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Dug
29-09-2004, 04:59 PM
I drive a 2wd ute but occasionally need to head up a beach. At the moment I rent a 4wd. Does anyone know of a system to increase the traction of the rear tyres on soft sand besides dropping the pressure? I though I had seen a system like snow chains but a flexible rubber / plastic overshoe that increases the rolling surface of the tyre.

Any Ideas?

cheers doug

Big_Kev
29-09-2004, 06:39 PM
Its call a front diff Doug sorry. Get a 4x4 to tow you down to the hard wet sand.

Dug
30-09-2004, 03:26 AM
Thanks Kev but in the 60's & 70's there were a lot of 2wd dune buggies about if you are light enough you don't need a front diff ;D ;D ;D

I have seen 2wd utes and even vans with soft aircraft tyres operate on beaches.

Glug
30-09-2004, 05:42 AM
You got the answer Dug, tyres: The bigger the diameter and width the less you sink into the sand. Landrover had a track drive using rubber belts that just bolted on but costs heaps. Even with that your front end will dig in soft sand at slow speeds because of the engine weight. Buggies have the weight over the rear drive wheels which helps but even they had to run with low tyre pressures to increase the tyre area on the sand. In short you are going to get stuck without a front diff on the soft stuff unless you want to try the mods below.

Dug
30-09-2004, 02:16 PM
Love it, I WANT ONE ;D ;D

could I just buy one of the old Lepoard tanks when the army finishes with them? No problem with fuel costs after you fill up who is going to ask a tank to pay ;D

jimbamb
01-10-2004, 05:03 AM
Mate,
Wide soft tyres are the answer as everyone else said.Old aircraft tyres with little tread wont dug into the sand,they run over the top.once the wheels start diggin holes its usually goodnight.get the snatch strap out.
Get a set of the widest tyres ya can find(Front and Back) and run them as low as possible 12 lbs or so. good luck.
PS get a snatch strap so someone can pull ya thru the really soft stuff

Glug
01-10-2004, 05:30 AM
Dug, I used to use a Subaru on Fraser and even though it was AWD and had wide wheels I would sink in the soft stuff if I slowed down. This was because it had no low range to give that bit of extra power needed at slow speeds. If it had been raining no problem but on a hot day I could not get across Rainbow Beach without a tow unless I kept my speed above 40 ks. Like jimbamb said old aircraft tyres will do the job providing you can fit big enough ones under your wheel arches to keep you floating on the soft sand. If you want to buy ex-army grab one of these they are faster than the last one and good in sand.

CHRIS_aka_GWH
01-10-2004, 01:57 PM
dug,

do it the old fashioned way. Drive forward until she slows, stop. Reverse. Drive forward again, this time you'll go a bit further till she stops. Reverse. Drive forward a bit further .... I took a Corona up Main Beach Straddie in my tom catting years using this method on the access tracks. Its seems a lost art & why so many new toys get bogged - there is no computer that tells a 4WD to go steady then back up & flatten the sand #;D

That combined with wider tyres & a lift kit (to raise the clearance of your beasts belly) would do it.

Driving the sand isn't about traction (grip) its about floating over the top of the sand. If you grip the sand to much you throw it backward & dig a hole. Because you break the surface of the sand sink yourself.

The other OLD FASHIONED way is boards. Have 2 or 3 pairs of concretors board & keep laying them out in front - a guy that writes in BnB (Craig ?? Tomkinson - the pro who nails the reds to the wall) describes the process in a memory from his dads days. Alway enjoy Craigs stories.


Any form of four wheel driving requires patience to avoid trouble - if you don't have the time to be patient, its better & safer to wait till you do.

Dug
01-10-2004, 02:42 PM
My son actually used to drive and sit on one of these a few years back, we went fishing on Stradbroke and it was SO HARD to keep my mouth shut and not tell him how to drive a 4wd in sand. His 5 years driving through the Western Australian deserts would have taught him nothing of course ;D D'oh

Glug
01-10-2004, 06:21 PM
I know the feeling Dug. It is hard to keep your mouth shut with the kids some times, my old man was the same when I was in my 30's. But one thing about getting older is, the older you get, the more you realise how little you know, I had all the answers when I was a teenager. now I have more questions than answers.

Cheers.

Dug
01-10-2004, 06:33 PM
Especially when he is bigger and stronger than I am. He is now a cop and keep trying to arrest me as revenge for all the nasty things I did to him when he was a kid ;D

He comes home and says things like " go on doug have a few more drinks then drive it will be OK" The bastard has grown up too much like me :-(

The only joy I have left is visiting him drinking all his good wine, eating all his food, trashing his house, corrupting his dog and then leaving

;D

It is nice to occasionally hear the things I said 20 years ago being quoted back to me, it was not all wasted!

