Has anybody driven a non-OR in deep sand?

Hi , I have a 4x4 limited and was wondering if anybody has done any deep sand driving in a sport/sr5/limited 4x4 with the street tires. If so did you go in 4hi or 4lo and how did the trac work, did you get stuck? Thanks.

 

Crawl control is a gimmick. An educated driver with properly aired down street tires in a lightweight 4x4 will have no problem in deep sand.

 

^this!

Air way down, take it easy and drive smart. In the 90's, I went on many trips with my dad to silver lake sand dunes in his open diff 4x4 Ranger, we did fine.

 

I have a TRD OR with crawl control. I agree the crawl control is designed more for the inexperienced drivers.. I purchased the OR model because it is the ONLY model with the rear locker. I have literally millions of miles of driving experience over 40 years, and travel once/twice year from Texas to Alaska and back.

The best TOOL is the one above the shoulders. A limited Taco with "street tires" should have no problem in the sand, as long as patience and common sense are used. The only reason for a rear locker like on the OR is for serious off roading, or in my case extra insurance for off road traveling in remote desolate -40F blinding snow conditions where there is no help within a 200 mile radius.

Congrats on getting the new limited Taco

 

OP, just FYI, street tires are often better in sand than all terrains or mud terrains. Sand is all about flotation and increased surface area, hence the airing down. It increases the contact patch of the tire, and a tire without a lot of huge lugs will float on the sand instead of digging in.

 

Yeah I forgot to mention, this. Spinning will just bury you. I pulled out two Chevys a month ago buried to their frames in the soft stuff. Most people tend to apply more throttle when they start to slow down when you should keep it steady and churn through slowly.

 

I have not smoked any crack in hours so yes, I was talking beach sand.

 

Yes, crack and 4-wheeling is not a good combination. Beach sand is typically a lot more rounded due to constant tumbling in the wind and surf. Because of that, it displaces very easily and it is much easier to bury yourself. It's like driving on a heap of micro ball-bearings.

Also, don't stop in the deep, dry soft part of the beach. I've seen many a 4x4 pick the wrong place to stop.

 

There is a time to float on the sand and a time to displace sand [lugs] to continue to move. Learning what is called for at the correct time is a learned skill. Airing down, no matter what kind of tire, is the greatest [and cheapest] thing to do to continue to move. Investing in a reasonably decent air compressor can be useful and not much money anymore.

I used to run Pirelli Scorpions in the sand and while not that aggressive looking, they bulged nicely when aired down and split the difference between floating and displacing sand well. I used to clean the clocks of a whole lot of high HP rides and lifted but poorly set up rides off road. [and there are a LOT of those]

 

I dont think so, you have to balance that cold one with 1 hand...

 

Never driven in the sand. Had a frontier pro-4x for 4 years and never took it off-road. Want to try the taco in the sand, thanks for the tips.

 

A lot depends on the driver. I can take my 96 2wd Tacoma in the sand and not get stuck. Most of the time.

 

If you think crawl control is a gimmick then you don't know what it's intended use is.

 

Agreed...100% I love hearing the experienced off roaders get upset when technology is encroaching on their driving abilities. Yes, experience is vital to being successful off-road, however technology is bridging that gap rapidly. No amount of experience leads to the driver being able to brake all 4 wheels independent of each other like crawl control/atrac does to get power to the 1 wheel that has traction..Sorry, just isn't possible for a human to make that happen.

Fact of the matter is, experience + crawl/Atrac = best off roading option out there. When the experience isn't there, the technology helps a great deal. When the technology isn't there, experience helps a great deal. When they are both there, look out, these tacos can go almost anywhere.

 

Of course its a gimmick. Its a cool ass gimmick though.

 

My last truck was a 98 Prerunner with the locker.

I did reasonably good in sand for 2WD but it's definitely a learning curve.

The best tips I can give you is,

1) air down. Like all the way down. I went all the way down to 5psi and sometimes less in sticky situations. As long as you don't drive stupid and do tight turns or donuts, your tires will stick to the wheels.

2) engage 4hi not 4lo.

3) DO NOT slam on your skinny pedal. Slamming on the gas only causes your tires to dig down and get you stuck.

4) start slow from a stop.

5) if you ever stop, try to stop on a decline. That way, when you try to start back up and leave, the decline will use gravity to your advantage and give you momentum without diggin your tires.

6) don't do crazy dunes. Start on the flat ground and hilly grounds. You need to learn how to drive in sand before you get all the tricks down.

7) keep momentum, use all the tips you know, and keep a level head and you'll do fine in sand.

8) please take a friend. Once you get stuck, and no one else is around, you're gonna have to walk all the way to the next town or get someone to help pull you out. WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY LAST TIP. If you feel that you stopped getting forward motion, let off the gas immediately. Once you're stuck, the only thing gassing it will do, is get you more stuck.

This isn't a tip, but common sense: bring plenty of water, and a shovel. And if you do get stuck, use sticks, stones, and everything in between to gain traction. Just toss anything you can under your tires to get traction.

 

http://www.quadratec.com/products/9...oglemerchant&gclid=CJ6tzs3H9MkCFQqPaQodBmYGAg

Recovery sand tracks you will never get stuck

 

So much truth to this it hurts. Goes for most recovery equipment. Wheel with a buddy and you get stuck, no snatch strap between the two of you. Buy a snatch strap, buddy sells truck, now you wheel alone. Need a winch all the time, don't have one. Buy a winch, can't get stuck no matter how hard you try, winch remains unused.