Took my TE to the dunes...

Egstyle

Egstyle

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And it handled like a champ! In fact, it did so well that I probably took it into more challenging stuff than I should have, but it got me through it! I am not sure how much it was the TE or the tires (KM2's). I spent almost the entire time in 4H without a problem. I only used 4Lo to compare the difference with 4H.

When I got lost in the dunes the first night and it was freezing cold out and windy, I just pulled over and slept comfortably in the back. I could not be happier, and what a fun truck to drive! I do wish there was an inside handle on the back door.

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Dunes can be unpredictable, so drive with caution! :guitar3:
 

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sweet pics man!

i'm jealous of the sand dunes. i have to drive quite a ways for me to hit any and i'd be in rattler country with no gun.

i put my TE through some sand and mud and even with the factory tires it pulled me around just fine. never had to put it in 4lo. those tires definetly make the truck look right though. kinda like toyota shoulda thrown some AT's on their to begin with :p

keep the pics coming :D
 
bradj said:
I wondered the same thing.. Just like Jeep actually puts good AT tires on the Rubicon model...
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I absolutely agree, at the very least on the TE. That's what it's made for, right? And it looks soooo good with more aggressive tires.

These pictures were taken in Little Sahara Recreation Area, Utah. It's near Delta. Rad place to spend a day or two, there are also some mountain-like trails in addition to a bunch of dirt/dune trails. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of the mountain trails, it was too much fun driving! The trails can be narrow in places (mainly ATV trails), but I was surprised at how well the TE navigated. On accident, I took it down some steep dune-sides. I thought it was game over, but I made it out somehow. The TE makes it so easy, that it's easy to get in over your head and be overconfident.

Not a bad thing though, all things considered! :lookout:

See more pics at: Picasa Web Albums - cegbert1 - Little Sahara...
 
Egstyle said:
I absolutely agree, at the very least on the TE. That's what it's made for, right? And it looks soooo good with more aggressive tires.

These pictures were taken in Little Sahara Recreation Area, Utah. It's near Delta. Rad place to spend a day or two, there are also some mountain-like trails in addition to a bunch of dirt/dune trails. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of the mountain trails, it was too much fun driving! The trails can be narrow in places (mainly ATV trails), but I was surprised at how well the TE navigated. On accident, I took it down some steep dune-sides. I thought it was game over, but I made it out somehow. The TE makes it so easy, that it's easy to get in over your head and be overconfident.

Not a bad thing though, all things considered! :lookout:

See more pics at: Picasa Web Albums - cegbert1 - Little Sahara...
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great place and great photos! Awesome tires. Looks like an amazing trip! Did you use crawl control or any of the modes?
 
bradj said:
It's a dune flag.. most dune rec areas require you to fly a small orange flag over your vehicle for safety.
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Yep, that's right.

I did try out 4Lo with rear diff locked and Crawl Control to climb up a steep dune slope from stop. It didn't seem to be that useful on that type of terrain. On sand, it seems like you're better going up it with speed. Also, the sand is still a little stiff from winter, so maybe 4Lo would be better in loose sand.

I kind of prefer to be in as much direct control of the vehicle as possible. Maybe when I get more comfortable with my truck, I'll further explore the bonus features.

However, I did use Multi-terrain select in 4H, which seemed to help on sand and dirt. If you have some good M/T tires, you won't have many problems going anywhere with this in 4H alone. Oh yeah, it didn't seem like the motor got that stressed from climbing hills, just purred right up.

My truck has LT265/70/17 KM2's. Unless you are going to be extremely aggressive, larger tires are not all that necessary, IMO. I would be concerned about limiting the travel space in the wheel well without a lift.

Can't wait to get some rocksliders and solid front end.

Other than that, I feel like I can go anywhere in this ride, short of a highly technical trail. There's a real sense of freedom to it...

Glad you guys enjoyed the pics. Now post some of your own, I want to see what this machine can do! :reddance:
 
Cool pics! Next time try it in warm to hot dry sand this will prove to be a bit more challenging. Wet cold sand is much harder and thus makes it much easier to drive a truck, jeep or suv on. I'll be looking for a post on how she really handles the sand in the summer months. Great pics!
 
bug1964 said:
Cool pics! Next time try it in warm to hot dry sand this will prove to be a bit more challenging. Wet cold sand is much harder and thus makes it much easier to drive a truck, jeep or suv on. I'll be looking for a post on how she really handles the sand in the summer months. Great pics!
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True enough. Should have some good sand here soon, I'll keep you posted. See my "Found some mud..." thread for how she did climbing a snowy/muddy hill. Not especially deep, but quite slick. I almost took a dive in that stuff when I got out to take some pictures.
 
jca21 said:
i have to drive quite a ways for me to hit any and i'd be in rattler country with no gun.
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Uh, why do you need a gun for rattlesnakes? Are you some kind of yellow-bellied wimp? Just walk the other way.

So many people are so irrationally scared of snakes it makes me point and laugh!
 
Is that little Sahara Receration Area?

Have you ran Rattlesnake yet with it? :biggrin2:

The 4runner looks good.
 
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