franc wrote:Get a mate with another 4WD and head to the beach.
Take it in turns getting stuck so someone is free to pull out the other and try a range of pressures
That's the way to do it.
I've done a fair bit of sand driving recently - which is new for me - and found it really is one of those things you need to get out and feel/do yourself to have any real understanding about it.
Wet vs dry, hard packed vs loose, and combinations of the above, all totally different/
Driving on firm, moist sand you can have road pressures and cruise along in high range at 90km/h hour like you're on the road without any drama at all.
I did a stretch of dunes where the sand was very light, bone dry, loosely packed, and with the surfance being constantly swept around by the wind.
I started out at 18psi with the centre diff-lock on, hit the first bit of sand as the road ended and instantly felt like I'd drove into a bog and sunk half a foot.
Aired down to 12psi, low range, cruised along fine at modest speed but every inch forward was this perpetual feeling of escaping the ground crumbling beneath me.
Turning is like steering a barge
. Turn the wheel and after a few seconds the rig starts to gently bend in the direction prompted at about 1/4 the rate you turned the steering wheel
.
So yeah, saying "driving on sand" is a pretty meaningless term, really. You've got to hit a few different conditions to learn and know in advance for next time.
Going with a buddy vehicle is definitely ideal if possible. Came up on a 70 series on the soft stuff where he's just tried to power his way out of trouble, sunk into the chassis, 4 guys digging what looked like tunnels to China trying to get him out
(For the record I offered a snatch/winch but they said they had it under control
)