Redsoxx1918
New member
I’ve driven out on East Beach many times in my SR5 without a problem. Took the new off road out for the first time on Saturday. Stock off road premium. I aired down to 20psi. I usually just turn off all traction aides with 4hi for the sand. This time I used sand/mud mode on Terrain select. The sand was pretty deep and soft. I had no problem on most of the beach. Even in sand mode, I felt traction control kick in a few times. I drove the whole length of the beach all the way to the breach way. As you approach the breach way, the beach narrows and has a pretty good slope. The sand towards the water was pretty soft and the waves were coming in so I stayed high on the beach to avoid the quicksand. But at the top of the beach, you have to make it over a berm to get to a flat dry section of sand. It was my own fault as I was moving along too slow and distracted by the scenery. As I drove up the slope and tried to make it over the berm, I just wasn’t going fast enough. My front wheels popped over the edge of the berm and I basically high centered the 4Runner on the edge of the berm. Traction control started flashing and I was stuck. Had I had all traction and stability controls off and built up some good speed, I would have blasted over the berm without a problem. Driver error on this one.
Put it in reverse....no luck! Tried 4low and just easing on the gas to back out.....no luck! Tried turning off all traction aids in 4high and rocking back and forth to back out down the slope.....nope! Tried locking the rear diff....nothing! I was now buried pretty deep...lol. My wife had her window open and sand came flying in from the wheels spinning.
I was ready to grab the shovel and do some digging but I figured I’d try the crawl control. I’ve watched the YouTube videos where the 4runners and Tacomas dig themselves out of the sand with crawl control. I was at least as deep as the vehicles in the video.
Popped it into 4low, turned on crawl control on the highest setting, popped it into reverse and foot off the brake. We sat back and let it do its thing. The sounds it was making were horrible but we could feel it working it’s magic. Within 30 seconds or so, she started inching along and then she just grabbed and backed out down the berm. I just let the crawl control keep working and a backed out through my tracks for a good section of the beach until it widened and flattened out. I was pretty impressed. I don’t think I could have gotten out by myself without some serious digging. If I had been in my SR5 I would have given the shovel a workout.
In deep soft sand, stick with 4hi, all traction aids off and keep lots of momentum.
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Put it in reverse....no luck! Tried 4low and just easing on the gas to back out.....no luck! Tried turning off all traction aids in 4high and rocking back and forth to back out down the slope.....nope! Tried locking the rear diff....nothing! I was now buried pretty deep...lol. My wife had her window open and sand came flying in from the wheels spinning.
I was ready to grab the shovel and do some digging but I figured I’d try the crawl control. I’ve watched the YouTube videos where the 4runners and Tacomas dig themselves out of the sand with crawl control. I was at least as deep as the vehicles in the video.
Popped it into 4low, turned on crawl control on the highest setting, popped it into reverse and foot off the brake. We sat back and let it do its thing. The sounds it was making were horrible but we could feel it working it’s magic. Within 30 seconds or so, she started inching along and then she just grabbed and backed out down the berm. I just let the crawl control keep working and a backed out through my tracks for a good section of the beach until it widened and flattened out. I was pretty impressed. I don’t think I could have gotten out by myself without some serious digging. If I had been in my SR5 I would have given the shovel a workout.
In deep soft sand, stick with 4hi, all traction aids off and keep lots of momentum.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
