D3 sand driving

[Discofever]

Hi all, what program are you using for soft sand / dunes? I see a lot of D3s getting bogged down in sand is this due to their weight, the dickhead policy or poor program selection?

Many thanks.

[DiscoJeffster]

Sand mode, DSC OFF, low tyre pressure. If I run around 12psi with the above I never get bogged on 255/55/19. If I have it was DSC turning itself back on after a restart and me forgetting. Dropping to 8psi and using traks has always saved the day. Immediately reinflate them back up after the recovery. I find 12-15psi has been fine. I've had a split sidewall with no tyre pressure and climbed a steep hill without it coming off the bead, so low pressure doesn't generally bother me on soft sand. Rocks is a different story.

[LandyAndy]

Another couple of points,try not to use full throttle,it will override you turning the DSC off if the sand is bucking you around.Always use low range in the soft stuff even if it seems to go OK in Hi.
Andrew

[scarry]

Good advice from the others.

If you do get stuck,rock crawl is also very handy at times.

As is the long handled shovel.

[BobD]

It's usually tyre pressure that is the problem if they know how to use the terrain response properly. 25 or 30 is no good. You must be down around 18 or less.

If all else fails and the tyres are below 18 try rock crawl. That has got me out after I have got bogged with tyre pressures too high a few times when I'm only in sand for a quick run and am too lazy to let the tyres down. Every time I've thought I have been stuck in soft sand I've let the tyres down more and driven straight out. Never had to be snatched but I sometimes use Max Trax to help out.

As Andy said, always use low range to keep throttle input low. On steep sand hills such as Big Red or the dunes we have in WA, putting the car in third gear low range gives good power without too much throttle. If you try to kick it down a gear with the throttle you will sometimes use too much throttle and the TC may cut power.

I've rescued several D3's on beaches in WA. Every one had their tyre pressures way too high. Letting the tyres down properly has got them going and they have suddenly found that their car is great in sand. One guy told me his tyres were let down but kept getting bogged. I drove it and also got bogged so I checked the pressures. He had let them down to about 35. As soon as we got them to 18, no more worries and he could drive everywhere in the soft sand. He didn't think it would make any difference going lower than 35!

My son has rescued a few absolutely clueless D4 drivers. They drive onto a soft beach in road mode, high range, DSC on, road tyre pressures and immediately get stuck. Luckily he knows what to do, even though he drives a D1 TDI300, and gets them going again.

[Oztourer]

Hi all, what program are you using for soft sand / dunes? I see a lot of D3s getting bogged down in sand is this due to their weight, the dickhead policy or poor program selection?

Many thanks.

Sand mode, Low range, DSC off, DSC off, DSC off! Tyre pressure makes a huge difference and is always a trade off between the softness of the sand, wheel size, and distance you need to travel.
i just spent the last few days on the GOE Sand Mastery course. It was very informative and the excellent capabilities of these vehicle's TR system was demonstrated to the max. Knowing how to put all this together is the key to it all. Seeing a Range Rover (deliberately) buried past it's axles self recover without sand trax and only a minimal amount of digging was a brilliant!

[Discofever]

Sand mode, DSC OFF, low tyre pressure. If I run around 12psi with the above I never get bogged on 255/55/19. If I have it was DSC turning itself back on after a restart and me forgetting. Dropping to 8psi and using traks has always saved the day. Immediately reinflate them back up after the recovery. I find 12-15psi has been fine. I've had a split sidewall with no tyre pressure and climbed a steep hill without it coming off the bead, so low pressure doesn't generally bother me on soft sand. Rocks is a different story.

Are you worried about the 19 inch rims slipping at 12?

[DiscoJeffster]

Are you worried about the 19 inch rims slipping at 12?

