Tacos any good in sand dunes?

A few of my buddies are headed down to the oceano dunes by pismo. I want to go with them but was wondering if its even worth it to bring my taco. They are taking a raptor and a polaris rzr, but I am not quite sure of the tacomas capabilities in sand. Obviously I know to air down (not sure how low without beadlocks tho lowest ive gone is 22). I am running bfg KO2s for what its worth. Should I just stay out of the dunes and on the solid sand? Really only done dirt/ mud trails (hopefully some snow within the next week as well)

 

Air down, throw it in 4hi and you’ll be fine dude! If in doubt power out. Can’t wait till I can take my taco down there.

 

Actually, from what I've learned, keep it in 2WD and just keep moving, never park facing uphill and make sure you've got some good speed going uphill. Reserve 4WD for when you start digging in. If you start slowing down, IE getting stuck, stop immediately, throw it in 4wd and get yourself unstuck. Keeping it in 4WD means you're good and stuck if you do get stuck. 4LO can only do so much when all 4 wheels are dug in and spinning.

Also, @nick1401 Are you guys going this weekend? I'm heading there myself on Friday. Shoot me a PM and we can meet up and cruise together.

 

Yeah the dunes there are generally pretty packed because the air is so moist. Air down to like 20# and you can be in 2wd most of the time. It’s all about momentum. Some of the uphill stuff you’ll want to be 4lo but not too often. Some of my friends that we used to go there with had 2wd and did fine. It’s been quite a few years but areas were getting fenced off so I don’t know how much is actually open. That may be a factor in not making it worth your time.

 

I’ve been to Pismo a few times in my taco. I keep it in 4 wheel drive the whole time, I’ve aired down pretty dang low without beadlocks, but 15-18 works for me!

 

I used to run 16-20 and would still be digging in. I usually run 12 or so now and rarely have issues. In sand it's all about momentum. Make sure you always point downhill when you stop, if you're going uphill and it starts struggling, pin it and whip around to get off the hill. Skinny pedal is usually your friend in the dunes. Just be cautious about drop offs

 

Agree with everything except turning around mid climb.

 

Well, hahah for me it works well. Depends on the climb and your speed. If you're trying to crawl up a dune, you're doing it wrong lol.

 

https://youtu.be/6yVrbb0Ha2o

 

Yeah definitely don’t crawl up haha.

 

Also, the only good way to get up a steep hill that's super sandy-

 

that suspension setup oh my

 

thats the current plan as of now! thanks man

 

theres still some decent space. I was there in april with some atvs and a rzr it was pretty fun still. Thanks for the advice!

 

ive only ever gone with side by sides and atvs so i never paid attention. Do they have any air stations since I dont have an on board air setup? and dang 15 psi with no beadlocks? Makes me feel like a loser for being scared to go below 22

 

hypothetically if I bit off more than my stock gears with 285s could handle and didnt have enough momentum what do I do. Back straight down? Ive been told plenty of times to always take straight lines up and down and never to turn or go diagonal

 

Yeah they have like dollar per tire fill up stations, or something like that. Honestly, I run 12-14 out there in 2WD and jump and do high speed shit and have never slipped a bead on a tire. I think super low for crawling is a little more rigorous because you're putting alot of pressure on spot while rolling a bulging tire so the bead of the tire wants to slip off.

 

I mean, it really depends how comfortable you are doing stuff and how well you know your truck. If you're going up something steep, my approach is to whip it around and go back down if I think I'm not gonna make it, otherwise, yeah, stop the truck as soon as it bogs down and just back up in probably 4LO so you let the engine control speed with brakes and hope you don't start sliding. Keep as straight as possible.

 

been to pismo may a time in my tacoma....

unless you are rocking some serious long travel, you wont be able to do speeds above what 4lo has to offer. Be nice to your auto trans (heat wise) or clutch (manual trans), just keep it in 4lo and use lots of skinny pedal, and just let her rev.

Ill air down to 18-20 psi run in 4lo and rear locked when out in the dunes and can pretty much do anything in my essentially stock tacoma. Rail sand dunes, get up anything hit the bowls etc etc.