Questions for experienced beach drivers

[PaulLR3]

We have a few questions for experienced beach drivers since we just got our LR3 and have only had it on the beach once so far. Do you use low gear or high gear? Do you turn off the DSC or does selecting "sand" with terrain response do that anyway? Do you use regular "drive", sport mode or manually "command shift" to keep the revs up and maintain momentum? Thanks!

 

[ChuckD]

We air down to 20 pounds and I use the "Sand" setting, low range and command shift to start out in 3rd gear to avoid too much wheelspin. Works like a charm.

ChuckD

 

[toddjb122]

This is how I drive for typical soft sand beach driving.

- Drop tire pressure to 20ish psi (I think I do 22/24)
- Put Vehicle in SAND mode
- Raise to offroad height
- Don't stop in soft sand or when pointed uphill (unless you can back down)
- Keep momentum up in soft areas where other vehicles are getting stuck.

I used to always turn the DSC setting off. This seemed to help me when I was starting out and I wanted to rev up a little bit to get on top of the sand. The DSC will stop you from that little spin which sometimes helps you (i'm not talking about the extended spin that buries you). These days I don't worry about it. It was one additional button to press and I have not had any problems now that I don't turn it off, but I keep it in mind if needed.

I do not use Low range as that limits the driving speed.

I do not use Sport setting in one of the off road modes (it isn't allowed anyway). When I am off the beach I always drive in Sport mode as I think the vehicle is much snappier.

Of all those tips, though, the most important one is air pressure. I think you could drive right on the beach w/ zero changes to anything else as long as you dropped the tire pressure. LR advices against this as they think the SAND mode should take care of things...but if you have an HSE you're driving a 5000 lb. vehicle with low profile, shallow tread tires. You need to drop the pressure.

Hope this helps, let us know if you have any other questions!

 

[flysurfer]

Thanks for the tips.

I had limited experience on sand but so far, I only used "sand" mode and didn't have any trouble. I will definitely drop tire pressure next time.

 

[PaulLR3]

Thank you for all the advice. When my wife takes the kids to the beach alone there is no way she will be airing down. Ours is an HSE so I am thinking about getting a set of 18" wheels and A/T tires for better beach traction then use the 19" wheels for winter tires.

 

[toddjb122]

Thank you for all the advice. When my wife takes the kids to the beach alone there is no way she will be airing down. Ours is an HSE so I am thinking about getting a set of 18" wheels and A/T tires for better beach traction then use the 19" wheels for winter tires.

You may be lucky enough to have sand driving within an easy shot of your home. For me, it is a vacation or long weekend situation. In that case, I'm fine dropping the pressure on Day 1 and leaving it low until my highway drive back home. I see some people dropping/inflating their pressure every time they go on/off pavement and that just looks like a pain in the ass. I'm sure it is the best choice for tire wear, but as its only a few times a year for short trips, I don't have a problem with it. Anyway, if that happens to be your situation, then drop it for your wife and leave it there. Otherwise, just buy those 18 inch rims and count yourself lucky to be so close to sand!

 

[PaulLR3]

Yes, we are lucky to be close to sand. My concern with leaving the pressure low is that my wife willl often go from the beach to a highway and driving underinflated tires at high speeds can lead to disaster. Buying a set of 18" wheels with A/T tires is probably the way to go. Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[nwoods]

Depending on the density of the sand, AT's are not going to help all that much. What helps is increasing the contact patch so that the tire has more flotation on the sand, and that of course, is accomplished by airing down. Having your wife properly trained to use the truck will prevent an incident on the beach, where recovery is FAR more expensive. Training is your answer, not, um, sticking your head in the sand

Todd, I find your tips to be interesting, because they are almost the exact opposite of what I recommend! I suspect it has to do with the types of dunes we run on. Your photos all show flat flat flat dunes in transport mode, whereas I am always tackling the hill climbs and bowls for pure fun. I can see the value of your approach, though I disagree on the issue of low range. You can safely go over 50mph in low range in 5th gear, which far exceeds your 30mph limit in raised suspension mode anyway. For me, having that abundant available power with the low range gearing is a great way to avoid getting stuck if you loose flotation!

For more aggressive sand driving, try this approach: http://blog.nextstepdesigns.com/?p=62

 

[nwoods]

Paul, I don't want you to think that I was being harsh. My response came off a bit crude. I just think that having your wife air up the tires is part of being a responsible driver and part of the deal if you go into the sand. My guess is that there is a gas station or air station nearby if you are near a beach access point. If not, you can get a decent compressor for $70, and a really good one for $200 that fits in the back of your truck, or you could go all out and do something like this:

 

[toddjb122]

... I can see the value of your approach, though I disagree on the issue of low range. You can safely go over 50mph in low range in 5th gear, which far exceeds your 30mph limit in raised suspension mode anyway. For me, having that abundant available power with the low range gearing is a great way to avoid getting stuck if you loose flotation!
...

See, I learn something every day! On every other truck I've had Low mode kept my speed low as well. 50 mph is great for low range.

Yes, most of the sand I'm in is flat if not a gradual hill to get on or off the beach. I'll keep it in 4 High for now just to make it that much easier to drive on and off the beach, but it good to know LOW is a sound option if I'm ever having a tough time.

A big thing for me (and the wife part comes into this) is to simplify the beach driving process. Most people just drive right on the beach and do fine....our vehicles can be too complex to just hand someone the keys and have them run down the beach and pick you up (or go on a beer run). So, I want to drive it as I would be comfortable asking anyone else to so I know how it performs.

If I was actually going on ********* off road sand courses like you...yeah, I think I'd take advantage of every piece of technology in the truck! <insert a big 'ol thumbs up picture>