I'm not no. As mentioned, if I can successfully keep it on the rim with no pressure, I'm pretty confident. I guess it's fair to say I run from 15 standard to 12 for really soft stuff (Ningaloo WA beaches for example), and 8 for recovery. I really play it by ear but always max 15 to avoid issue. Every time I've been higher I've had the hassle of being bogged, and I'm lazy [emoji4]

[LandyAndy]

Remember.
DSC re-sets with every start up and every Terrain Response change to setting selected.So the golden rule is make sure the DSC is off every time you go to move.Its a show stopper.
Andrew

[BobD]

Try breaking the bead on standard LR rims and you will not be worried. The GOE rims are not as good though. I had a rear tyre pop the bead at 18psi when I slid sideways into a tuft of plants on a steep hill at Muttonbird in Albany. I just pumped it back up with my ARB twin compressor so all good. I drove for a km or so through the dunes before I realised that something was wrong though! It was only the scrunching sound of the tyre that alerted me.

[LandyAndy]

Try breaking the bead on standard LR rims and you will not be worried. The GOE rims are not as good though. I had a rear tyre pop the bead at 18psi when I slid sideways into a tuft of plants on a steep hill at Muttonbird in Albany. I just pumped it back up with my ARB twin compressor so all good. I drove for a km or so through the dunes before I realised that something was wrong though! It was only the scrunching sound of the tyre that alerted me.

It seems a W4 member peeled 2 tyres off GOE rims on one side over the weekend.Managed to get 1 to re-seat,the other had to be changed.
Andrew

[scarry]

Remember.
DSC re-sets with every start up and every Terrain Response change to setting selected.So the golden rule is make sure the DSC is off every time you go to move.Its a show stopper.
Andrew

Very good advice.

Caught us out in a big way once,tide coming up,badly bogged,late afternoon,remote area,no one around to help[bigsad]

Eventually got out,a lot of digging,rock crawl,tyres on 15 psi.

Good exercise we were absolutely shagged after....

With DSC on,power just drops right off so you go nowhere.....

[ATH]

I could have done with all this info. a couple of weekends ago. Got bogged up Wilbinga way right next to a drop off on the beach. Not being used to 19" wheels etc. I'd only let them down to 25psi but on advice from another club member went to 20 and eventually got out with maxtrax and driving straight down onto the beach and then a mad dash just above the water.
We came across some people with an old Tojo who had stripped the tread off 1 tyre and unseated 3 altogether probably during some frantic efforts to get out.
No jack, no compressor and no wheel brace!! Bet they had plenty of beer though.....
But the club helped out and I left before they got away so don't know the end of the story.
AlanH.

[DiscoJeffster]

Yep, Wilbinga, been there done that. Tide rising and all that. Freaks you out a little. [emoji2]

[Russrobe]

I could have done with all this info. a couple of weekends ago. Got bogged up Wilbinga way right next to a drop off on the beach. Not being used to 19" wheels etc. I'd only let them down to 25psi but on advice from another club member went to 20 and eventually got out with maxtrax and driving straight down onto the beach and then a mad dash just above the water.
We came across some people with an old Tojo who had stripped the tread off 1 tyre and unseated 3 altogether probably during some frantic efforts to get out.
No jack, no compressor and no wheel brace!! Bet they had plenty of beer though.....
But the club helped out and I left before they got away so don't know the end of the story.
AlanH.
Alan when i did the sand course with Gordon there was a RR with 20" wheels and they went all the way down to 16PSI unless doing extended distances. The beading on the original wheels is that good you could probably drive around dead flat and still not pop a bead.

Upto you though I always go straight to 16PSI but with 18" wheels.

Love driving around Wilbinga. Have gotten lost once before, so many tracks in there!

[cripesamighty]

A couple of years ago I had a tyre shred itself after a rear shockie gave out ( my fault - smacked the shock mount and damaged the bush a couple of days earlier). I got it changed in Tom Price and the tyre guy there visibly groaned when told he had to change a Land Rover rim. He just shook his head and went to change it. Afterwards he asked me if I knew what a bitch it was to get the tyre off the rim? I told him I do now!

[ATH]

Bit of a learning curve with the D4 at the mo. We've got an LRE demo trip coming up soon which may show us how to do it. :-)) With the Defender I would have gone straight to 15psi (10 for Calcup Hill) and lower if necessary, but we live and learn....[biggrin]
AlanH.

