Trouble running in sand 4H

I was out surf fishing today and my truck was dropping down RPMs bringing me almost to a stop. The beach was deep loose sand but never had any problems running this beach before.

At low speed 5-10mph everything was fine. As speed increased to 15-20 mph truck was cutting power and sounded like A-trac was on. Driving in 4H I tried turning of traction control but it didn't make a difference.

What are the best setting to run in loose sand? (Not looking run Baja but some beach entrances you need speed to get over)


No dash lights came on during the rpm drop

 

I like 4LO in sand, myself. Why not? Especially if you're only going 15-20 mph

 

Yes at that speed 4L would be fine. I am just surprised how the truck was acting and not being able to build speed. Power would drop if I got around 3,000 rpms.

How do people run High speed sand dunes if the truck nannies you at 20mph?
Just looking for advice for mid speed sand travel. Like I said never have any problems at 5-10 mph. I don't air down to drive on the beaches so that doesn't help things but still doesn't explain way I can build speed.

 

Should definitley air down, 15 psi or so in sand will give you much more traction and you won't need to floor it as much to keep momentum. Spinning tires with little to no traction will slow you down big time. Your tires aren't grabbing much with all the throttle you're giving it and you aren't able to gain or keep momentum.

 

Not disputing that fact at all. Just lazy

Guess my question is way my truck was dropping power to the wheels. A-Trac is 4L only and traction control was off when in 4H

 

Unless there's some feature I'm not aware of that's actually cutting power, I don't think that's the issue...I think it just seems that way because you aren't getting traction for all the throttle you're applying so your bogging down despite high RPMs. I've had the same thing happen to me when trying to climb a steep, loose dirt hill in 4hi...the truck wants to practically stall out. That's why you want to crawl in 4lo in that particular situation but for maintaining high speed in level sand terrain you need traction at the wheels...good tires and airing down are the ticket.

 

Yes the truck was "clicking" like traction control was cutting in or A-trac was on but no lights on dash would activate during the reduction in speed and rpms.

 

Can't you turn off the nannies? Hold the button down for 3, seconds, hold it down for another 3 seconds and press it one more time...At least this is how it works on my 2nd gen Tundra.

 

I held the button for 3 seconds but that was it. I was under the impression that's how 2gen tacomas are.
Even is trac was activating no dash lights came on showing

 

I don't have anything else to offer, since I have the Tundra and that's how mine works.

I learned fast after I got stuck in my back yard and the wife pulled me out with her 4 cylinder 1st gen 4 x 4. It took a while before I heard the end of that one. She didn't even spin a single tire.

 

No worries, Thanks for the information

I'm just trying to see if anyone else has had this problem running loose sand and what setting they found to work best.

I mainly what to know how to keep wheel spin without the truck reducing power to the wheels. Is it normal not to have dash light come on if traction control is activated.

 

Yes, the lights will turn on when wheel slip is detected.

 

Wheel spin digs you in. Downshift and run slower.

With that said, it sounds like the traction control was limiting power to try to gain traction. I've had this occur with no lights on icy roads.

 

Yeah it's hard to explain the driving style in the sand. Speed was increasing and was running a nice pace. I could definitely feel some wheel spin but this was like hitting the brakes and coming to a crawl.

Picture driving up a long snow covered hill knowing that your tires will be slipping but you are still building speed and momentum. Then you are almost at the top and the truck brings you to a crawl when all you needed was to keep momentum.

I'm sure this truck is more capable than my Offroad driving skills and love having all the features but I drove rear wheels drive service vans in horrible snow/ice conditions and never doubted getting to my destination. To the point where it was fun playing in the snow.

Just didn't know if I'm using all the bells and whistles correctly or if there is a way to dumb down the controls so the driver can just drive.

 

Putting the truck in 4lo will turn off traction control which is what your experiencing, or just turn off the trac.

 

I tried with Trac and without. All you do is hold button for 3 seconds correct? Truck was running the same no matter if trac was on or off

Side note what is a safe top speed for 4L?

 

It will say trac off, I think press button once and hold for 3 sec but dont quote me, and 25 mph is pretty much top speed in for 4lo.

 

Air down in sand! EVERY TIME!

 

Even with going through the TRAC off procedure, I think it is still running in the background and will still kick in, it's just not as sensitive as when it's fully on.

 

You need a lot of hp , and tires capable of keeping you on top of it . the moment you slowdown your tires dig in and you're done