Driving in the sand

[jwsland]

I've been buying a beach tag for Brigantine Island for years so I would consider myself an experienced beach driver but I'll be honest I think I need to go back to the basics. There are many factors when it comes to successfully and safely driving on the beach such as beach conditions, tires, tire pressure, vehicle weight and many others. I have owned 4 super duties all of which I have driven on the beach. The two that were diesels have been the most difficult in the sand due to their weight and what I believe to be the power curves the have.

I keep getting stuck in my current truck. Honestly its damn embarrassing and I can't figure out whats going on. Sometimes it has been great. I always air my tires down to about 30psi. There have been times when I can crawl through sugar sand effortlessly. The other day I went fishing and the second I hit the sand I was frame deep spinning tires, straight pipe screaming making a huge scene on the beach to avoid getting stuck. I barley kept moving enough to turn it around and drive right back off the beach. Keep in mind I have new Cooper Discoverer AT3's on the truck that were aired down. Meanwhile there are all kinds of pick-ups, diesel/gas and a variety of suvs passing me effortlessly at the entrance to the beach. I didn't even see a single person air their tires down. Even other super duties with gigantic bed campers rolling through the sand no problem.

I'm thinking the tuning might have a role to play or the turbo spooling too quickly causing me to spin. The truck just strains so badly and sinks. I can't figure it out. Any ideas here.

[jeephauler]

"There have been times when I can crawl through sugar sand effortlessly."

Is it possible that the front axle was not engaged when you are in 4wd.

[ZMANN]

IDK ??
I just go 4 low and power curve is irrelevant because i don't rev up

your LS might have to much slippage ? or what Jeep Hauler stated ?

[layson]

I think you should take a look and make sure it is actually engaging your 4wd.

30 pounds isn't all that low either. I am running a slightly larger tire but I usually go lower, 20 lbs ish in the front and probably lower in the rear axle.

[Dave]

Air down to 20 make sure your 4wd is actually engaged

[The Stig]

Lol 30 psi? Dude I run 18 psi in the front and 15 psi in the rear when I go to the sand dunes and I couldn't even get it to spin in 4x4. If you don't air down your tires in something so heavy you will sink like a rock.
I also can do perfectly fine in 2x4 as well. And you do not need 4 Low.

Air your tires down to what I specified and you will never have a problem driving in the sand again....unless of course you high center it on a hill or something....

Also the reason you haven't had a problem before is because the sand has levels of density. The deeper the sand is, the denser (harder) it will be. Density of the sand deals with how much rain they have had recently. If it is a drought, then the sand will be mushy and soft quite a ways down causing you to sink like a rock with tires running 25 psi or more.

When taking air out of your tire, it allows the tire to balloon out a little, giving it more surface area holding you on top of the sand

[jwsland]

There is always a possibility the 4wd didn't engage on occasion. But 30psi has usually always allowed me to get through the sand just fine. There is definitely a balloon to the tires at 30. There's been times I haven't even aired down and drove with them at 70psi. Also I've cruised onto the beach before in 2wd and chugged along just fine. I understand the sand compaction and maybe that is playing a more important role than I thought. I've never had to use 4w low in any truck.

[The Stig]

Yeah cause there is no way that your boost or tune is affecting you getting stuck. I have been driving in the sand dunes since I was 16 years old. 20 psi on very dry deep sand and you will struggle a little but you won't get stuck. I see people enter the sand dunes every year and get stuck in the entrance immediately. They always say they air down, but only to about 30 like you said.

Trust me, you were only lucky you didnt get stuck the other times. Probably because of higher tides, this year has been especially dry so I'm sure that has a small affect on how deep the sand is dry.

Next time you go, air your tires down to what I specified and drive around the most difficult areas. You will not get stuck

[1fastTRX]

I've been in the exact same situation before. I would get pissed seeing guys with huge 30+ ft toyhaulers cruising without any problem and my empty truck was stuck. Even some (not many) fwd cars were cruising along okay as long as they didn't stop. I was only airing down to about 30 lbs. I finally decided to air down to about 15 lbs or so. BIG difference! Now im one the guys helping others get unstuck and telling them to airdown more.

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[jwsland]

I will make sure I air down more than 30 next time. I was suggesting tuning/boost because maybe the "light switch" effect was causing my tires to spin too soon too fast.