Driving in the sand?

[rdgt4r]

Alrighty, so i went to the Eureka coast and i had the opportunity to drive out on to the beach and go play in the dunes but i was hesitant because i have never driven on the sand before so I would like any and all advise i can get so when i move out there i can go and have fun. ooh and what tires might be good in the sand? since i am getting very close to getting new tires.
thanks in advance guys.

 

[rdgt4r]

i should say i have read the thread in the off-roading section but if i could i would like some more elaboration on the topic please. thanks again.

 

[uluafishing]

Aloha!

If your primary driving is street and sand, (the offroad guys will flame me for this) your best bet would be a good street tire. Maybe a 3" lift w/ 285-75-16 (33" tire) with a good non-agressive tread design.

If you're going to also do some mild 'wheeling with sand, street, (snow too?), a good tire for you would be the BFG All Terrain.

I have the 33x12.5 Mickey Thompson Mud Terrains, and they're a little too agressive for running the dunes in a 4Runner...I used to be able to climb a dune where we wheel on street tires no problem. I now need a good running start or my wheels start to dig in (deep) if I try to walk up the dune like I used to (with the street tires). My buddy has the same setup as me, but is running the BFG All Terrains, and he walks right up no problems.

A general rule for sand (uphill):
Agressive tread with not much power = digging in
Mild tread with not much power = floating on the sand

You could always lower the air pressure on an agressive tire though to help reduce the surface pressure (on the sand).

Just my experiences...Aloha!

 

[mm2young]

If you're going to drive in beach-like sand, including dunes, you might want to to let air out of your tires, leaving about 18 psi. Drive slowly.
If you feel the vehicle drifting seriously and you're losing control, let go of the wheel, allowing it to spin the tires back to "straight ahead." Repeat: drive slowly! But try never to come to a full stop, short of your destination or a safe area out of the way of other vehicles.
(There are also various pieces of equipment you might want to have handy: a length of rope, a very strong and stable length of wood should you need to jack up the vehicle, as examples. Best to ask an experienced sand-driver in your area.)

Well, that's how we do it on Cape Cod shorelines.
Haven't lost anyone yet.

 

[MunkeyTX]

If your primary driving is street and sand, (the offroad guys will flame me for this) your best bet would be a good street tire.

Ditto what uluafishing said.

We've got sand that ranged from hard packed, to the softest, finest, baby powder sand you can imagine. I used to have a F-250 4x4 w/ 285/75x16 BFG All-Terrains and while it did 'good', it's nothing compared to my current 4Runner w/ 265/70x16 BFG Rugged Trails.

The tread pattern on the Trails is much tamer even compared to the generally considered 'tame' All-Terrain...after Hurricane Ike blew through, the access roads to the beaches were totally blocked in with sand close to 3' deep in some places. I was AMAZED that my 4Runner pushed right through, almost to the beach in 2WD!!! I didn't need to kick it into 4WD until I got squirrley in some sand ruts. While I know I would have made it in my F-250, it would have been a 4WD sand slinging, engine revving experience.

I know most people recommend airing down your tires for sand travel, and it's proven that it works...but I never have and unless one day I do make it out to Pismo/Dumont/big dune places, I probably never will. I just haven't had the need to air down, even while trekking down 50+ miles on Padre Island National Seashore (4wd only, soft sand).

Be prepared to get stuck! I say this with a grain of salt because...*knock on wood*...I've never been stuck in sand with a 4wd. But I am 100% prepared if I am! A tow strap is usually good enough to get you out of most situations, as long as someone is willing to pull you out. I've done my fair share of 2wd sand driving, and 2wd getting stuck...for all the tricks that I've tried (boards under tires, sand mats, wetting sand, etc) the only things that got me out were either digging myself out, rocking the vehicle out, or getting pulled out.

 

[techno]

I'll second everyone elses advice, 4wd at all times, A/T tread, 15-20 psi, mild driving style. Avoid driving 2hrs either side of high tide. For cruising drive just above the wave line where the sand is moist and compressed, but DO NOT STOP here or else you'll sink in seconds. If you need to turn around then always try to turn away from the water. When stopping, reverse up a couple of yards so you have compressed sand in front of you. If you only have one piece of recovery equipment, make it a shovel. Watch out for freshwater creek crossings, slow down when crossing these. Watch your gas consumption, you'll get less then 10 mpg in the sand. Drive directly up and down sand dunes, not on an angle or you might roll. Check the other side of the dune before blindly flying over the peak. Dont end up like this 2nd gen 4Runner....

 

[greyghost4x4]

Techno, please explain what happened in that photo. Thats an amazing pic, but it sucks for the owner.

Evan

 

[bull]

I fish Nantucket Island every year for the past 17-18 years and have a lot of experience driving in the sand. Vehicles that I have had on the beach include, jeep wrangler, jeep wagoneer, ford explorer and 4runner. I've run all different tires from BFG AT's to good year wranglers to Toyo Open country. They all performed well, some better than others. The less aggresive the tread the better. Always air your tires down. 16-18 psi depending on the sand. If you roll into some soft stuff and notice your truck starting to struggle, you can air down further, say 12 psi. Some items you will want to take along with you are, a tow strap, a piece of 3/4" ply wood, as hovel and an air compressor. Everyone gets stuck from time to time so being prepared is key. If you do get stuck, always try to keep your tires straight while trying to free the vehicle. Accelarate slowly at first and keep a steady pace. If you feel the truck digging down and bogging, stop and back up if you can. Never go wheelin on the beach alone.

 

[techno]

Techno, please explain what happened in that photo. Thats an amazing pic, but it sucks for the owner.

Evan

I really don't know the exact circumstances (this pic is all over the internet) but I do know it is on Fraser Island, Qld Australia and probably at Eli Creek. I assume the driver got stuck crossing the creek and when the tide came in the waves simply washed the sand out from under the tires and down it went. Just like when you are standing on the beach and you can feel yourself sinking when the water recedes around your feet. Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island and is a fantastic place to visit. A search on youtube will give you loads of videos from there.