Sand Driving

A fair bit of the Sand Hints and Tips herein has been plagiarised somewhat from another site as at the initial time of writing I had not done much sand driving.  I have since added my own discoveries.

Take Heed

Different sand problems can be found in the outback (eg. Simpson Desert) or on the beach (eg. Fraser Island).

On all sand, lower tyre pressures will (not may) make the going easier and reduce the likelihood of becoming bogged.  I tried to tackle the sand road at 42 Mile Crossing on the Coorong, SA, and barely made it without deflating the tyres.  Deflating them would have been much better for my nerves, as we tackled much worse later on with deflated tyres and breezed through it.

When you first set off on the trip (that is, at the nearest service station to your home): Park your laden vehicle at the air pump and place a piece of wood 1 cm away from the sidewall of your rear tyre. Deflate that tyre until the sidewall just touches the wood and then measure the tyre pressure. Use this pressure as your starting point when initially lowering your tyre pressure for sand driving. As you become more familiar with sand driving, you can alter this pressure as the terrain dictates.  If you haven't performed the above technique before you reach the sand, don't fret.  A good rule of thumb is to use a pressure of 20 PSI.  Note: Don't forget to re-inflate the tyre at the service station.

Have a tyre gauge and tyre pump with you for all sand driving.  A good tyre pump does not mean one of those $25 noisy things that are only good for inflating footballs - those will take "all day" to inflate a 4X4 tyre and most likely burn themselves out way before they are finished inflating four 4X4 tyres.  If you're not prepared to spend something like $400 on a good tyre pump, then a double-barrel hand pump should be bought without question - it will take more effort to inflate the tyres (but quicker than the cheap air compressor), but that's your choice.

Proceeding Onward

Lower your tyre pressures.  This gives a larger tyre surface on the sand.  Have a look at a camel's foot - it splays out and covers a large area.  Same principle.

When travelling in convoy, follow the tracks of the vehicles in front, or the tracks of previous vehicles.  The sand will already be compacted.

Avoid rapid acceleration or braking.  This does nothing to help you and ruins the environment by "kicking up" sand.

When braking in loose sand, as in a desert, the smoother and slower the braking the better.  A build-up of sand will occur at the front of each tyre when stopping, and this build-up will be larger the heavier you brake.  If possible, coast to a stop (engage the clutch or select neutral) rather than braking.

Take-off should be performed as smoothly as possible with gear changes done at fairly high revs. Sand driving requires plenty of engine power to get your vehicle "planing" on the sand. It is advisable to use low range as this multiplies the amount of engine torque available and will provide that extra gear if you encounter a particularly soft patch of sand. Check that your tyres are pointing straight ahead when taking off to reduce the takeoff effort required.

When turning, make the turn as wide as possible to reduce the chance of bogging. Your front wheels act more like a rudder in sand and turning too sharply has a similar effect to applying the brakes.

Steep sand dunes can be traversed only straight up or down. If you drive even on a slight angle, the weight transfer is to the downhill side wheels. If the vehicle starts to slip, the downhill wheels tend to dig in and make the angle of the dune even worse, leading to a potential rollover.

If you are travelling straight down a steep dune and the back-end starts to slip sideways, it is best to accelerate slightly to try and straighten the vehicle. Never use the brake, as this will cause weight transfer to the front wheels and can increase the back-end movement.

If travelling up a dune and you do not get to the top, reverse down the dune in gear, never coast down the dune and never attempt a U-turn.

When you return home after a beach trip, it is important to hose down your vehicle to remove all traces of sand and salt. Pay special attention to areas like the mudguards where sand is sprayed around and tends to get trapped. Thoroughly hose underneath your vehicle as well, as there are many nooks and crannies where sand can also get trapped.

Extracting Your Vehicle

As soon as you become bogged, avoid the temptation to simply floor the accelerator as this will just make vehicle recovery more difficult. Put the vehicle in reverse and gently try to back along your tracks as they provide a compacted path. When you have reversed a sufficient distance, try going forward again while being careful not to dig yourself in. Hopefully you will travel further each time you repeat this technique and eventually be able to slowly pass through a particularly soft section.

If you cannot reverse out of trouble, get out of the vehicle and let your tyres down further. A rule of thumb is to drop them by a further 2 PSI. Before trying to reverse out, remove the build-up of sand from behind the tyres. See if any part of the underside is touching. If it is, clear the sand away to allow the vehicle to reverse out. You may need to try this several times.

I rescued a bogged RAV4 in late December 2001 who was simply trying to be towed out by a small Suzuki without clearing the sand, without luck - the RAV4's tyres simply spun and smoked in the sand and dug in deeper with the pulling power of the Suzuki having no affect.  I grabbed a shovel and simply removed the sand from the front of each bogged wheel and the RAV4 almost extricated itself before the Suzuki got going.  I should also mention that neither vehicle had a tow rope, so I had lent them mine.

If necessary, continue to drop the tyre pressures to 10 PSI.  Also, never underestimate the assistance of your passengers giving a push.

If you are still stuck and your tyres are down to the minimum pressure, you will have to resort to a snatch strap, winching or jacking to extricate yourself. The easiest method is usually by snatch strap, but this relies on another vehicle being present. If you are by yourself you will have to resort to winching or jacking.  There are not many trees in sand situations to aid as a winching point, but this is covered in the winching article.

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