Thread: Sand driving in a D3, what am I doing wrong?

Originally Posted by clean32

personaly i think you are just better off with a role of old carpet, for sand that is. for the lumpy stuff a couple of tracks are good as long as thay are strong enough

Carpet and other soft materials don't spread the weight well enough, the wheel still sinks in and scrunches up the carpet. But carpet is better than nothing. Believe me Maxtrax or similar are worth their weight in gold if you're ever stuck with the tide approaching.

So I'm getting a very strong impression from this thread that some kind of sand recovery track is essential when going off road on beaches.

Have just looked at the price of Maxtrax: $295 a pair + $100 for the bag. Yikes! Here's their picture, so we're all on the same page:




How do the maxtrax compare with other brands such as the Bushranger sandtracks (at c. $150 a pair) including bag. Here is a picture of these:



Would you recommended sticking with Maxtrax because they are superior in performance/reliability? Is that why they are so much more expensive? Seems to me the Maxtrax would be more cumbersome to carry...

Maxtrax or similar are not *required* for sand driving -- we all managed before they existed. They are however very useful for recovery. So, if you intend to do a lot of sand driving they are a bonus, and I would suggest that 4WD clubs have a set to be lent out on trips. You only need one set per convoy really. They are the best sand recovery device I have used thus far (I have tested a set literally to destruction, yes it was fun) and were top rated in a recent review of such devices. Flexible tracks like the Bushranger (or carpet) do not spread the weight as effectively.

Whilst I have no commercial interest in the device I do know the owner/designer and *may* be able to swing a bulk deal if there's interest, say 5 sets of 2.

They need to be carried on the roofrack with no bag, just ocky straps, or inside but then really in a bag as they get sandy.

Originally Posted by rmp

Carpet and other soft materials don't spread the weight well enough, the wheel still sinks in and scrunches up the carpet. But carpet is better than nothing. Believe me Maxtrax or similar are worth their weight in gold if you're ever stuck with the tide approaching.

I have never used Mantrax, just carpet and my 2 X 3 meter lengths of 3X2

Carpet is also used in front of the tent, and the 2X3 timber is used to hang a tarp off the side of the county..

rolled up carpet after you have lifted the wheel and filled the hole in, works ok, if the hole is a bit bigger dump the timber over it first.

or role a bit of timber up in carpet and use it as a sand anchor etc

Originally Posted by clean32

I have never used Mantrax, just carpet and my 2 X 3 meter lengths of 3X2

Carpet is also used in front of the tent, and the 2X3 timber is used to hang a tarp off the side of the county..

rolled up carpet after you have lifted the wheel and filled the hole in, works ok, if the hole is a bit bigger dump the timber over it first.

or role a bit of timber up in carpet and use it as a sand anchor etc

Yep timber and carpet works better. I made my own sand recovery devices out of wood and they were better than nothing. But even having nothing still works (refer my how to recover post above).

Originally Posted by DiscoSaffa

I agree and will avoid the serious stuff until I replace the tyres......

Hi, the guys from SA on disco3.co.uk recently had a sand training event - went very well. Maybe ask when the next one will be? See the link:
Sand training

I've got a set of maxtrax, used them once so far so they've paid for themselves. They're too big to go in the back of the car (if its packed) so yes as RMP says, they have to go on the roofracks.

Don't worry about the bag, not required.

I am by no means an expert here, but watching the videos on the Maxtrax website, one thing that sets rigid type tracks from the bushranger types, or carpet would seem to be the ease and speed with which they can be used. One of the videos on the website shows a guy in a Prado bog down in sand, hop out and in the space of very little time scoop out a bit of the sand drop the Maxtrac? (what is the singular for Maxtrax??) in place and drive out.

I imagine with some sort of flexible device (carpet or bush ranger type santracks) this is a more time consuming process with a spade and or some other extra tool needed……. This may not be an issue for most of us considering how much sand driving we do, but for those who do it 3 times a week, and find themselves racing an incoming tide every time I reckon an easily accessible set of Maxtrax would be the go……

I say again, this is my very uneducated opinion, and I am happy to be corrected.

As with everything in this game, it comes down to cost, versus how much they are going to be used, and where they are going to be used…… so there is no one solution here for all of us

Rmp, I like your idea of clubs having a set. One of the reasons for joining a club and/or doing these outings in a group, is that between the group, most of the required recovery gear will be available without everyone having to have everything…… Another good reason to join GCLRO.... WhiteD3 has a set of Maxtrax.......