By joshua on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 09:11 am: Edit

Im headed to the cape cod dunes

never been in sand before, any suggestions, comments ect ect

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 09:12 am: Edit

Grass dont grow on a rollin stone...


Kyle

By Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 09:30 am: Edit

Air down if you have trouble. With a LR you prob won't need to.

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 09:35 am: Edit

Be careful were you start and stop. Starting in dry sand will cause the truck to dig holes and sink. Bring a shovel!

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 10:00 am: Edit

When we ran at Pismo Beach, (some pics at the site below), we were all running 10~15PSI.

Some simple things are keep up your momentum, apply power steadily, and use Hi range not Low.

Sand is very forgiving. A mistake that would roll the truck on dirt or rock, usually only results in you being stuck. Bring a shovel and a good recovery kit. The dunes are fun.

http://www.expeditionexchange.com/pismo/

By wturner on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 10:21 am: Edit

Cool pics. How scared was the guy in the Disco LE on page 1? Looks like he was at more than the 45 degree rollover mark.

What happened to knock out that headlight on page 3

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 11:03 am: Edit

"Air down if you have trouble. With a LR you prob won't need to. "

HA HA HA HA HA

Sorry, LR's aren't magic. Actually I think they have a disadvantage in sand due to low power and high weight.

Air down the tires low and keep your foot hammered on the pedal.

Tom

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 11:49 am: Edit

A few other guys wound up like he did on page 1. It's the same truck at a different angle on page 4.

The sand is amazing in it's ability to grip. The truck will slide to a point and then it stops. We used a truck to tug the rear end so that it pointed down into the bowl he was on, and he drove down one side and up and out on the other. It looked really hairy up close and personal, but after a few others (including myself) go into similar situations, you realize how forgiving the sand is.

The headlight popped out as a result of driving too fast. He hit a 2nd dip while still recovering from the initial hit and the lense popped out and shattered on the bumper. Speed and momentum are the key on sand, but you can go too fast as well. Got to let your suspension recover.

Tom, you're dead on about the tires. Rovers are great, but the rules of off-roading all still apply. Air down for the sand.

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 11:50 am: Edit

Eeeek , airing down is not neccesity. High range is also a very bad idea (Have a little talk with your trans) best to just select a higher gear manually and run low locked. As Robert said just be carefull where you start and stop. DOnt take off with a shit load of throttle or it will bury itself where it sits. I ran Pismo in 2000 with 235s and 5 PSI in the tires with no problems. Just have to adjust your driving style to the terrain,,,thats all..try to stay moving , as I said "Grass dont grow on a rolling stone"

Kyle

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 11:55 am: Edit

Kyle, in low you're reving the snot of the engine, even in higher gears.

Also, you say that airing down isn't neccessary, but then say your ran Pismo at 5PSI. How much you want to go down I agree depends on style and preference, but once you're off the beach and into the dunes proper, you won't get far running the same pressures you run on the street.

By Brett Gottdener on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 02:28 pm: Edit

I was at Pismo with Jeff, and out of 15 trucks, I think I was the only one in Low range. I kept it in 4 low all the time, and threw it into 3 going up a steep hill. I personally liked being in low range because I had more response and flesibility in "think fast" situations. It is also alot easier on an automatic transmision to be in low range. Some say that you are working your t-case in low range, but because a t-case is all mechanical gear to gear contact- there is less stress applied to it. Where pushing an ATF can burn it up quite easily. There was actually a RRClassic who lost all forward gears and got trailered home. He was in high range. Sure I burned more gas, but I think my truck performed alot better.

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 02:31 pm: Edit

Brett, that RR Classic may have been a victim of the mechanics repair on the transmission (the owner is the mechanic). Evidently, this is not the first time it's failed in the field...

I ran in low for most of Saturday morning, but moved to hi after that. I found it much easier to manage. Either way, the dif was locked.

Chalk it up to drivers choice?

By MTB on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 02:35 pm: Edit

The Dune tours on the Cape they run Suburbans loaded with people. If I not mistaken I think they run 12.5 wide tires running 15-20psi and low range that was 8yrs ago and they kept moving
THat was loose sand.

Michael B

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 07:50 pm: Edit

jeff, i think kyle meant 55 psi...
if i know kyle, he'll never go below 55...
when you see the moab video, you'll see what i mean.