[Russrobe]

Bit of a learning curve with the D4 at the mo. We've got an LRE demo trip coming up soon which may show us how to do it. :-)) With the Defender I would have gone straight to 15psi (10 for Calcup Hill) and lower if necessary, but we live and learn....[biggrin]
AlanH.
Gah Calcup Hill is on my to do list! Let me know if you ever go again, I will try get the time off!

[BobD]

Bit of a learning curve with the D4 at the mo. We've got an LRE demo trip coming up soon which may show us how to do it. :-)) With the Defender I would have gone straight to 15psi (10 for Calcup Hill) and lower if necessary, but we live and learn....[biggrin]
AlanH.

Alan, what you would do with the Defender with tyre pressures etc is still mostly valid. However, everything must be taken much slower than you are used to, except sand! With the extra power available sand is a breeze as long as you do what has been mentioned in this thread. If you think you would need third gear low range in the Defender in sand then start with that in the D4 and you will have no problems. My D4 would take on Big Red in either third or fourth low range with the same results. It just flew over it when lesser Toyotas were not able to get up at all due to their lack of power.

You will notice that in sand mode the engine is remapped to give much better throttle response. If you forget to use sand mode, even in low range, the car feels dead until you realise your mistake. Hit the sand mode button and the car takes off without changing the throttle position. All very interesting and fun.

[LandyAndy]

Bit of a learning curve with the D4 at the mo. We've got an LRE demo trip coming up soon which may show us how to do it. :-)) With the Defender I would have gone straight to 15psi (10 for Calcup Hill) and lower if necessary, but we live and learn....[biggrin]
AlanH.

I'm told from several owners a 3.0 Disco will do Calicup with ease at 15psi,and even slow due to struggling vehicles and get going again.
Andrew

[Ferret]

Bit of a learning curve with the D4 at the mo. We've got an LRE demo trip coming up soon which may show us how to do it. :-)) With the Defender I would have gone straight to 15psi (10 for Calcup Hill) and lower if necessary, but we live and learn....[biggrin]
AlanH.

12 psi on Calcup Hill with both 19" OEM and 18" GOE rims, never have had any trouble with beads.

[ATH]

After following this thread I'm leaning towards keeping the 19s as plenty of people are getting around OK using them including our most challenging dunes.....anyone tried Bornholm yet? [bigsmile]
Plus there are more tyres becoming available so I may use these road tyres for a while then go for something a bit more aggressive.
Thanks for all the advices.
AlanH

[cjc_td5]

12 psi on Calcup Hill with both 19" OEM and 18" GOE rims, never have had any trouble with beads.

I'll be giving Calcup a run this weekend on 19" Hankooks. Can't wait [thumbsupbig][thumbsupbig][thumbsupbig].

C

[ATH]

Good luck and enjoy the trip. Great coast and countryside down there.
AlanH.

[southseas]

Was also thinking of going the GOE route - took the D4 (3L) with 19" Grabbers up to coral bay and it seemed to struggle on really soft sections and in dunes a tad - at 25psi - was told that was the limit! confident now in going lower.

[northiam]

What would be the minimum psi for 255/50/20 factory wheels ?

Are the 20in more likely to roll off the bead?

Stockton beach can be really soft this time of year!

Glenn

[Geedublya]

I ran my 265 50 20 at 18 on Stockton. The land rover wheels have very good bead locks.

[AnD3rew]

I have the 18’s and I have never been stuck at 25psi in many hundreds of sand Kms. Sand mode DSC off. Never give it full herbs just good steady if it starts to dig in give it a bit more but don’t cane it, choose your lines, also make sure you use off road height for the soft chopped up bits, if you have Llams leave it raised. I am always ready to drop pressures if required but so far never required. My experience driving with my brother ina D4 with 19’s is that you Need to go much lower with the 19’s, at least 18 psi.

I have a shovel, maxtrax, winch and snatch strap, have only ever used them to recover others.