Tyre pressure & gear slection on beach...

[bay_firey]

So Corry, what do you charge for personal tuition in sand driving ??

[dn]

hey everybody

going to fraser this easter with my new hilux SR5 with the original tyres 255/70/15...should i expect any problem maybe when coming off the barge?

what about on the soft sand at noosa northshore to get into the beach?

thanks for your help

dn

[GBC]

Dn, the only probs you'll have is if you overload the thing. O.E. springs in the back will bottom out quick, and the new lux is low as a skateboard anyway. Heaps of grunt though will allways work in your favour.

[Doomy]

20PSI and Low Range through the cuttings in 2nd or 3rd works for me.

[choppa]

hi there sidewayz,,, i'm only new to this forum but couldn't help looking at the various responses to your question and yes i do agree,,,everyone does it different,,,, as a few pointers,,, underinflated tyres does riun the risk of tyres poppin of the rims,,,, insurance is out the door also as any assessor will classify the car ""unroadworthy"" if discovered a claim involves under inflation,,, this question was popular 20 yrs ago when most 4bies ran tyres the width of a smoke packet,,, but today all tyre widths are adequate to carry the vehicle across sand as long as the driver has enough common sense to deal with the situation,,, i've been running 4x4's since i was 18,,, and do a hell of a lot of beach work,,, both in personal and for my business use,,, happy to report that i've never dropped tyre pressure to get from point a to b,,,, however i have done so to get out of a sticky situation or 2,,,so it leaves the question,,, if i had of dropped psi prior to the sticky situation,,, would i have got stuck????? personally i think i still would have,, but i can honestly say the compressor on board my current set of wheels has been used a hell of a lot more on other peoples cars than mine,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,choppa

[DALEPRICE]

so if you had two identical cars and
one was running 18psi in his\her tyres and
the other running 36 psi they would go
exactly the same..............

pretty sure if you have a look around at the local's
cars on moreton or the pro's that get around they all
have deflated tyres
pumped up tyres on the beach
my 2 cents worth and i could very well be wrong.

[finding_time]

Giday Dale
can i drive the vehicle with the 18 psi

Ian

Ps my vehicle runs 283/75's and these leave a very big foot print but the differance between even 22psi and 15 psi is HUGE!!

[PeterT]

I teach 4wd off road driving and recovery. You should never, never drive at high speed with tyres deflated, and never make sharp turns. Most people don't understand why you lower pressure when driving on sand. It is not just a matter of making a wider track by artificially making a wider tyre.

Lowering the pressure spreads the tyre but also allows the tyre to bulge in over the face of the tread contacting the sand. (see the rude drawing attached).This means that in effect you are running on a rail of sand that can't squeeze out from under the tyre.

We do are fair bit of beach running in troopys with standard razor blade toyota tyres. Big fatties are just not economic in places where you can get 2 or 3 flats ranging from a puncture to a complete rip to shreads special in an outing. Im not talking about tourist driving but travelling remote Arnhem land week in week out including soft beach sand and hard beach driving.

My suggestion is to go and do an off road driving and recovery course. They are great fun and even the most experienced off roader learns something, if not from the teacher, then from the other off-roaders who always have a trick or two of their own.

pete

[JEWIENEWIE]

Corry, i know exactly what yu are talking about. I go to rhules beach every year for a 6wk stint and camp up at mitchels ck mouth, towing my tinny. Softest sand i have ever driven in, troopy does it no worries, tyre pressure 20psi, low high range, no worrries.
Jewienewie

[grayson]

Mmmm, lots of opinions here. I live WA and not letting your tyres down is considered akin to some sort of crime. At some places (Steep Point included) the ranger will apply extremely heavy per tyre fines for any tyre over 20psi. This is because the tracks just get chewed to buggery and very corrugated (hard sand to soft sand conditions). Whilst I agree that you could get away with not letting your tyres down, I just wouldn't do it. Also, most of my beach fishing haunts are in areas of extremely soft fine powdery sand and steep sloping beaches and I run my tyres between 12psi and 20psi depending on the area. I have stopped to assist quite a few people bogged at my beach fishing haunts and all we did most times to get them out was let their tyres down to 15psi, clear the front of the wheels and drive the car out. At Bornholm beach near Denmark, you will struggle to get out up the massive dune track in summer unless you are running 10-12psi!!! These pressures are for 265/285 x70/75x 16 size tyres on a reasonable laden to heavily laden 80 series wagon. The talk about tyres at low pressures heating up and rolling off rims etc is all true, so you obviously adjust driving accordingly. My beach work with very low pressures is generally done at speeds not exceeding 30kph. At a hard packed sand beach such as can be found at cable Beach, you could drive it in a commodore or falcon with normal tyre pressures. I guess theres just way too many different situations to agree on a common approach????

[adds31]

I have a 04 hilux t/d dual cab and have know worries in the sand, touch wood. Sydeway's, Check out the sand conditions especially if it hasn;t rained for a while and during peak holiday times, the going could get tough. I run factory skinny's on the lux and run about 15psi and use second or third gear low range through very soft sand cause of trailer axle drag in sand and is pretty effective. Every car is different but i use those low gears cause the turbo holds in very well and doesn't stall, unless you back off plus it still gives you the momentum you need for most sticky situations. Hope it helps.

Cheers Adds...

[rubba]

i drop mine down to 20psi before even getting on beach and im amazed by the number of people bogged that i pass.and they are always stopped in main track then the buddys pull up all around them drinking beers an have no condsiteration about any one else.While we try and get around them with out running them over.in real soft stuff i go down to 16psi and find the going very easy