This LR4 Drives Great in the SAND!

[toddjb122]

Copper Zeons are a good all around tire if you go off road. They are very quiet on the road when new. However, they tend to dig more than float in sand when new....

That's interesting. The tires that came with my used 2013 don't have a lot of tread, and I was surprised how nicely they worked in the sand. Guess I hadn't through of the need to float vs. grip...

 

[PaulLR3]

The more I drive in sand, the more I think it's all about the float. Worn tires work better than new ones.

 

[cperez]

also the camp set up is awesome.. what did you use for the canopies?

I thought the canopies were the basic blue tarp material, or possibly some kind of parasail material, tied down to inflate with the prevailing breeze. Whatever they are, it's a great hack. I wonder if they are noisy...

BTW, LR greetings from Bethesda, from a fellow Chris!

 

[toddjb122]

Hey fellas- I am glad I acame across this post. I live in DC and trying to make a trip down to OBX or Hatteras before the summer ends. I just finished a camping trip and realized that I am in need of more storage... roof rack or hitch cargo attachement. I will also need some new tires soon... so I have been researching that as well. I have a 2015 LR4 LUX....

I'd appreciate any insight you can give me on what you have put on your trucks to support your outdoor lifestyles...

also the camp set up is awesome.. what did you use for the canopies?

Chris, welcome! I'm also in the DC area. If you need a good LR mechanic, I know two great ones on the northwest side of the beltway.

I just posted THIS thread on a rack that works well for me.

When I travel to the beach I usually have a family of 4 and a dog... the dog means I can't pile luggage in the back area which required me to look for other options. I have a Yakima Skybox up top AND a hitch tray behind.

If you only need one, get the Skybox. That thing is easy to put on and off just about any rack, and it holds a lot of gear. Has a great warranty but I'd buy it from REI as if you ever have an issue, they'll just swap you out for a new one.

If you need a hitch tray, than read THIS thread. I have the UWS tray mentioned, the dual hitch extender to keep it from dragging on the ground, and some anti-wobble pins U-Haul makes which work great to keep it all solid.

The hitch tray, overall, is kind of pain in the *ss to deal with, but gets the job done for family vacations. I use it for the drive down, and then take it off the truck when I get to the destination. The Skybox stays on for the week and I find it's great for tossing sandy wet things as needed.

Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.

 

[Christopher]

This is great! Thanks for the inputs so far. Checking out the roof rack and hitch trays now. Is your rack a LR OEM rack or aftermarket?

I'd appreciate the LR mechanic info.... I sense a brack job in my near future and although I planned to tackle it myself - if this heat doesn't cool off I will be leaning more towards having a shop take care of it.

 

[cperez]

I sense a brack job in my near future and although I planned to tackle it myself - if this heat doesn't cool off I will be leaning more towards having a shop take care of it.

If you decide to do it yourself, I would love to observe (and help as needed or hand you beers) as this is a repair I have been hoping to learn!

I can also suggest a great independent LR shop that I use and I'm suspecting that it might be the same as one of Todd's recommendations...

 

[iSurfvilano]

The more I drive in sand, the more I think it's all about the float. Worn tires work better than new ones.

Depends what kind of sand. Where I live it's a really gritty coquina sand not very fine...my duratracs are amazing on it, lots of slippage with the continentals I had on prior.

 

[Surfrider77]

Depends what kind of sand. Where I live it's a really gritty coquina sand not very fine...my duratracs are amazing on it, lots of slippage with the continentals I had on prior.

The more I drive in sand, the more I think it's all about the float. Worn tires work better than new ones.

This is absolutely true Paul (for soft sand). When I describe sand driving, I am talking about soft dry sand. Anything wet / damp behaves entirely different. But for soft sand (dry beach / sand dunes), the best thing aside from a dedicated sand tire is well worn street tires. It is about float and staying on top of the sand vs digging. The more surface area the better, so worn tires that have little tread almost act like slicks and float. All the arabs out here use "balloon" tires, which hardly have any tread whatsoever. Maximum surface contact > all. This is why deflation is so important.

 

[jptruck]

Chris, welcome! I'm also in the DC area. If you need a good LR mechanic, I know two great ones on the northwest side of the beltway.

I just posted THIS thread on a rack that works well for me.

When I travel to the beach I usually have a family of 4 and a dog... the dog means I can't pile luggage in the back area which required me to look for other options. I have a Yakima Skybox up top AND a hitch tray behind.

If you only need one, get the Skybox. That thing is easy to put on and off just about any rack, and it holds a lot of gear. Has a great warranty but I'd buy it from REI as if you ever have an issue, they'll just swap you out for a new one.

If you need a hitch tray, than read THIS thread. I have the UWS tray mentioned, the dual hitch extender to keep it from dragging on the ground, and some anti-wobble pins U-Haul makes which work great to keep it all solid.

The hitch tray, overall, is kind of pain in the *ss to deal with, but gets the job done for family vacations. I use it for the drive down, and then take it off the truck when I get to the destination. The Skybox stays on for the week and I find it's great for tossing sandy wet things as needed.

Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.

Jesus, dude. You might as well buy a trailer. That's a lot of "stuff" to haul on a beach trip. The only thing you are missing are the bikes.

I'm assuming you need the third row seats. I have two kids and we generally pick them up from camp and then go to the beach. That means we have two huge trunks, 3-4 surfboards, fishing gear, cooler and luggage inside or on top of the ride. No problem.

 

[jptruck]

The more I drive in sand, the more I think it's all about the float. Worn tires work better than new ones.

This is a lesson I learned a long time ago. Tread DIGs in sand. I find normal street tread works better as long as you put it to the right PSI.