FZJ80 In the dunes? (1 Viewer)

[lostih]

So I'm camping on the Oregon coast this week with my fam in the 80. It's triple locked with an OME 2.5" heavy lift, but the bump stops have been dropped 2" due to the diesel swap. The truck doesn't have gobs of power and I don't have on board air...so...how might I do in the sand? Not looking to jump or do super steep climbs but it's be fun to take my kid out and play...less fun if I break the truck or spend hours trying to get out. I do have a winch but no other recovery gear with me. Lots of people around though. Waddya think? Tires are a somewhat aggressive all terrain (ohtsu) that are almost new.

 

[Pin_Head]

They do pretty well for a truck of their weight. Airing down will help a lot. Don't go down into any sand holes until you have a good idea of what kind of incline it can climb. Don't get sideways on a hill.

 

[mbashier]

With most or all my off-roading being done on beaches, airing down the tires on the sand (the really soft stuff)is the equivalence of lockers on a tough trail. It's the difference between making it or not, having a blast or digging yourself out most of the day. I would highly recommend even a cheapo air compressor. It would also give your engine and drivetrain a break. Have fun!

 

[Krazytoy]

They do very well.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/index.php?threads/A-Ride-Through-St.-Anthony-Sand-Dunes-in-My-80.740599/

 

[NLXTACY]

I learned the hard way that just 5psi makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Pin_Head]

Even the long wheel base versions do pretty well.

 

[lostih]

So what do you recommend airing down to?

 

[mbashier]

I have the deisel 105, I think it should perform pretty close to yours. When I first bought her several weeks ago I took her to the beach. Entering the sand she pretty well bogged down in no time. I was pretty disappointed. I checked and the previous owner had about 50 psi in each tyre, and that was way high. I aired her down to about 7.25, which is on the low side, and she was virtually unstoppable. No high revving to keep momentum, or over speeding to stay on top, just easy driving.i think you should gradually air down till you get to the pressure you are most comfortable with. I don't think you need to go down to 7.25 or close unless you have to.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

I was at Pismo Beach two weeks ago and I only air down to 20 psi and I can go a long ways into the sand dunes...never had to lock it. Try 20 psi and you can always go lower if needed.

 

[AMMO]

Tire pressure is all relative to conditions... One experience at 15psi and another's at 10psi are irrelevant. Get on the sand and drop down to 15psi as a starting point. You could get away at 20psi if you stay out of the dunes and on the hard sand. If you don't know how to spot hard sand vs. wet or quick sand you may want to play it safe and follow other tracks.

Yes I did say quicksand.... There is plenty of it depending on conditions, wind and tides in the OR dunes.

Best advice if your new to the dunes, follow another rig or tracks, start high on the psi and drop 5psi at a time if you feel it start to dig or bog. Don't go below 10psi or risk sand in your bead if you start doing cookies...

This is my experience from years of Lane County SAR and pulling people out of the dunes when they don't return to camp for hotdogs and are reported missing....

Have fun!

-A

 

[JCruse]

So what do you recommend airing down to?[/QUOTE

For moderately deep sand I can get by fine at 25psi. For wet or deeper sand it's 20 or 18. And AT tires are a plus over MT. You want to float on top of the sand instead of digging in. Thats what airing down is for. Use gentile throttle for getting going and keep some speed up once you're moving. And follow tracks to make things easier.

Honestly I wouldn't bother telling you any of this beyond the tire pressure if I knew you'd air down enough. These trucks are virtually unstoppable on the sand. I'm there nearly every day.

 

[lostih]

So it seems that if I air down to 20-25 psi I could just drive slowly to a gas station to air back up. It's a short (3 mile) 30 mph drive. Seems reasonable doesn't it?

 

[NLXTACY]

The very first time I played in the sand was at Pismo for Surf 'n Turf. I was rocking 285 BFG AT tires with zero lift. I was fine at 40 psi in all of the wet sand and flat dry sand. When I started following some of the other trucks I started spinning tires going up the smaller dunes. Like no more than a large speed bump So I lowered to 22psi. This helped a bit but it became night and day when I reduced it to 17psi. All of a sudden I just floated on the sand. It was great. The tire's sidewall stiffness, along with the psi, and 2nd start gave me all the confidence I needed to have a blast.

Driving a few miles at that psi wont hurt anything short term. Key word: short.

 

[bcaskey08]

I've driven on the freeway at 65 mph with 15 psi in the tires. It's not the best thing in the world for the sidewalls but they won't blow out because you drove 3 miles. I say hit 15 psi see how you feel. Don't go below 10. And stay on the gas, you'll have a blast!


P.S. Search pismo turf n surf. It's the greatest LC sand event ever

 

[medtro]

 

[den]

Stick with 15 psi .. Any higher and it won't make much difference ... Haven't tried diff locks on sand.. But heard they just dig holes

 

[FJROSS]

I picked up a set of Staun tire deflators that are set from the factory at 14 psi. They are also adjustable if you want to change the pressure. They got a very high rating in a shootout with other deflators for their accuracy. By the time you get the fourth one screwed on to the valve stem, the first one was had already stopped. Had no problem on the beach what so ever.

 

[Brentbba]

First year ever at Surf N Turf, recommendation on stock 275's was 12psi. Running 285's now for several years and I've found anywhere from 15-20psi to be fine.

 

[FJROSS]

285's with 1514psi in some pretty soft sand. Truck went with no problem.

 

[nukegoat]

To the original poster: as others said, air down. I'd go 15-20ish and you can always drop a little more if you need to. If you have the pin-7 mod, lock your center and then lock the rear. It's sand so you're not going to be hurting much and you should probaby disable ABS. Stay in H on the transfer case and L on the transmission for the most part unless you're ok just snailing around. You don't need the pin-7 mod if you use L on the transfer case but you'll be bored. Overall you'll be totally fine and you'll have a blast. Driving in a straight line (or as much as the sand will let you) will allow your rear tires to follow the path your fronts leave. Don't sidehill unless you've got enough speed to make a big airplane turn on a dune (which can be fun). Be careful if you have to back down a hill you failed to climb over. Bring a shovel and keep a good attitude even if you get a little bit stuck.

To everyone else: You guys have low standards for excitement. Dunes are made for better power-to-weight ratio vehicles than the 80. The 80 will squish its way around anything you can put in front of it, but it won't exactly get your heart rate up.