard air. We air down to 15 psi for the trail and back up to 35 psi at the trailhead.

    See the trail log

  • Quick deflators and tire gauge

    Takes all four tires down at the trailhead. The gauge checks them, and quick-connect chucks air them back up.

  • BTECH GMRS-50V2 mobile radio

    50 W GMRS radio, mounted overhead. 5 W for a convoy, 25 W for medium range, 50 W for repeaters or a spread-out group.

  • Midland MXTA26 antenna

    6 dB GMRS whip on a steel plate above the spare tire, clear of the roof.

  • BTECH GMRS-V2 handhelds

    Two 5 W GMRS handhelds that go with the Jeep's radio.

  • Starlink Mini

    Internet where there's no cell signal. It runs off the Jeep or a DeWalt battery and packs in a hard case.

Tried and left home

  • Anina dual-band lip-mount antenna

    Ran on the roof rack and showed SWR trouble on our April 2026 Moab trip. The Midland whip above the spare replaced it.