Sand dunes! (1 Viewer)

[BennyGP]

I know it is MUD forum but anyone here drive their 200 in the dunes? Last weekend I was at Florence, OR dunes tested my 200 on light sand parking lot. I wanted to take my LC in the dune so bad but I did not have ATV permit and no flag, I really enjoy driving along the beach and some sand dunes. Anyone here take their LC to the dunes?
Beginner here, I am getting my ATV permit, flag, shovel, towing cables, and Maxsa escaping buddy. Any tips would be great.

TIA

https://www.amazon.com/Escaper-Trac...=8-1&keywords=Auto+sand+board#customerReviews

 

[TonyP]

I've done a little bit of sand driving in the 200. Bring traction aides and have good tires. The 200 is a heavy bitch for the sand.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I would wheel the New Mexico desert just north of El Paso. DEEP soft sand for miles, looks like northern Africa. 15 psi and some driving techniques always kept me safe, and I wheel solo without traction boards.

 

[Dan Higgins]

Ha! I grew up in Eugene, OR and have a lot of great memories of those dunes near Florence. All the beach driving I have done has been on fairly firm sand. I typically air down as was suggested. And technique matters. There are probably some good vids on it. For fun you might look up a vid of Jimmy Fallon getting stuck on a beach in his Land Rover. Sort of a what not to do clip.

 

[M1911]

I’ve never gone out on dunes. I do go out on the beach every year. Airing down is key. I lock the center diff.

 

[Captndcoke]

Dubai... i have seen more lx and lc's than any other 4X4's for the dunes

 

[Sandroad]

Sure, just do it and have a good time. I drive a couple miles in deep soft dune sand along an old Coast Guard road every time I go into my cabin on Lake Superior, sometimes pulling a heavy utility trailer. The 200 handles it easily with no special prep. I also go into the sand dunes along Lake Michigan at Silver Lake State Park, with flags, permits, and tires at 20 psi. Play around with the various controls to see what they do! For driving tips, I would say if you are in deep, dry sand use about 20 psi. If you feel it’s bogging down too much in one spot, go straight for a bit because sharp turns in sand are hard since the rear wheels are not following the front. If you play more than a couple hours, take a snack break and let the transmission cool. Going up slopes, keep your speed up because momentum is your friend. I don’t carry traction aids, but I’ve seen others successfully use pieces of old carpet to get enough flotation to get moving. And if you are in an orv area at a busy time, watch out for the little orvs going +50 mph all over the place! You won’t be going that fast in your 200 and they are not all good drivers (understatement there).

 

[4gotalot]

Yup, its a lot of fun. St Anthony ID sand dunes is were our local 404cruisers.com goes to play in a sand box. My 17 year old taught me how to drive in the sand. Did you guys know that the gas pedal can go all the way to the floor? We had one rule, don't roll it. He also learned to listen to the other guy in the front seat (navigator). We would be going up and over a dune with some speed trying to keep moving with nothing but blue sky in the windshield and a right turn at the top....he forgot the right turn and I reminded him in a normal fathers voice sitting in the other seat. We didn't roll but the next 80 series behind us also forgot but was traveling at half our speed and ended up at a 45 deg angle on a steep slope on the other side. Did not roll but not a good place to be.

Sorry about that, I was having fun at the dunes again.

The 5.7 needs RPM's to make power in the sand. It needs 2500 rpm's to get the cruiser moving with control. 3000 rpm is the goal but do not drop below 2500 or it starts to bog down quick. I ran in 1st gear high range and kick it into second on my own when needed. Low range when stuck or almost stuck. When I did get stuck it crawled out itself.

 

[ethernectar]

The annual Turf & Surf is held at Oceano Dunes SVRA (Pismo Beach, CA). Lots of soft dunes to play in.

 

[odinskind]

I drive in the Sahara desert every weekend. Mostly beach driving but depending on the tides I can be in very loose sand. I drop the tires down to 20 psi before I get in the sand. I've never been stuck, but have assisted a few prados and 80 series when they were.

 

[BennyGP]

Are you guys driving with tires come with the LC or different tires?

 

[TeCKis300]

Even if you do get stuck, don't forget about the LC's ability to crawl itself out.

*Sorry about the music (skip to 3:15), but still proves how deep it can extract itself out from.

 

[DesertDoc]

LC200's are awesome in the sand. Stock tires are good. In general the more aggressive the tire the faster it digs down if you spin it up, so the less aggressive stock tires work well. The commercial desert safari companies use them as standard. 13.5-15.0 PSI is a good pressure range for soft sand (desert) that has seen no rain. You can run 15-18 PSI, particularly if sand is firmer, but it is putting more stress on the drive train. If badly stuck you can go down to 8-10 but avoid aggressive throttle or you risk a tire pop-off and you should return to a higher pressure immediately you are unstuck (tire easily damaged at this pressure). All the vehicle traction and stability controls need to be off before you enter the sand (otherwise it begins to brake individual wheels and cut engine revs and soon enough you will run out of momentum). Centre diff-lock is helpful. Always in high range. Low range only when already stuck. Use manual sequential, mostly 2-3. Not in D as the gearbox will change down at the wrong moment and you will end up slowing at the wrong moment and perhaps then stuck. Crawl control is great at getting you out of a stuck situation, but tire pressures have to be down 12-15 (it's great but not magic), you must go with gravity not against it (this is key, even if that requires reverse) and you need to aid it by moving the steering wheel slowly left and right (side bite - watch video above and you will see driver doing this). Stomping the gas as you get bogged spins up the wheels, they immediately dig down and you're often then stuck worse than you would have otherwise been. If in doubt often better foot off the gas, car will coast to a stop but you are still on the surface and not stuck. Get out, take a quick look, choose the easier route. If you walk the sand around you vehicle you will feel where it is softer and harder, from here you can calmly make a plan/route of how to get out. When stopping always try to stop on some sort of downward slope, however small a gradient. When you start again gravity will get you going easy, and from there you just keep the momentum up. Don't speed in the dunes or you will get an expensive lesson, if you jump a stock 3,500kg vehicle off a dune either it or you will be broken. Don't drive in the dunes after dark, easy to get lost, even to trash your car. Don't fear the sand, once tires are aired down the LC100 and LC200 are remarkably capable.