1. Know your vehicle inside, outside, top and bottom. Become familiar with what the underside and underhood look like now. You want to know when something looks out of place.

2. Know your vehicle platform’s Achilles heel. A little research can bring to light common failure modes for different platforms. The mechanics on the rally do not stock parts so knowing what could potentially fail will help you plan if you should be carrying any spare parts.

3. No major modifications right before the rally! That last-minute mod that you don’t have time to put shakedown miles on will bite you in the butt!

4. Less is more. Do you really need to “build” a vehicle for the rally? The majority of failures we see are from modifications or aftermarket parts.

5. Leave it at home! Ask Rebelles that have several years under their belt and they will tell you that you don’t need to bring all the comforts of home with you. This, in turn, will make your vehicle perform better and create less wear and tear.

6. Driver Mod! No matter who you are, your driving skill could improve. Vehicles don’t crash themselves. Whether it is reigning in your speed, improving your wheel placement accuracy or learning how the vehicle performs in different modes and terrains there is always room to improve your driving skill. Any improvement in our skill will translate directly into a better-performing vehicle.

7. Tires… MOST of the mechanical failures on the rally are tire-related. Of those failures, MOST could be avoided by better tire placement. Know how to change or repair your tire and when changing to the spare is actually necessary. Have the resources you need to keep your tires alive.

8. Nut and bolt inspection right before the rally. Once you have broken the proverbial “seal” on a vehicle it seems that you open the door for things to loosen up. I start by torque checking then marking any and all bolts that have been tampered with post-vehicle production. Then I always check all major suspension and steering fasteners and mark them. Marking with Torque Stripe or just a paint mark will make daily inspections and finding problems easy.

9. Communication is important. Learn what your third teammate is saying to you. They speak through squeaks, clunks and lights on the dash and can tell you a lot. But more importantly good communication between the driver and navigator is a must.

10. Three Levels of Inspections. If you have taken a class with me where we talk about vehicle prep at all, you have heard my spiel about the three levels of inspections:

• • Level One: Every time you get in you walk around the vehicle (vehicle 360). You do this far enough back that you can see under the vehicle a reasonable distance. This will allow you to notice things like newly presenting fluid leaks, or maybe a low or flat passenger side tire. This check will save you from ruining a tire you would otherwise have to feel a change in driving characteristics to find.

  • Level Two: This check is a quick glance under the vehicle, in the wheel wells and a good solid listen to how it’s running. In daily life this is my weekly check or if I haven’t driven the vehicle for a while, on the rally this is when you take a break at a checkpoint and your navigator is doing navi magic or you stop for lunch.

  • Level Three: This is a detailed check of the fluids, solid inspection under the hood, lay on the ground and pointedly look at drivetrain, steering and suspension parts. This is my monthly check at home, on the rally this is the end of the day check.
    
    

The best part about these checks is you need little to no mechanical aptitude, you just need to know when something has changed from the norm. If you have looked one hundred times and on the one hundred and first time something has changed it will jump out as different. This is the best way I have found to find under car issues before they become catastrophic.