Going to the Dunes!

Deadly_Scionide

Deadly_Scionide

New member
I'm pretty stoked! I get to finally take the 4R to an off road park. Going to Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Michigan this coming weekend. Anyone driven on those kind of conditions that can give me some advice on what to lookout for? My 4R is stock except for a yakima roof rack and a custom catback exhaust.

My biggest question is, this park requires a 10ft flag mounted to the front of the vehicle...but its all plastic up there. What would be your suggestions?


Thanks y'all! I'll be sure to get some awesome pics :)
 
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Deadly_Scionide said:
My 4R is stock except for a yakima roof rack and a custom catback exhaust.
Click to expand...

That roof rack and exhaust automatically make your truck the biggest, baddest offroad machine out there. :bigok:

Just kidding. Have a great time and take lots of pics! Stay safe.
 
sand = air down. I usually went down to 16-20 psi in my truck, but ymmv. Don't air down the front as much, it may bog you down. Also, don't air down if you don't know when/where you'll be able to air back up.
 
I'm bringing along this air compressor. LINK TO AMAZON

Looks like its strong enough to get the tires back up pretty quick, unless someone has seen a better one? I don't have one mounted in the engine bay yet :(
 
there is not much good to mount to up front. Last time I tried to mount a flag I didn't find anything, but the park was laid back and I stuck it through the moon roof. Silver lake will require it be up front. I have a bud built winch plate now and can mount to it.

The local places around the park that sell flags might have some type of attachment that can mount to the front tow point, but then you'll have to deal with the bend around the bumper.

what day are you going? I will be back in MI, but am probably going to go to a rifle match saturday.
 
Deadly_Scionide said:
Looks like its strong enough to get the tires back up pretty quick, unless someone has seen a better one? I don't have one mounted in the engine bay yet :(
Click to expand...

Are you still running the OEM tires? If so, I'd hesitate to go much lower than 18 psi. If you're running the stock 265 p-rated tires that compressor should do ok.
 
Deadly_Scionide said:
I'm bringing along this air compressor. LINK TO AMAZON

Looks like its strong enough to get the tires back up pretty quick, unless someone has seen a better one? I don't have one mounted in the engine bay yet :(
Click to expand...

DannyLlama said:
Thanks for the link, adding to my list of things to get :D
Click to expand...
That particular compressor isn't going to be that great for our larger trucker tires. You might want to buy one of more heavy-duty Viair compressors that come with battery post clamps instead of a cigarette lighter adapter.
 
Jaker said:
That particular compressor isn't going to be that great for our larger trucker tires. You might want to buy one of more heavy-duty Viair compressors that come with battery post clamps instead of a cigarette lighter adapter.
Click to expand...

It works for what I need. It's filled a slightly smaller Ranger tire from empty to full in about 6 minutes.
 
Jaker said:
That particular compressor isn't going to be that great for our larger trucker tires. You might want to buy one of more heavy-duty Viair compressors that come with battery post clamps instead of a cigarette lighter adapter.
Click to expand...

Often its useful to add a link to a recommended product :nerd:
 
Don't know what kind of dunes you will be riding on but as others have said air down. Depending on the type of sand you may want to go as low as you can 15-17 psi. Make sure you have a shovel and a piece of wood in case you get stuck. I've spent tons of time on sand and it really is a lot of fun.

From somewhere in the ME.....

DSC01722.jpg~original


DSC01706.jpg~original


DSC01705b.jpg~original


DSC01701.jpg~original
 
I just looked up Silver Lake. Very cool but the sands looks decently hard, for sand, so you may not want to air down so low. I would just ask regulars there what they go down to.
 
How soft the sand is depends on how wet it is. I used to go there in the 70s and after a rain it was easy to drive on, when dry it is very powderery and easy to get burried. I drove through the parking lot at the dunes 2 summers ago and I thought I remebered seeing an air up station in the parking lot. They are very strick now about having a flag properly mounted to the front bumper. No duct tape etc. is allowed to attach it. There is a park ranger that checks every vehicle before it enters the dune area. Just remember to take off gently so you do not spin the tires but once moving use plenty of gas pedal to keep tire rpm up. When climbing dunes keep it floored. Always park in a level spot or downhill, you do not want to have to start out going up a hill from a standstill. Air down and you will be fine. On my 4th gen I have to have the center diff locked or the traction control kicks in and applies the brakes right when I need max wheelspin to climb dunes.
 
phillyd2 said:
Don't know what kind of dunes you will be riding on but as others have said air down. Depending on the type of sand you may want to go as low as you can 15-17 psi. Make sure you have a shovel and a piece of wood in case you get stuck. I've spent tons of time on sand and it really is a lot of fun.

From somewhere in the ME.....

DSC01722.jpg~original


DSC01706.jpg~original


DSC01705b.jpg~original


DSC01701.jpg~original
Click to expand...

That looks like an awesome amount of fun. haha!
 
03_4x4Runner said:
How soft the sand is depends on how wet it is. I used to go there in the 70s and after a rain it was easy to drive on, when dry it is very powderery and easy to get burried. I drove through the parking lot at the dunes 2 summers ago and I thought I remebered seeing an air up station in the parking lot. They are very strick now about having a flag properly mounted to the front bumper. No duct tape etc. is allowed to attach it. There is a park ranger that checks every vehicle before it enters the dune area. Just remember to take off gently so you do not spin the tires but once moving use plenty of gas pedal to keep tire rpm up. When climbing dunes keep it floored. Always park in a level spot or downhill, you do not want to have to start out going up a hill from a standstill. Air down and you will be fine. On my 4th gen I have to have the center diff locked or the traction control kicks in and applies the brakes right when I need max wheelspin to climb dunes.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna have to remember to turn TC an VSC off. Didn't even think about that. Also the first time i've got to use the "turn off the side airbags" button! Haha
 
The trip was AWESOME

The trip went off without a single problem! Things were fantastic, the people were nice, the campsite (Hideaway Campgrounds) was awesome, and the sand was the coolest experience I've ever had in a vehicle!

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Set up camp

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Perched on top of a 35 foot high dune!

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The buggys we rented

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The view that evening

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Parked down by the beach

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Another awesome sky view(and that mirror finish on the paint, haha)

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He was king of the hill!

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Can you tell I really liked this spot?

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Video of the 4Runner doing a hill descent and a sprint.Love the exhaust I had made.



The 4R did fantastic, I cannot wait to go back, maybe I'll organize a meet-up the next time?
 
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