The short answer
Buy safety and recovery items first: a compressor, a puncture kit, a proper jack base and recovery gear. Wait on bigger items such as racks, lifts and tents until a real trip shows you need them. Skip anything that is banned, such as bull bars, or that adds a lot of weight for little use.
Worth buying
- Tire compressor and gauge
- Puncture kit
- Recovery straps and shackles
- Underbody protection where fitted properly
- Good all-terrain tires of the right size
Usually skip
- Bull bars
- Large lifts
- Cheap LED light bars
- Heavy winches you will not use
- Cosmetic extras
Worth buying first
- Recovery gear, bought with training
- Compressor and gauge
- Puncture repair kit, see trail-side fixes
- Underbody protection, carefully chosen
- Good tires, see tire size
Wait until you need them
- Roof racks and tents, mind the roof limit
- Fridge and dual battery
- Drawers
- Snorkel, if you cross deep water
- Winch, see the bull bars and winches guide
Skip, or be careful
- Bull bars, reported as banned by MoRTH
- Metal bumpers, widely treated as illegal, see legality
- Bright LED light bars on public roads
- Large lifts, see lift kits
- Heavy accessories that eat your payload
Weight counts. Reported payload is about 390 kg. Every accessory uses some of it.
Pick your trips
Tap the kind of trips you take to see what to buy first.
Tap your trips (6 to try)
Buy first for Weekend trips
- Verdict
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- Details
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Common mistakes
- Buying big first. Wait until a trip shows the need.
- Ignoring weight. Payload is limited.
- Fitting banned parts. They can fail a check and affect insurance.
- Buying cheap lights. They can be illegal and dazzle others.
- Skipping practice. Gear you cannot use is dead weight.
A final word. Some accessories are restricted or banned in India and rules can change. Check with your RTO and your insurer before fitting anything that changes the vehicle.