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Am I going to get buried in the sand?

Tonyraca

Tonyraca

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San Jose, CA
My buddy is going down to Pismo dunes with his sand rail and I wanted to take my truck down, but I am curious if this is a good idea.

Currently I have stock 10/12 bolt 3.73 open diffs on my 79 blazer with 33x10.5R15 BFG AT/KO tires. I thought I read somewhere that the AT/KO's are not great in the sand because they just dig in. Am I just asking to get stuck?

I'm building a 14 bolt with a Detroit locker and 4.56 gears. And then do a 6 to 8 lug conversion on my 10 bolt and go to 4.56 also. Then 35s, but I don't think I am going to be ready in time.

What recovery gear would you recommend for getting unstuck from sand?
 
Just make sure you air down and leave it in 4X. You shouldn't have too much of a problem.

It would be a good idea to take a shovel and a couple of pieces of wood (3/4 in plywood trice the size of the tire's footprint), just in case.

A tow strap is always a good Idea.
 
Yep, air down. Way down. Airing down and keeping your momentum going are the keys to surfing on sand. If you find yourself not moving anymore, STOP! Don't mash the skinny pedal. All you'll do is dig yourself deeper and deeper. Just wait for someone else to pull you out and use a stretch strap/rope. No chains. Take along the bare neccessities like a Hi-Lift jack, strap, 2x12's cut around 2' or 3' long, a shovel, extra fluids like anti-freeze or water because at slower speeds, you can find the engine running a little warmer.

I can't emphasis on the word "STOP" when the truck won't go forward or reverse anymore. I've seen too many dummies bury their trucks trying to get out and all they did was dig to China. It makes it that much harder to pull your rig out.
 
I ran the dunes years ago with a setup similar to that. Go as low as you can on the air pressure and it should be fine. You won't keep up with the sand rails, but you can still have some fun.
 
I agree with everything they said. Air down is the most important, the lower you can go without fear of popping a bead, the better off you'll be, your tires should be squatting quite a bit, if you would drive it on the road with that PSI for more than a mile or so, then you are too high. I have 36s and I run 7-8 in the back and 9-10 in the front. I would go even lower but I have 16.5" rims and no bead locks.

And they are right, STOP before digging in. If you air down enough, and stop before you dig in, you'll find that you can almost always back out of any trouble you get yourself into, if not, then you probably didn't stop soon enough. Sometimes if you very slowly creep the tires by spinning a tiny amount (so slow you can look at the window and watch the sand move back under your tires) you can move forward if you only have a few feet to go before the dune peak or something, but if you spin them fast at all or are not moving forward, you will be going to China like thatK30 guy says.

For recovery, a recovery tow strap, there usually isn't anything to hook to but another truck anyway. A small shovel can help sometimes.

Go for it, you'll be fine.
 
exerything said was spot on.i had bfg at in the sand.they work pretty good aired down.i kept mine at 12psi and that was enough for flotation.have a good tow strap and above all else have fun.
 
Thanks for all the advice. It looks like I have more stuff to gather together before I head out on this trip.
 
everyone was spot on with advise. One more thing, if you do get stuck dont dig your tires in the sand anymore. turn the steering wheel all the way to the right then give it a little gas in 1st and then reverse and try to rock your truck back and forth until you get out. If you dont get out try it to the left. if you start to dig in, stop and ask someone to pull you out. We used to do this all the time if guys got stuck in any of the sand down here in the low desert.
 
supersize75k5 said:
I just want to point out that Fabrimacator21 has not posted on this topic..
Click to expand...

YET!!!:haha:

air down to 7 if you can, don't turn hard, do donuts or anything stupid that'll blow a tire off a rim, and you'll be good to go. Again a 3" 20K strap should get you out of any sand trouble. Stay outta the mud if there is any.
 
air down to 10 psi and you be fine. the bfg at's work very good in sand, whomever told you they didnt doesnt know how to drive in sand. leave it in 4 hi and you shouldnt have issues. momentum is the key to not getting stuck in sand, you dont need to banzai thru it all, just keep the weight movin is all. avaiod sharp turns and always stop facing downhill. all the people i have seen and helped get unstuck at glamis id say 80% didnt air down.
 
ya just dont be a woman and you'll be fine. i have gotten around pismo in stock 2wd pickups as long as i mobb it
 
Hey Luke, what is thatK30guy talking about when he says you will just keep digging deeper??? :D:D:D:D That was fun for pictures, as long as there are others there to pull you (I mean me) out. I wish I still had those pics. I lost ALOT of truck pics in my divorce (she wiped out the harddrive and my backup disc is missing).:mad::mad:
 
And roll to a stop don't hit the brakes hard. The sand at pismo is wetter and there fore harder and not as easy to get stuck in as say Dumont or glamis in the dry deep sections.
 
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