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Sand & Traction

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tshelfer

tshelfer

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Location
Centennial, CO
First Name
Tim
Last Name
Shelfer
I've never been stuck in the sand, but.......

I always worry. Next month, we're making our bi-annual pilgrimage to North Padre Island, which will include a run down beach to at least the 20-mile mark. We have a 4WD Grand Cherokee.

Padre is funny. You'll run for a couple of miles on hard packed sand, and then get into an area maybe 100-200 yards long where you're 8" deep in loose, churny stuff.

Last time we were there, we had a rare hairy moment when we nearly got caught in soft sand. I kept the wheels spinning and we made slow headway until we hit better traction, and had no further problems. Admittedly, my tread was a little thin then, and I currently have a brand new set of Cooper Discoverer ATP tires with a darned aggressive tread. So we're probably fine now.

That said, what are your recommendations to improve traction? Should I lower tire pressures for sand driving? How low?

Beyond that, if you DO get stuck, what are your recommendations for getting out, and what would you carry?

Any specific stories of your experiences?
 
Tire pressure: Right around 15 PSI for sand.

Or you can get all technical:
Park your loaded vehicle on a level surface and place a brick 1 cm away from the sidewall of your rear tire. Deflate that tire until the sidewall just touches the brick and then measure the tire pressure. Use this pressure as your starting point when initially lowering your tire pressure for sand driving.

Gear:
Air Pump: to Re-Inflate after sand
Tow Straps - To get/ receive a tow out if somebody does get stuck.
Shovel and some plywood boards with Skateboard Tape on one side (or sandpaper) - Last ditch effort
 
Have fun, Tim! I've hired a guide on Padre a couple of times and he keeps his suburban tires at about 25 PSI....but they are 33 inches high and on 10 inch wide rims.....:eek2: Keep your speed up in those loose stretches and you should be fine.....if you have a highlift Jack I would consider taking that too.....oh and don't take one of those 18" long pack shovels.....take a full sized one....if you end up using it you'll be glad you did.
Couple of quick stories......I asked the guide what the best vehicle ever was for in the sand....he runs carbureted suburbans with a modest old man EMU suspensions, and big tires and gets a new one every couple of years......and his response was immediate and direct: "Your buddies vehicle!" :lol2:
And, the best vehicle I ever drove on the beach was my wife's Subaru Forester.....just floated on top of the sand like a cat....;-)
 
Sometimes no tread is better than full tread on sand. The tire won't bury itself as quickly as it will with all the built-in shovels.

Don't drive into the Gulf to rescue vans for people who left the vehicle while the tide came in. DAMHIK :lol2: (later lost the ignition to salt water, thankfully back on the dry area)
 
Just a couple of things I remember from my 4wd days..

Tight tread pattern at low pressure is best for flotation on sand
Wet sand complements dry sand and vice versa
A winch point can be made of a spare tire buried in the sand (never tried this myself)

Have fun!
 
Sand requires flotation, which comes from a really big contact patch. Sand sucks power--if you don't have gears that get into the powerband at start you can't run tall tires, so you'll do well to go with the widest street radials you can fit. Your worn treads were a lucky break. Aggressive tread will bury RIGHY NOW if they spin, street treads will keep on going.

My favorite sand runner ever was a '70 Maverick, 250cid 6-banger, wide ratio Ford 4-speed trans, 4.56 limited slip rear, G60-15 fronts on 8s N50-15 rears on 10s under +3-inch springs and shocks. It took some throttle to get rolling, but once the car was running on top of the sand (about 15mph) it was no big deal. If you have sufficient flotation you don't have to run flat tires.
 
Like stated above, keep your speed and RPM's up and tire pressure around 20psi. For getting unstuck, I have used a metal T-post hammered in at an aggressive angle away from your truck and a come-along with the cable at ground level someone cranking on the come-along and the other driving the truck. Good luck and drive smart.
 
I grew up in Corpus and used to go fishing back when the bridge was one lane and you sometimes had to back up for 1/4 mile if someone was coming the other way. We never fiddled with the tires and usually were in 2wd cars and pickups. We drove along the packed sand near the water, never used the brakes and tried to surf over the sand at 20 - 25 mph.

Towing is expensive now. Old days we always helped each other and pushed until they were rolling with the expectation that once rolling, proper driving would avoid any future problems.

That said, mud grips are terrible in soft sand, baldies are best. Wider the better.

Redfish should be running right now, a very good time to dip a line.
 
If you are in the first 20 miles ... just bring a long tow rope.

