tacoma prerunner in sand

Hey guys I just wanted to know how good will a tacoma prerunner with limted slip do in the sand..will I get stuck right when I get in or will I be fine if I have my foot on the gas?????

 

Depends on how soft the sand you're trying to go through is. Air down the tires and be gentle with the pedal on the right. Subtle movements, if you punch it, you'll just spin in and you're screwed.

 

Air down and keep some decent speed. If you get stuck you might just have to work it. Make sure someone is there to pull you out just in case.

 

or have a hi-lift jack and some 2x4's in handy haha

 

As the others said, if your heavy on the throttle from a stop you will get stuck. Once moving keep momentum & you will be fine. Don't use hard braking when coming to a stop, let the sand slow/stop the truck for you. Don't stop on inclines, whenever possible park on a decline.

Air down like crazy to the point where you actually may think it's not a good idea. If you have MTs you'll have more troubles as they will dig. ATs work best in sand. In many cases bald tires may do better than MTs.

 

Depends on what kind of sand... If deep, coarse, and dry (bottomless), then 10 psi... If flat, wet, fine grain... perhaps at street pressure... but keep your speed up if crossing dry sand on the way to wet sand (beach).

If you get stuck, don't spin your tires thinking you can horsepower out... Once forwrd velocity stops, the downward velocity takes over... That means diging and jacking up.

If you bog down from the sand, stop and deflate your tires... 10 psi and your truck becomes a dune buggy... well almost... 4WD would be better!

Have a good precision tire gauge, and an electric air pump to re-inflate the tires after you're out.

While deflated: do not drive too fast, do not step on brakes with any force, do not turn sharply... all three could cause your tire and rim to seperate at low pressure!

Photos below are my tracks at 32 psi (digging in) and then at 15 psi (floating)...





Once youi have floatation, you are free as a bird... of course, I do have 4WD and that makes it a bit easier to drive... being that the heavy weight is in front of a truck, but the drive wheels are in the back... adding drive wheels under the heavy end prevents the truck from knifeing into the sand.

 

Im running 33 MT's and I usually do prety good on sand. Unless its that soft ass sand...then I start sinking. Its easy to get out tho if you know wat ur doing. I always have some1 with me just in case I cant get out tho...

Like every1 said, just keep momentum and stay away from that quicksand..

 

This may be a dumb question, but if I keep some 2x4's in the bed and get stuck, could I use them to make a little track and keep rolling? Obviously, it would be time consuming but I would feel comfortable knowing that I'll eventually get out. And how wide should the tires be for the best sand traveling? Thanks

 

Since the answer is already posted... yah.

What will you do at the end of the piece of 2x4? Unless you have enough to get you back on solid ground, they will not help.

Once again, if you get stuck in sand (or before you drive onto sand), lower your tire pressure... if 2WD, I would suggest go right down to 10 psi on all four. Once you are off the sand, then have a tire pump to air back up.

 

mine didnt do so well in the sand. when your stuck you will realize your truck is really a one wheel drive not a two wheel drive

 

and a 4 wheel drive is really two wheels driving (1 in front and 1 in rear)... That is what happens with 'open' differentials.

Unless you have an Off Road TRD!:

Then you have a rear differential locker which drives both rear tires equally (traction or not).

If an '09 or newer, you have TRAC which is a limited slip system front and rear so both tires will drive, just not equally as a locker does. In 2WD, 'Auto LSD' (TRAC OFF MODE) is a stronger limited slip on the rear than standard TRAC as the engine isn't regulated. In H4, the TRAC is not regulated either.

A-TRAC is an electronic locker system that does give you drive to all 4 wheels nearly as equal as lockers do... in L4.

 

Thanks for the reply David K. I did mean having more than 2 planks of wood in the truck (maybe 6-10) and a buddy switching them as we roll along. But I am going to get the inflator and do the psi thing. It looks awesome the way it "floats". And I'm glad to hear about the locker since mine has it!

 

You should be fine in the soft sand if you air down your tires to at least 12psi. I have 4WD, sometimes I like to put the vehicle in 2WD so I can spin donuts in the sand.

 

The Mexican fishermen in Baja drive their 2WD trucks on the beach all the time... to get to their boats or to check their nets... nobody told them they couldn't do it in 2WD! They just let a LOT of air out of their tires... and when they park, they make sure to be pointing downhill or at least level so that they will have an easier time to get rolling and less chance for the tires (in back) to soin and dig in.

You will be amazed at how a nearly flat tire will allow you to drive in soft sand!

 

Love my 4X4! Just don't have any place to play except when it snows ...shit!!!

 

Come out west Tom. We'll get some mud on the side of that purty thing.