my suggestions:
armor: rugged front and rear bumpers, at least suitable to guard against errant wildlife strikes [what the Aussies call "Roo bars". Good idea to have a winch mounted in the front, too. You'll also want underbody protection in accord with the kind of terrain you plan to encounter, if you've got good intel on that. If not-- you'll want to make sure you have the vitals [tank, transmission, transfer case, oilpan] pretty much covered.
vehicle: I would suggest something with solid axles-- which is pretty much going to put you in something a bit older. Solid axles are much better at taking the pounding of extended periods on unimproved surfaces.
spares: two tires. Also, take along a couple iner tubes sized to fit inside your tires. Worse come to it, you can borrow some wisdom from bike guys-- put some heavy fabric like a tarpaulin part across the inside of the slash, and put the inner tube inside the tire. Inflate, and find the next tire store to replace the tire.
patch kit-- yes, KIT. the slime in a can stuff is ok, but old-fashioned rubber patch kits consisting of flat rubber sidewall patches and rubber strand patches will even patch a slash in a sidewall [without removing the tire- just patch it with a lot of the rubber rope patches-- I've done it] in a pinch. You wouldn't want to drive on a patched sidewall if you had a choice-- but it beats hell out of freezing to death due to not having a good tire and finding that slime is useless for the repair.
tire tools: 1 pair of tire spoons, and a tool called a "Tyrepliers". Google for it. This will enable you to reapir any severe tire damage properly at camp. I suggest your SOP for tire damage be to put one of the spares on while you're stll in the field, to get to your next camp. Then when camp is made, break down the tire, repair it properly from the inside if needed, and reassemble. Tyrepliers are kinda pricey at $120, but you'll save that money in short order by mounting your own tires [I don't have stores mount my tires anymore-- I mount ALL my cars [87 Fiero, 90 Jeep XJ, 89 S-Blazer, 94 Jeep ZJ] tires by hand using this tool.
tire balancing: I also balance them myself-- a 33X12.50X15 gets 12 ounces of airsoft pellets thrown inside it-- BBs work also. Not a problem, and MUCH better balance than any tire store could possibly ever perform-- as my tires constantly balance themselves. If interested, check the chart on
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. I add 50% to their weights, as the extra finds a neutral place in the tire till it's needed. This also makes tires run cooler and last longer, folks.
trail air: a MUST. I suggest a 20 pound CO2 container. Nevermind the overpriced, blinged-out Powertanks. Check out
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. You do NOT need gaugeson this tank-- CO2 will show the same pressure right till the tank isdead. I fill about 40 33s out of a 15 pound cannister, as I recall.Look around beverage supply stores, or restaurants that are remodelingor closing down. Free CO2 canisters are easy to find, and once you'vegot the cylinder, a CO2 trail air system is CHEAP. Why do you need air?Why-- to refill your tires [12V compressors SUCK, or are horridlyexpensive] after you repair them, to run air tools, inflators, and thelike, and for the next item: freebie: become acquainted with the virtues of airing down. Letting your tires down to 20PSI or so will give you much better traction, without risking blowing the bead [common sense still must apply of course-- don't go full-tilt across sand and then make sudden steering inputs as you brake]. Make sure you air up when it's time to get to speed or drive on hardball, though.
weaponry: I'd seriously look into the local's rules and regs about weapons. You don't want to find yourself running afoul of the law.. and aas for bears-- well, maybe a little forethought about where you stop for the night, and common camping rules should apply [bag the garbage, hang food high in a tree out of reach, etc]. Should you go packing, though, I would advise a rifle [I wouldn't want to get within shotgun range of a pissed off bear, but then I am only going from what I have seen in movies, as I've never seen a pissed-off bear. I don't imagine they'd be very interested in eating me after I'd messed myself ;)] for longdistance stuff, and an alternating loadout of slug and [insert favorite shot cartridge here] in the scattergun for when things get close and hairy.
fuel/storage: would suggest a diesel, whatever way you go. This will allow you to carry multiple jerrycans of fuel [I suggest the british/German style like these:
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asopposed to ANY other jerry can, as these will absolutely NOT leak. Notethe cam-lock cap]. and to carry that fuel SAFELY. Yes, you can carrygasoline in jerry cans, but it's not as safe owing to the flashpoint ofgas [-43degF] as opposd to that of diesel [+173degF, IIRC], andgasoline is much more prone to exploding in a sudden compression event[if you were to be rearended/rolled and the jerrycan rack was crushed,for example]. Plus, diesel fuel is much more stable for long-termstorage- throw in a little fungicide and you're good. Maybe someantigel if it's really cold. Plus, with diesel, you'll have bettertorque characteristics, which should be a boon to your travels.Probably get MUCH better fuel economy, too. And the real kicker is-- ifyou use your head a bit, you can make your own fuel [depending, ofcourse, on how often you'll be in a civilized area and how many jerrycans you take]. Biodiesel is a really smart way to go on a trip likethis. I'd suggest looking into it-- it's not as hard as people make itout to be- hell, if you're not talking about Artic conditions, you cnapour filtered/dewatered waste cooking oil directly in your tank, cut itwith about 10-20% gas or petrodiesel, and drive on. locker: rear, selectable, is pretty much a no-brainer here. If you will be encountering sidehills in icy conditions an automatic locker like a lockright can cause problems-- like sliding down hill sideways. It's awful nice to have the ability to have open-diff road manners and the performance of a spool at the touch of a button, anyway. If you want to splurge, throw in a front selectable as well. If you're going to run a front locker, it pretty much MUST be selectable. Might be able to do without if you have lockout hubs, though-- but most manufacturers of automatic lockers warn against running one hub locked, one unlocked, though. Might be better idea to save the money for a front locker and put it into a winch, remote-mount tray, and front and rear Class III hitch receivers, though.
batteries: Optima or equivalent. MUCH stouter than parallel-plate lead-acid batteries
Sorry this got so long-- I've been wanting to do this sort of trip for quite a while and have done my homework :D
Basically it all comes down to: check out what the Land Rover guys do, and the Aussies do. They tend to go places with their vehicles [10, 20,
30, even 40 year old vehicles!] where, if you're not prepared, noone ever hears from you again and you die. One could do MUCH worse than to listen to the Aussies when it comes to 4X4'ing.