I hope you are bringing your bike - awesome place for dual sports:rider:
 
Purpose-built sand tires have big, lateral ridges across them, that look almost like rubberized tire chains. This makes me wonder - in a pinch, could you wrap heavy rope through your wheels and around your tires at intervals, similar to chains? Anybody every try or see that?
 
tshelfer said:
Purpose-built sand tires have big, lateral ridges across them, that look almost like rubberized tire chains. This makes me wonder - in a pinch, could you wrap heavy rope through your wheels and around your tires at intervals, similar to chains? Anybody every try or see that?
Click to expand...

Closest I've seen would be swamp buggies with chains wrapped around jumbo jet tires.

The sand tires you are referring to are for lightweight vehicles that have high horsepower. The tires are called "sand paddles". Sand paddles are very wide, with mushy sidewalls to provide a longer, wider contact patch than normal tires of the same height. Same principles as wrinkle wall slicks on a dragster, except wrinkle walls put more rubber on the road for more traction and paddle tires put more rubber on the ground for more flotation. Once there is adequate flotation, then one can worry about paddles to hook up big power. Float first, paddle second. Without float, paddling will put your undercarriage on the ground in a fraction of a second.
 
Don't fight the bike with steering. It will knife in. Lower pressure in the tires. Stand up, keep you weight back, and use a lot more throttle than you think you need. Not sure what tire you using the knobs would be better than a 80/20 tire. If you can get close the water on the packed wet sand that would be best.
 
I have a winch and hilift on my jeep. If you get stuck, you can use the hilift to get back on grade and chock under the tires until you get back on packed sand, providing you can find material to put under the wheels and jack base. If you have the winch you can also bury the hilift as a dead-man anchor. For sure, carry a some sort of shovel.
 
A hi-lift jack and a shovel are a must. I have seen people use old pieces of carpet about 6 to eight feet long to jack the vehicle up use the shovel to put the sand back under the tires place the carpet pieces under the tires and this is enough length to get you moving again. These are a poor man’s version of these and can be rolled up.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm_u0wb3kD0"]Terra Trax Sand Ladders Demo - YouTube[/ame]
 
MotoTex said:
Sometimes no tread is better than full tread on sand. The tire won't bury itself as quickly as it will with all the built-in shovels.

Don't drive into the Gulf to rescue vans for people who left the vehicle while the tide came in. DAMHIK :lol2: (later lost the ignition to salt water, thankfully back on the dry area)
Click to expand...

You could just borrow MotoTex's Subaru! :lol2:
 
Gravel Guy said:
You could just borrow MotoTex's Subaru! :lol2:
Click to expand...

Best suggestion I've heard. Get somebody else's SUV stuck. :mrgreen: All probably a moot point, because I've been down beach several times in my older Cherokee and my current ('07) Grand, and only had one scary moment.

I usually have with me a trenching shovel, a couple of old Army blankets, 2 two tow ropes, and a bucket for pouring water - and have never used any of them except for digging sea shells. I'm just a worrier. Don't know why - the garbage trucks don't get stuck down there, and frankly, I've seen 5th-wheel trailers as far down as the 10-mile marker.
 
I have actually used a my loading ramp before like the traction ladders in the video. We were stuck in the deep sandy creek on the way to where we camped and unloaded the bikes. Worked pretty well.

On the bike technique....The other thing with the bike also is to stand up and grip with you knees... It will lower the center of gravity and you loosen your grip on the bars to let the front float where it needs to go.
 
Airing down to 15-20 psi will help with flotation, but it is limited with lower profile tires.

I always bring scrap pieces of wood, jack, air compressor, and a shovel. If a vehicle is buried I prefer to use the jack to lift the axle out of the sand, fill in the holes, and set it back down verses digging a vehicle out.

I've been told pouring water on dry sand in front of your tires or around your tires will pack it down and make it easier to drive out, but I've never tried it. The last time I was stuck in sand was at PINS in 2wd PreRunner and we just got a pull from a friend and were on our way. Not really sure what to tell you as I've never been down there alone and I still have yet to get a 4wd stuck in sand.
 
I spent a lot of time on PINS. My kid spent many of summers learning to handle the jeep there.

Key to 4x4s without lockers is tire pressure. I usually run 18-20 psi. And just like bikes, throttle control. If you hit the soft stuff ease into it, don't floor it. If you spin you could sink it.

Now if you are like me, you spend way too much money on your jeep and lock it front and rear. 33in tires with 10x15 wheels running 20psi and NEVER get stuck.
I miss that jeep more than any woman I ever had. Never should have sold it.:doh:
 

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If you need a winch anchor with nothing close, bury your spare with the cable hook through the hub hole and clipped to a 4-way lug wrench. Works great.
 
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