Thread: Reversing / recovery in soft sand

you need lower tyre pressures for starters... 16 is as low as tyre manufacturers reccomend that you go BUT if you go dead slow and take it easy you can go down to 12, 10, 8 and in moments of "Be buggered If Im going to dig my way through that lot" Ive been known to run 4 psi but then I also slow way down.

If its side stepping aim downslope and drive that way if you can, then get it squared up and have another go on a different line.

the suspension wont lift a wheel for you, the suspension only pushes down on the wheels stations its not capable of lifting a wheel off of the ground for you.

use a rubber bung from a damage control kit or a bit of flat rubber to protect your hand, a thong or floor mat works well.

In your case I would have tried 16PSI, then 14, then 12 , then 10 and so on.

I was once stuck like this "in irons" in a 2WD VW Type 3 at Fraser and I had to drop to 6PSI before it would climb out of its wheel tracks.
You should not have to raise the car to fit Maxtrax, just dig a bit out from behind the wheels and wedge them in. You have probably found out by now that it is a good idea to put a metre of rope on them.

The other worthwhile trick is to drive forward a couple of feet before trying to reverse without digging in. This gives a run up . usually you can go a bit forward, abit back etc etc , and it lengthens each time until you can get enough momentum up to escape. BUT this heats up the auto so you have to be careful.

It sounds to me that you kept the foot in too long if you needed to raise the car. The key to debog is delicacy. NO WHEELSPIN. As soon as you feel even a little wheelspin you stop trying and reassess the situation

You have gained the most valuable thing in sand driving; experience. You now know what not to do.
Regards Philip A

Don't tell anyone about this. The family got their dose of vitamin D sun baking, you gained experience, and think of the money you saved by doing the recovery your self.
Plus the healthy workout you put yourself through, again think of the money you saved, not paying the gym fee's.
All in the name of fun.

From memory, 12 to 14 psi, road-pattern 195 SR 15, bit of a run-up. - With the appropriate tyre pressures you can take most vehicles into some interesting places. Black Peak (north of Cervantes) in this case. No, its not a LR, Itsa Mitsi van.
Later that day a new Tojo went churning up, full pressures...and sunk to chassis. Totally destroyed track for me.

Wise words given to me ages ago, Go in with "normal" deflation... get bogged... lower pressures - then decide whether to keep going or back out.

James in Gosnells

'95 Classic Vogue SE with working EAS. And 'road' tyres...

Originally Posted by superquag

Wise words given to me ages ago, Go in with "normal" deflation... get bogged... lower pressures - then decide whether to keep going or back out.

I agree with the above ..... and the comments of tyre pressure ratings ... 2psi lower makes a huge difference ..... But be warned that at 12psi or below .... You start to run the risk of splitting the tyre off the rim, so watch the tyre spinning aggression when they are low.



Next time you venture out ... Double Line the floors of your car with strips of carpet. If you get bogged, then you can pull them out and use them as part of your recovery tracks .... Should give you 3mtr's of line. 1 person drives the car on the carpet while some one outside moves the carpet from the front to the rear as you make progress.


Or ... Make contact with,

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/gghaggis.html

He specializes in demonstrating these rides




Cheers n happy trails
Mike

You said you were in low range - I have found that in many occasions low range will just dig you in. High range in a low gear often works best - less digging of the wheels. And yes DSC needs to be checked everytime you change something. As mentioned - air suspension does not raise or lower the wheels - it raises and lowers the body. I am not sure why you wanted to lower the body (I guess it was your thought it would lift wheels) but it stayed in extended because it was detecting you were beached and trying to give you more height under the body.

I have had the standard tyres down to 10psi without issue.

If all else fails - switch to rock crawl - then the car is closest to a normal 4wd in that mode (don't forget to switch off DSC).

Garry

It is amazing the difference lower pressures make. I regularly run my tyres down to 7 psi - and have not had any issues. However I have noticed that landie alloys seem not quite as good at holding the bead as steels.

I also agree that high range is best. Low range should only be used if you cannot drive in high.

WA beach sand can get very soft IME.

Reverse (lowest gear available) and low range = dig holes

High range, lower pressures, DSC off and TR set to sand would most likely have worked. Also if possible backing along the wheel tracks might have helped.

Garry