SWB Beach driving, thoughts?

[jakeisthirsty]

I'm a young Cruiser pilot at 19, I live in Australia and we have a lot of beaches to exploit on the east coast. I own an '86 BJ70 (3B + turbo) and wanted to hear from some other beach lovers about how they go on the sand. One thing I've noticed with 70 series is the track is pretty narrow relative to how tall they stand, especially in Troopies but they have the advantage of a longer wheel base than I.

I know that with appropriate tyre deflation, calculated steering and shifting, and respect for the tide I should be fine. I tipped her recently in some steep ruts at LandCruiser Mountain Park so I'm just finding my confidence in that car again.

Thanks in advance!

 

[george_tlc]

If you're mostly into beaches & dunes, wider tyres are a good idea. Air down a bunch and learn where your engine/gearing gives you the most flexibility and power. Momentum and floatation is king on sand.

Sourcing some rims with an offset that gives you a bit more width will aid in stability. Within the past few years I went to some offset rims that were custom made for a tour troopie and that turned my swb vehicle into a totally different animal - much improved road stability (no longer 'twitchy') and it feels a lot more stable offroad. The offset was easily 1 1/2" on each side, so increased track front & rear around 3" overall. Obviously changes the loads on the wheel bearings some - but I've yet to have any repercussions...

cheers,
george.

 

[Hulsty]

I've done a fair bit of beach driving, I just air down for the conditions and go, never had any problems, just dont get sucked into doing circle work, asking for a roll over.

 

[jakeisthirsty]

Thanks for that fellas. I'm not even looking for crazy wheeling, just transit for camping and such. Offset rims are a good idea, couldn't ever trust wheel spacers after the state I've seen some trucks in though.

Should look into what it takes to tune my steering up a bit. A fair amount of play in my steering wheel at the moment, tyre rod ends?

 

[Hulsty]

Check steering box and rod ends

 

[cicak]

Keep the BONNET level less chance of ever rolling over. Avoid turning fast on soft tires popping a tire may cause a rollover also - turn downhill not upsand - watch for sudden drops and dips - keep speed down.

Shorties tip easily if abused more than a LWB or a MWB.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Ive been driving in heavy sand for years with the standard wheelbase on my 73 MWB ,my 75 series ute my 75 series troopy and briefly with a HJ61.
As most 4wds in australia have the same wheelbase its pointless going wider.
Most owners roll them over on steep dunes and another 2 inches of width is no help when you make a mistake there.
Always keep the vehicle pointed at 12 oclock(imagine the side of the hill a clock face) going up and going down at 6 oclock.
Use low range coming downhill for braking and avoid using the brakes at all cost,unless you really have to.

I have some of those max trax in case you are bogged,they work well as you can use them as a shovel as well.Although I have only ever used them for other idiots who ignore all the warnings about tyre deflation.

Dont forget to take your own strap and shackles.Most owners wont mind pulling you out,but they hate doing it with their recovery gear.

When beach driving ,BEWARE of seaweed that has been covered by a thin layer of sand. It is often deposited on the beach in a storm in thick piles,after awhile it decomposes and will virtually swallow your 4wd.

Also be wary of beaches that slope sharply towards the water.On the west coast we often get that during winter.

The SWB have the advantage of being able to turn around in tight spots.

The 3B ,even if it has a turbo ,is not the greatest performer in sand.You may find the 6 cylinder petrol engines will leave you for dead on the dunes or even in thick sand.
So dont play follow the leader unless you are sure you can keep up with them

 

[jakeisthirsty]

That was very insightful rosco, thank you. I'd love some max tracks, they aren't cheap but they'd be worth their weight in gold when the time comes that they're needed. I always travel with my recovery kit (a couple of snatchies, rated shackles, gloves) no matter what driving I'm doing.

The 3B is a pig on the road, God only knows how it'll chug through the drag of sand.

 

[Hulsty]

Most important thing is correct tyre pressures, they really do make the world of difference, my tyres are 13.5'' wide and I had them down to 7psi in the soft stuff. Hard to see how steep this hill is in tassie, but I screamed up it in low 3rd no problem at all and I had plenty of power out in the sand (13BT - 19psi at the time)



Same hill looking up

 

[DamoPeru]

I'm a young Cruiser pilot at 19, I live in Australia and we have a lot of beaches to exploit on the east coast. I own an '86 BJ70 (3B + turbo) and wanted to hear from some other beach lovers about how they go on the sand. One thing I've noticed with 70 series is the track is pretty narrow relative to how tall they stand, especially in Troopies but they have the advantage of a longer wheel base than I.

I know that with appropriate tyre deflation, calculated steering and shifting, and respect for the tide I should be fine. I tipped her recently in some steep ruts at LandCruiser Mountain Park so I'm just finding my confidence in that car again.

Thanks in advance!

Gday Jake,

ahhhh mate, those were the days, I was once just like you, did heaps of offroading in my first cruiser between the age of 18-21, most of that in sand in SE QLD, great years, enjoy them while they last!

my advice is keep it simple. Chuck a decent set of widish AT or MT tyres on and do nothing else. You have a great old vehicle to learn in so take advantage of it... keeping it stock, even if it means "struggling" compared to mates in newer vehicles, will make you a much better driver than the blokes learning in these new things with pops, whistles and a button to take the brain work out of every challenging situation.

most important have fun and at your age don't spend big bucks on your first couple of vehicles so you can happily submerge it, flog it and bang it up, with which you'll become a bloody great driver by learning your limits. once you get an expensive rig you tend to be much less willing to go out on a limb.

in addition, aussie beaches are fantastic places to run a muck as a young lad, but they'll rust the buggery out of any older landcruiser as they did my 4WDs if you're going every second weekend or so, but don't let that stop you for one second, its just a good reason to not get too attached to these 'training' vehicles.

good luck and enjoy your youth lad!

 

[Basie]

Where I come from, beach driving is a way of life and getting horribly stuck a rite of passage. One thing I have learnt that if you start to get bogged down especially where the sand is coarse and sloping towards the sea, resist the temptation to try and climb out of it and instead turn down towards the sea. You will hopefully get to firmer ground and pick up momentum going downhill. To turn up away from the sea in those circumstances might get you horribly stuck

Enjoy!

 

[roscoFJ73]

Where I come from, beach driving is a way of life and getting horribly stuck a rite of passage. One thing I have learnt that if you start to get bogged down especially where the sand is coarse and sloping towards the sea, resist the temptation to try and climb out of it and instead turn down towards the sea. You will hopefully get to firmer ground and pick up momentum going downhill. To turn up away from the sea in those circumstances might get you horribly stuck

Enjoy!

Its nerve wracking being so close to the water LOL I usually let a bit more air out ,down to 6-7 lbs if I have and its amazing how much traction you can get