By chrisvonc on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 12:54 am: Edit

I think you are right Ho. The only time Kyles tires see 5psi is when they are on the rack in the store.

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 03:49 am: Edit

You're probably right thinking back on previous posts. Regardless, I still say you air down for sand. I've driven in the desert, on the beaches of the East Coast (many moons ago), and now Pismo. Lower PSI makes it much easier.

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 04:33 am: Edit

AIR DOWN!!! AIR DOWN!!!

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 06:04 am: Edit

yeah, big fat soft tires makes it a hell of a lot easier. It can be done with hard tires and good driving, but if letting a little air escape makes it easier, then why not? You're there to have fun, aren't you?

sorry, no jumping chicks to end my message with...

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 06:30 am: Edit

I was running 215/85's. Nice and skinny. They did great. I was at 15PSI, but went to 10PSI later in the weekend as we went further from the ocean and the sand got drier and looser.

Ho, where do you find these icons!?!

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 06:43 am: Edit

hehe, jeff, i dont' think i wanna tell you...
i'll just be an

how's that?

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 07:04 am: Edit

ROFLMAO...

I have no response to that... ;-)

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 07:16 am: Edit

cmon man, i knwo you wanna give me the

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 08:14 am: Edit

Ah Ho, you're just .

You almost made me .

Because I am a good , I found your secret.

Now, I can be an too.

Here, take 2, they're small .

Now I'm .

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 08:21 am: Edit

LOL
now i am speechless.

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 08:24 am: Edit

I felt inspired...

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 08:27 am: Edit

so jeff, back to sand driving...

as long as people are aware of the downsides of airing down and be careful, i think it's ok.

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 09:24 am: Edit

Like I said before, I'll chalk it up to drivers choice.

By Mike D1 on Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 06:46 pm: Edit

I would air down to around 12 psi and I would bring a pull pal for the winch. I also use sand ladders (I overdress and like to go prepared).

Also, don't forget the beach blanket, umbrella, large colorful ball, sunscreen, Weber BBQ, surf-casting rod, boogie board, volleyball net, crab traps, super tight red Speedos, binoculars for girl watching, coolers, lounge chairs etc. etc.

By joshua on Sunday, September 09, 2001 - 04:28 pm: Edit

Mike,
you know all taht stuff would be great, but, dude, you have never seen me... I would not look so good in a speed-o
Im 6'3, 260lbs lol....I ve got what they call a little bit of a weight problem you see....lol

, HO, what the downside of airing down?

joshua

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Sunday, September 09, 2001 - 04:35 pm: Edit

LOL , yeah , big typo. And Ho is correct. I wont go below 55. You boys ever get sand in a bead? Well , it will go right in there when ya start lettin the air out. Just adjust your driving style and you will be fine. learn to drive on the sand and dont go lookin for some magic to make it happen for you.
As far as low range is concerned. Well , ok , run that bitch in high range and see what ya get. I dont care what the other trucks did. There are plenty of people that just dont know any damn better. Its hard on the truck,,,period...

Kyle

By joshua on Sunday, September 09, 2001 - 04:44 pm: Edit

Kyle, gotcha....but if im in a speedo, how do i prevent my ass from sticking to the seats?

lol


j
ps, can you name the movie?

By E Snyder on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 03:27 pm: Edit

I just ran for a weekend on the Outer Banks (luckily avoiding all shark attacks), with a very reputable mechanic friend. He said low range was better. He thought it worked the tranny less. You have more torque, and running consistently at 2000 or so RPMs is not bad. We have fairly heavy trucks, although his FJ80 weighs about 6800 pounds. I had been running in high, but switched over after he said that. The truck not only sounded healthier, it performed a lot better. Airing down is key. We often have narrow tires on our Discos, and I think that "wider is better". My 2 cents.

Wish I had a cheerleader at the end of my post.

By carl on Wednesday, September 12, 2001 - 03:21 pm: Edit

Most all rescue vehicles on the Outer Banks run stock trucks at 20psi and can go just about anywhere.

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Wednesday, September 12, 2001 - 04:03 pm: Edit

Are we talking "driving in the sand" as in flat sand or climbing dunes? Sure driving in the sand and some more mild hills may be hit w/out airing down. No way in hell, however, can "driving style" help out more than airing down over tough hill climbs and when the shit gets real soft.

Tom