So a friend of mine was asking about getting stuck the sand.Lets say you are in deep sand and you have NOT aired down the tires and you get stuck. Can you THEN air down and get unstuck? When I say you get stuck i mean you are just losing forward momentum not buried/bottomed out.thx
Stuck in sand?
- Thread starter weever
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Usually once your stuck, your stuck. Airing down only increases the surface area of the tire, better distrubuting the vechicle's weight, and increasing traction (larger foot print). I would say that if your already burried, decieding to air down afterwards will probably not do you any good.
Why not go try it and find out.
Why not go try it and find out.
Dunno if it's FJC related, but out of my experience in Africa and Middle East, the key is not hammering the gas pedal once you've realized you're stuck. I'd make things worse. The best trick is to put some kind of brush, wood or even floor mats under two wheels and start over gently.
Or buy some sand ladders.
If you're already stuck, wouldn't airing down just get your axle closer to (or on) the sand? The one time I was good and stuck in sand, I jacked up a side, shoved some sand under the tires, went around to the other side, jacked it up, shoved some sand under the tires, etc.
Sand ladders are a good thing.
Sand ladders are a good thing.
Your theory often works on trails (rocks, ledges, etc) though not usually in the sand.
I agree if the material you are on is not disappearing IE rocks airing down should increase traction.
But if the material is going away all bets are off.
Sand ladders... winch with a pull pal, or another rig to help ya out. Don't use traction control in sand, use your locker.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Air wayyyyy down. There is surprising traction even for over-weight wagons, below 10 psi.
Other than that-you need to dig, get pulled, or use traction aids. Usually all 3.
But yes, if you are stuck in your shiney new FJC, and the chicks are mocking you, airing down is a good plan. 9/10 times it will work great.
Here is a true story: When I was 16, almost 30 years ago, I was attempting a short cut across Fort Story, Va in my VW bus. I got stuck in bottomless sand. I hiked out and called my dad and a tow truck. I aired down the rear tires (only) while waiting, and drove out on my own. A valuable lesson.
Other than that-you need to dig, get pulled, or use traction aids. Usually all 3.
But yes, if you are stuck in your shiney new FJC, and the chicks are mocking you, airing down is a good plan. 9/10 times it will work great.
Here is a true story: When I was 16, almost 30 years ago, I was attempting a short cut across Fort Story, Va in my VW bus. I got stuck in bottomless sand. I hiked out and called my dad and a tow truck. I aired down the rear tires (only) while waiting, and drove out on my own. A valuable lesson.
Was at the Oregon Dunes near Florence around April/May. Sand was super soft on the hill. Aired down before getting on the sand. Getting beach side was no problem. Wheeling by the water was no problem. Getting out was a problem. Noticed my tracks were getting washed away, so I started making runs at the hill to get out. Got stuck four times. Had to dig around the tires to get a little traction to back down same way I ran up. Fifth attempt I got the speed dialed in and got to the top. Took about 45 minutes or so from the time I decided to get out before the tide came up.
Was by myself (motorcycles/ATVs in the area though), so not the smartest thing to do. But I learned a lot about wheeling in soft sand that day. Still an epic day.
Was by myself (motorcycles/ATVs in the area though), so not the smartest thing to do. But I learned a lot about wheeling in soft sand that day. Still an epic day.
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2003
- Threads
- 65
- Messages
- 4,477
- Location
- Sunnyvale, CA
- Website
- www.george4wd.taskled.com
I've driven lots on sand - beach sand, sand dunes, hundreds and hundreds of dune crossings on the canning stock route. The key is air down, drop to at least 18psi to start with and then drop a couple of psi at a time from there as needed. Different tyres and vehicle weight etc will also affect what psi is good for a particular vehicle.
Get stuck and you air down some more, try to do that BEFORE spinning/digging down to the chassis. Take a full size shovel.
Not all sand is the same, place to place or day to day. Wide tyres are good, lots of power is good, keep momentum/speed as you hit a dune. Never try to turn around on a dune unless you REALLY know what you are doing - back down if you don't reach the top. ALWAYS slow down as you approach the top/crest unless you really know the other side isn't a windswept cliff. Sand flags are good.
Practice, practice and more practice is the key to learning to drive on sand and what works or doesn't. One good thing with driving on sand is that it is a lot more forgiving than driving on rocks - but you can still do serious damage if you forget to engage brain before gears...
Also, when turning on sand - turn before you need to turn - the vehicle will be directionally sluggish. If following in other wheel tracks the vehicle will want to stay in them - so plan accordingly.
Make sure you vehicle's cooling system is in top shape - slogging through sand works the engine. It also puts strain on the whole drive train so you'll find any weak points sooner than later
Like Cruiserdrew mentions above - even a 2wd can go surprisingly far with aired down tyres. Most VW beach buggies rely on skinny fronts (for better steering control), wide rears and good power to weight.
Don't be scared of sand - it can be heaps of fun to play on - isn't that one reason we drive 4wd's ?
cheers,
george.
Get stuck and you air down some more, try to do that BEFORE spinning/digging down to the chassis. Take a full size shovel.
Not all sand is the same, place to place or day to day. Wide tyres are good, lots of power is good, keep momentum/speed as you hit a dune. Never try to turn around on a dune unless you REALLY know what you are doing - back down if you don't reach the top. ALWAYS slow down as you approach the top/crest unless you really know the other side isn't a windswept cliff. Sand flags are good.
Practice, practice and more practice is the key to learning to drive on sand and what works or doesn't. One good thing with driving on sand is that it is a lot more forgiving than driving on rocks - but you can still do serious damage if you forget to engage brain before gears...
Also, when turning on sand - turn before you need to turn - the vehicle will be directionally sluggish. If following in other wheel tracks the vehicle will want to stay in them - so plan accordingly.
Make sure you vehicle's cooling system is in top shape - slogging through sand works the engine. It also puts strain on the whole drive train so you'll find any weak points sooner than later
Like Cruiserdrew mentions above - even a 2wd can go surprisingly far with aired down tyres. Most VW beach buggies rely on skinny fronts (for better steering control), wide rears and good power to weight.
Don't be scared of sand - it can be heaps of fun to play on - isn't that one reason we drive 4wd's ?
cheers,
george.
Stuck in sand
Weever, I've been stuck mildly (not buried) in sand a few times. On the east cost beaches the sand granules are almost round like small glass beads therfore they are reall hard to drive on compared to quarry sand. What I have found is that if you stop as soon as you lose traction and air down but not too much, you can usually climb right back up to the surface. Be careful not to get too much throttle or be too quick on the clutch as you can sipn the rims within the tires or even spin the tires right off unless you have bead lock wheels. But if you wheel enough to have bead lock wheels, you already know this stuff and have aired down.
Be safe and air down first.
Woodeye
Weever, I've been stuck mildly (not buried) in sand a few times. On the east cost beaches the sand granules are almost round like small glass beads therfore they are reall hard to drive on compared to quarry sand. What I have found is that if you stop as soon as you lose traction and air down but not too much, you can usually climb right back up to the surface. Be careful not to get too much throttle or be too quick on the clutch as you can sipn the rims within the tires or even spin the tires right off unless you have bead lock wheels. But if you wheel enough to have bead lock wheels, you already know this stuff and have aired down.
Be safe and air down first.
Woodeye