Glug
02-10-2004, 06:15 AM
Your missing out on one point, after you drink all his good wine give him a bottle of really bad wine on leaving ;D

jimbamb
02-10-2004, 10:25 AM
Blokes,
I always get reminded of the old sayin,THE OLDER I GET THE BETTER I WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Im tryin to keep my gob shut Too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dug
02-10-2004, 11:42 AM
No you bring a bottle of good wine and drink that on the first day,

His taste pallet and cellar is much better than mine. The bastard earns more money than I do and has no kids!!!

Keeping my gob shut when full of grog is hard luckily he hates Howard worse than I do :-) and is more agnostic so politics & religion are safe subjects.

PinHead
02-10-2004, 09:53 PM
Gotta laugh at the input regarding sons...mine is 21..smaller than me but seeing he is a former Aus. Judo Champion I keep my mouth shut a bit and don't tempt him to try out his judo skills.

jimbamb
03-10-2004, 03:48 AM
HAAAA hAAAAAAAAAAAAA,
an i was keepin quiet,about the son bein bigger than me,Seems to be the trend.
I always said to him when he was little,While ever I am bigger than you ,you will do wat i say,when your bigger than me ,ya can do wat ya like!!!!!!!! Hes been doin watever he likes since he was about 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lucky_Phill
04-10-2004, 07:06 AM
I haven't seen the Limited Slip Diff being mentioned here ?

DUG ?

Phill

Dug
04-10-2004, 09:20 AM
Last truck had LSD in it it worked a treat but chewed out tyres. If I do this I was thinking dif locks so I can switch it on and off.

Thanks for the suggestion though. they can be a great advantage as I have found out on several occasions. I didd not want to get rid of my old ute but my wife insisted that 15 years old with 350,000 km on the clock was not a good look :-( I thought it was just starting to look good!

Lucky_Phill
04-10-2004, 06:09 PM
Does that theory go for the WIFE as well ?

I know that when mine clock up a few miles, I trade 'em, AND I remind them of it. ;) ;D

Phill

Dug
04-10-2004, 07:48 PM
MMMMM thats interesting she actually wanted me to trade in the old model that I was comfortable with and loved for a newer shiny more expensive one. Is there a moral or an immoral there somewhere?

Na I really cannot afford more expensive toys, I never get time to play with what I have now:-(

cooky
05-10-2004, 06:09 AM
sand certainly works the 4x4 hard. last week I did probably an hour in soft sand and the hilux certainly felt it. I have an auto hilux 3.4V6 2003 model and in high range it gets on top of the sand and goes okay (not too much power to bog down), but when I hit really soft patches it just bogs down and eventually will stop. throw into low range and it'll kill everything, but top speed is crap (obviously) and of course chews fuel.
Auto should be good on sand and is, but on long sandy stretches of soft and medium sand can be a little annoying (constant changing).
Of course I was too lazy to let the tires down (coopers AT) (didn't have time to pump them back up again (was in a rush) and didn't try selecting 2nd gear in high range and leaving it (probably would have worked well).

jimbamb
05-10-2004, 11:47 AM
Gday cookie,
Lettin the tyres down is the answer if its not too soft .dowm to 18/20lbs makes a big difference.I came down frazer once when the tide was in and used twice the fuel as when runnin on the wet stuff at low tide.The ol hilux was ok in H4 only had to go for the big ones at indian head etc.Most of the way was in H4 second,hence the fuel usage,its important to be in low before it starts diggin itself in.too late when the diffs draggin.momentum is also important.
BTW i've been bogged in the most unlikely places.not concentrating in the job ahead.very embarrassing..

jimbamb
05-10-2004, 11:51 AM
Phil,
an LSD will get ya a bit further,bur the same applies for them and 4wd.when ya got them ya get REALLY bogged.not half bogged.THank god for Snatch straps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dug
06-10-2004, 01:27 PM
www spikesspider.com

Has anyone seen or used these?

Glug
06-10-2004, 01:57 PM
Never seen them, don't see how they help in sand. Legal, if out side of wheel arches no, inside? ask NSW RTA, their rules on wheel fitment does not allow spacers between wheel and hub for sure and may stop any thing being put onto to wheel studs.

I use snow tyres.

Dug
06-10-2004, 05:21 PM
Auto Burg Design in Victoria, 0385558277

There is evidently an Australian distributor. I will contact him and let you know any details.

They look interesting for mud and stuff but I cannot see how they work on sand.