Field manual
How-To guides
These are the field procedures we run on our own rigs before an overland trip — six step-by-step guides to setting up a rooftop tent, fitting snow chains, self-recovering a stuck 4x4, airing down tyres, deploying a 270° awning and camping warm in sub-zero cold. Each one is written from real winter testing on the Thar and Fortuner across Spiti and Ladakh, pairs a numbered method with the exact gear and vehicle fitment, and links straight to the kit that does the job. Start with whichever job is in front of you.
Set up a rooftop tent
Dynamic vs static roof load, crossbar spacing, first-time mounting and a clean pack-down — the right way to live on your roof.
Setup · ~10 min read
Fit snow chains
When to fit, lay-out, drape and connect inside-first, then tension a manual or automatic set and re-tension after a few metres.
Fitment · ~9 min read
Self-recover a stuck 4x4
Least force first: assess, air down, traction boards, kinetic rope and soft shackles — the safe way out with no tow truck for miles.
Recovery · ~11 min read
Air down tyres off-road
Target PSI for sand, mud, snow and rock, auto-stop deflators, and re-inflating with a 12V compressor before you hit tarmac.
Technique · ~9 min read
Deploy a 270° awning
The one-person sweep, 270 vs 180 coverage, anchoring a 2 m canopy in wind with legs and storm straps, plus the optional wall kit.
Camp craft · ~8 min read
Camp warm in sub-zero cold
The heat-budget method: insulation, a vented altitude-compensated diesel heater, condensation control and a real −20 °C sleep system.
Cold craft · ~11 min read
A how-to is only worth reading if it has been done for real, in the cold, and gone wrong a few times first. That is the test every guide here has to pass. We do not write the showroom version of fitting snow chains or recovering a bogged truck — we write the version with frozen fingers at Kunzum, the version where the head-torch dies and the chain has to go on by feel. The numbers are real: target tyre pressures by terrain, real TractionX chain sizes per rig, a heat budget for a −20 °C night, anchor loads for a 2 metre awning in wind.
Each guide follows the same shape so you can move fast: an answer-first summary at the top, a numbered procedure you can follow at the roadside, and a closing section that names the exact gear and which vehicles it fits. If you are still choosing kit rather than fitting it, every guide links across to the matching collection and buyer guide — the rooftop tents, snow chains, recovery gear and awnings collections all carry the sizing and specs the procedures reference.
And if the reason you are learning all of this is a trip on the horizon, the same skills are the backbone of a guided run. Our expeditions into Spiti, Ladakh and the Rann are where chains, recovery boards and cold-weather camping stop being theory — practise the slow jobs in your driveway first, and the passes look a lot smaller.
“The first time you do any of these jobs should be in your driveway, not at a pass with the light going. Read it, then go practise it cold.”
Kit the rig, then go
You have the methods. Now get the gear they reference, read the buyer guides that size it to your vehicle, and find the trip worth training for.
Field manual · Faridabad, Haryana· 28.39°N 77.31°E