Dry Sand = BFG MTR's Kryptonite

[techmen17]

So the girlfriend and I had a rare same day off, so we decided to take a day trip to the beach...Long story short, we found a nice spot to pull off the highway where you can drive right up onto the beach. It was up a small hill, so I parked at the bottom to scout it out.

The sand was really dry, and therefore REALLY soft. Every step you would slide slightly down the hill, so I was a little nervous about trying to drive up it. Then at that moment a Subaru pulled up, stopped for a moment, and then crawled right up the hill and onto the beach. THEN right after the Subaru and old old jeep filled with 3 people went right up the hill. After seeing that, I figured it was a piece of cake...So I pulled my runner up, flipped it into 4H and began to drive up. Made it about 5 feet before my tires started to dig in and I just sank in place. Then I reversed it out, flipped it into 4L, and got the same result. I'm pissed by now, and embarrassed, so I reverse out again. I pick another new line up the hill, this time in 2wd, and have the same result..tires digging in, and sinking in place.

So maybe if I aired down to 10 psi, MAYBE, I could have made it. But I doubt it. The rest of the day I had to listen to my G/F give me sh!t about not making it up the hill. But before we left, I was able to find a spot where the sand was a little more compact, and didn't have a problem getting onto the sand... But looks like I won't be doing any dune runs in the near future with these tires.

 

[tjnaples]

Aired down to 10 psi? Nope. Our 4Runner is much heavier than a Subaru or Jeep. Interesting, what tires do you own and how worn down are they?

 

[techmen17]

Yea I know our runner is much heavier, but I also saw a full size chevy truck go up that was carrying a kayak and surfboard. I have BFG KM MTR's, and they are like new. The problem is the aggressive tread, they bite into the sand too much, and your literally digging yourself into a hole. Instead of floating on top of the sand. I'm just saying that when it comes to soft dry sand, BFG MTR are horrible

 

[joneseyyy]

You mentioned that if you aired down to 10 psi you still don't think you could make it. What PSI were you at when you attempted this?

 

[techmen17]

I was at 20 psi, I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with these same tires or if running them at a lower psi in soft sand really helped you out? Having great traction in soft sand isn't that important to me, since I rarely encounter it. It was more just a shot to my ego seeing 3 different stock vehicles climb this hill with little to no issues.

 

[joneseyyy]

I usually run on the sand in the outer banks of NC at 20 psi with no issue with nearly new GY Duratracs, which are no mud terrain but still a fairly aggressive tread pattern. Lower air pressure may have helped further but who is to say. Maybe that or carrying a little momentum (~10 mph?) into the hill so that you are floating as opposed to clawing up it?

 

[Ross]

There is no such thing as BFG MTRs.

I had Good Year MTRs on my jeep and they do suck in soft sand. I had a friend with BFG MTs and they also suck in soft sand.

An all tertian or maybe even a street tire will probably do better in soft sand. The Good Year MTRs and the BFG MTs have a very aggressive treads design designed dig in and get traction. In the sand they dig in deeper and deeper. If you let out allot of air it will help. Too much and you could pop you bead.

 

[techmen17]

When I said MTR's I was abbreviating "mud terrains"...

 

[Ross]

When I said MTR's I was abbreviating "mud terrains"...

Mud terrains are MTs. Good Year has a tire actually called the MTR (Maximum Traction/Reinforced).


Either way neither tire would be an ideal choice for deep sand.

New MTRs
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old MTRs
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BFG MTs
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[Overland Warehouse]

MT tires are not as good as AT or highway tires in soft sand, as you noted they tend to dig in much more.

With that said you should not be at such a disadvantage as you experienced. Was your center diff locked? If not the center diff will play havoc and the VSC will mess you around making it very hard.

Also you need to make sure to hit dunes, sand hills with some momentum, not sure if the other guys took a running start and you just started at the bottom of the hill.

You already mentioned airing down so that is covered.

We have done huge dunes at Pismo in very soft sand with various flavors of MTs, different 4Runners (3rd, 4th, 5th V6 and V8, etc) and not had any real issues. Key is to lock the center diff, 4H or 4L pending engine power and weight, air down and go. Steep dunes had to be taken with some momentum and all was good.

 

[techmen17]

Thanks for the tips, I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't make it up the hill. And on my second attempt I did have a fair amount of momentum, BUT I didn't lock my center diff, which probably could of helped me a lot... Makes me want to drive 2 hours again to try some different techniques, since I have no experience driving in sand like that.

Sand Lake anyone??? haha

 

[Metzbower]

I run 20 psi on the islands below the Outer Banks and even pull a heavy utility trailer with 6 kayaks in it along with 8 people's gear for a weekend and still don't have an issue with soft sand. I air all the tires, including the trailer's. I was surprised that I could even back the trailer up on level sand. Really surprised me.

 

[techmen17]

I run 20 psi on the islands below the Outer Banks and even pull a heavy utility trailer with 6 kayaks in it along with 8 people's gear for a weekend and still don't have an issue with soft sand. I air all the tires, including the trailer's. I was surprised that I could even back the trailer up on level sand. Really surprised me.

What tires are you running? I really think this all comes down to the tires. MT's just dig into the sand too much, and sink you.