Beach Driving

[AZSTALZ]

They just finished it this morning, but I forgot my camera...they put G4 Challenge stickers all over it though! I'll try to swing by tomorrow morning and get a shot. Looks pretty good, I guess they can't install the "European Spec" Poly lamp guards F/R like I have since they "interefere" with the lamps..... BS, they're built around them, HELLO!

 

[toddjb122]

Yup, it really helps to drop the tires down to 20psi. I was out on the beach quite a bit last week and the truck worked too hard and came real close to getting stuck at the factory pressure (35/42). I actually tried to leave it at factory because my dealer suggested that the Sand mode should handle everything I needed and I risk the low profile tires coming off the rims (?) if I drop the pressure too much. In any event, there was a gas station as soon as I got off the beach each day so I'd pump them back up relatively soon.

BUT, I did get "stuck." First time on the soft beach the truck drove okay but I parked it in sand which I found to be too soft. After a few hours on the beach when I started it up again I couldn't get out of my "spot." I then dropped the pressure down further than I had it (down to 20PSI), had a push from a couple friends and was able to get it out without a tow. I was not buried to the frame but found that I could only go back and forth a couple feet. Even when I tried to dig a nice path, pack things down, switch in 4 Low, try DSC on and off, etc....I just needed lower pressure and a push.

The rest of the week I always dropped the pressure and kept to parking on firm beach or in established tracks.

IMO the truck needs bigger tires and/or a more aggressive tread. That tire is just too slick for this heavy of a vehicle. I have an HSE so I'm open to suggestions when they need replaced.

 

[lr3junkie]

I drove my old Series 1 Discovery on the beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week with no traction problems at all. I'm sure that the LR3 is just as good if not better. The only problem I encountered was that it was about 105 degrees F and there was a stong directional wind blowing across the beach from South to Norht. If I was driving with the wind (North), there was very little air flowing into the front grill, and the engine to run hot after a while. Turning the car into the wind (South) for 10 minutes would cool it off, and then I would continue North.

Personally, I woudn't drive my car into the ocean water, since the salt is not a good mix with metal. So, watch the tide and have fun!

Cool, this is where I am going. Did you have to deflate the tires at all?

 

[jwc3]

Cool, this is where I am going. Did you have to deflate the tires at all?

Yeah, I think I dropped them down to about 25psi. Never had any trouble. It's been a few years since I was last there, but I think there's a gas station on the main road near the airstrip that has an air hose to refill your tires before you take the ferry back.

BTW, one of the Southern-most roads that runs from the beach back to town tends to flood after a heavy rain. The puddles can get quite deep -- I recommend wading into them before you drive through them if you're unsure. I drove through one so deep that the water was over the hood and poured into the windows (which were all the way down. I thought I had killed my Disco when that happened, but it kept on going and I was out before I took on too much water. Can't say the same for the Lexus SUV that was swamped in the same puddle.

Be sure to eat a burger at Howard's Pub while you're there.