sand driving
 

im going down to the outer banks in a few weeks, to a place with no roads...

would somone please tell me the tricks to driving in loose sand

pour water on sand when you get stuck?

What part? Are you staying north of Corolla in the 4x4 area? Lucky dog I have to wait until Labor Day for our OBX trip.

Ok tips...
Air your tires down to about 18-20 psi. If you are staying in the 4x4 area, do this before you get to the beach access point. It is "no-parking" and makes it hard for the people going on and comming off of the beach, if you are parked there ( Trust me I did it and got many 1 finger salutes). You can air down and drive on the road just don't go nuts and take it easy.

Keep your RPM's up. Lots off shiffting if your a stick. Nice firm grip on the wheel. you will get bounced around, but that is part off the fun.

There are lots of tracks in the sand where people have already done the hard part and compacted the sand some for you. Try to drive in them. If you need to move out of one, Gas and turn hard (not so hard you could flip) you will pop out.

Check the tide chart and become familiar with the tide schedule. High tide is more work to drive in because it forces you into the soft stuff. Stay out of the water, remember what happens when your standing in the sand and the wave hits and your feet sink, imagine what your truck will do not to mention the rust it will create.

PM me if you need more info about it or the area.

do a search on here for OBX. There are a bunch of post from those of us that go down and some tips are in them.

Have fun.

cool thanks for the info I'm heading to moses lake this weekend so thats nice to know

Tip from an old "Kansas sandhills" boy...If you feel yourself bogging down, don't gun it, stop. Get out. Check all four tires. There will be a "wave" of sand in front of some of the tires. Knock it down, get in and take off nice and easy.

Spinning till you bury it up to the axles will result in replacing wheel bearings before long. Voice of experience here.

Based on my experiences driving on the beach in OBX, PirateFins has it right.

I have no problem driving around at Oregon Inlet with Bridgestone Duelers aired down to 15-20psi.

Chris

yep, i've found that you can creep along in the sand almost as well as you can gun it through it.

I have a collection of sand driving tips on my web page:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/PismoBea...#DrivingInSand

nice tips...i'm on list for the beach driving class!

use 4 lo. i was just on the beach last weekend in baja and it made a big difference.

Unless you're trying to scale a 200 foot dune at a 45 degree angle...then horsepower is your friend. :great:

Anybody have any good sand wheeling pics?

You can turn the steering wheel back and forth semi quickly once you feel yourself digging down. Seems to help. Low pressure is the key though

Eliminator Hill at Pismo was NEVER my friend:barf: !

Dude, some pretty good advice on here, but I prefer to go much lower in pressure and have no worries at all. Depending on the tire/wheel combination you have, 5psi shouldn't be any problem, and you won't have to worry about revs, steering wheel adjustments, climbing out of someone else's ruts, or even 4WD (shame on me) at all. The entrance to Oregon Inlet is always a chewed up, soft mess, but I raise a few eyebrows puttering by all these built rigs in 2wd at 3psi. It all depends on whether you have a good bead you trust or not. I used to drag & climb at Pismo at as little as 2psi on Goodyear Wranglers and BFG A/Ts on 8" ARE Outlaws. Never popped a bead - even side hilling. Maybe I was lucky, but 20 years on the dunes... I once pulled a club member's broken J**P on a 16' trailer out from Maidenform Flats with a stock 22RE 4Runner, Smittybuilt rear bumper, and nothing but the AREs and 15X9.50R15 Wranglers at 2psi. That same combo was trailered in by a lifted and built Wagoneer with 12":shocked: wheels!

The problem with going this low in pressure is the pavement driving you might need to do to get air. I've gone from the entrance to O.I. to the marina across the road at 3psi with no problems, but I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. So if you don't carry something to air you up a little for the asphalt, keep it above 10psi.

Anyway, have fun at OBX. We just finished our 2 weeks at Collington Harbor (we like the private docks for the SeaDoos), but we had time to make a north run up to the state line a couple of times and Oregon Inlet for a whole day. Low range is definitely the way to go - for your clutch's sake. Second or third gear to putt around in, and 4th (even O/D) if you want to break the speed limit. See my web page for pics from OBX. I'll be scanning and uploading Pismo pics soon.

PirateFins in Smithsburg - PM me if you want to get together for some wheelin in our area. I'm trying to get a Maryland chapter of the 4ROC or TTORA going.

heres one! :great: and yes i made it up.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...5/HPIM2093.jpg

I didn't see it mentioned, but i might have missed it. when airing my tires down real real low for sand, i always mark the rim and the wheel with chalk to see if the tire spins on the rim throwing it out of balance. its a good trick.

:good: Nice tip! Yes, the bead can spin on the rim (especially those with a safety bead) without losing air!

In addition to my post above. How do you know if you have wheels that can handle ultra-low tire pressure? If you can't put balance weights on the outside of the rim (by hammering them on - not with tape!), don't go below 10PSI. You have no safety bead.
Also, with the fun of the driving experience on sand, there comes the maintenance required. I won't go into wheel bearings and brakes and stuff, because it doesn't sound like you are going to be doing a lot of hard-core sand driving, like jumping dunes and stuff. Also, you didn't say what kind of truck you have, but if it is a 1st gen 4Runner, there are 3 places you need to pay particular attention to at the high pressure spray wash. I say high pressure, because the usual driveway hose won't get to where you need to clean. (There is a good high pressure wash place about the 8 or 9 mile post on the right - as you go south - near the Brew Thru). 1. Fender wells, front and rear and pay particular attention to the lip under the rear; 2. rear tailgate, spray from up under the truck near the spare tire carrier and from above down into the area between the window and the tailgate. If you don't get all the sand out, you will hear "skreeeeeeeee" every time your window goes up and down; 3. the rear sliding window frame - shoot the spray from above the lower window frame trim piece until you can see the water coming out from underneath the piece, then reverse straight under the piece until you see it coming from the bottom of the glass.

These make airing down fast and easy.

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