How to Prepare Your Jeep for Winter Off-Roading

Everyone knows that driving becomes more difficult and dangerous when the temperature begins to drop and the snow begins to fall. For off-road enthusiasts like you, though, it offers new and unique challenges you don’t get to face throughout the rest of the year. If you’re new to the hobby, however, you might not know exactly what’s in store. So before you dream about tackling the snow-covered trails and icy inclines sprinkled throughout Oklahoma, you need to know how to prepare your Jeep for off-roading in the winter. But don’t worry, we’ve got a step-by-step process that should get you and your Jeep ready for the task.

Your first step should be to look at your tires, as they’re your first line of defense against slippery terrain.

• Make sure you have a thick enough tread to grip wintery road conditions. Even if your current tread isn’t worn down, you may want to consider upgrading to mud-terrain or even all-terrain tires if you don’t already have them.
• Check your tire pressure often! The colder the weather gets, the more it will lower your pressure on its own.
• You should also consider grabbing a set of tire chains for extreme conditions, as they’ll give you the extra grip you need to conquer the iciest off-road trails.

Most vehicles just need to top off their fluids before winter hits, but there are a couple that you should actually consider upgrading for the season.

• You should make sure that your coolant or antifreeze is using an appropriate mixture for freezing temperatures.
• Likewise, you should consider swapping out your regular engine oil for a winter-grade variant to help your engine run smoothly in the cold.
• Lastly, you should upgrade your windshield washer fluid to the kind with deicing ability so that you can more easily cut through frost and ice build up.

Don’t forget that you’re going to need to pack your vehicle a little differently than normal as well, to be better prepared for whatever the winter season might throw at you.

• Hopefully you already bring an emergency kit along with you, but during the winter make sure it includes blankets and gloves in addition to the normal necessities like food, water and a flashlight.
• Recovery gear is always essential when off-roading, regardless of season, but it’s even more important when off-roading in the snow. Now’s the time to upgrade your Jeep with a winch if you don’t already have one, or at least bring tow straps along if traveling with others. At the very least, you should have a shovel.
• Even if you do have a winch, it’s not a bad idea to bring along some mundane traction aids as well, such as sand, kitty litter or traction boards just in case you get stuck.

The fifth and final step of the process is to take care of everything else — all the other little things that don’t fit neatly into their own category.

• Replace your wiper blades if they’re showing signs of age, preferably with heavy-duty winter alternatives.
• Consider applying a protective spray or undercoating on your undercarriage to help prevent corrosion from all the sleet, snow and salt.
• Schedule a winter service inspection with us here at Jim Glover CDJRF to make sure everything you didn’t check yourself is in good shape and ready to face the winter.
• Plan your route! Check trail conditions, make sure to tell someone your plan ahead of time and, if you’re able to, travel with a buddy.

We hope that this step-by-step process will help you feel more confident heading into the winter off-roading season. Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions or would like to schedule that appointment.