Hints for Driving Trucks in Sand - & Changing Tyres

[z_halen]

Hey Guys

Just wondering about peoples experiences about driving their trucks on sand, both in the desert and on the beach.

I've just got an NPS truck and with the Singles and i've been taking it for a few runs on the beach. So far so good, but after being spoilt with a navara on the beach which could go anywhere, i'm noticing a few more challenges from the truck.

The first one is tyre pressures.. i've got the graph for weight vs tyre pressure vs speed from ATW which gives an excellent starting point, but immediately felt that i had to be down around the 25psi mark to get through the soft sand. i'm only driving the truck empty at the moment which is about 4 tonnes, but i'm just wondering if any of you guys on here could tell me what you run at and any experiences you may have had with tyre damage etc ?

My next dreaded question is - Changing a tyre in the sand!! I haven't had the pleasure yet, but how do you jack up your vehicle on the sand. I've been looking at high lift jacks, but i don't know about the capacity. the standard jack that comes with the truck would need a pretty big support plate not to sink into the sand. What do you use ??

Can't wait to hear about your experiences... and setups.. Hopefully you'll save me being yelled at by the missus!

 

[Amesz00]

cant help you with the changing tyres bit, so far lucky enough to not have had to do it on soft sand.
i had a canter with 16" offroad michelins for a few years, and beach work/soft dune climbing is possibly the most challenging thing to do with a truck imo. on soft beaches i would be down at bout 20psi (my canter weighed around 4t as well), sometimes 15-16. even been down to 10 once when i (thru my own foolishness) bogged it in a muddy paddock. as i say, that was with michelin XL's, which are designed for low pressure work. i have no idea when 19.5s would start popping beads, but i dont think id take them much below 17. (John?)
2nd high or 3rd low are the magic gears with these things (assuming NPS is same as canter, should be).
just asked the dad about jacking in sand, his answer is pretty simple- big bit of ply, bigger the better.. dont think id want to support a truck on a high-lift. just an accident waiting to happen imho.
oh yea, soft beach work with a truck is slow work, so unless its getting modified to make 900nm, expect to be stuck in 3rd high or 4th low at best.

Andrew

 

[whatcharterboat]

Andrew, that's good advice regarding the Hilift........even the largest capacity Hi-lift wouldn't cut it IMO. If you have air on board then air jacks (especially the ones with a T handle and steel baseplate) are a good option but even a small bottle jack and a short length of CCA sleeper running fore/aft as a base is fine. That's all the professioinals use on sand.

Re: Pressures ... that chart is a pretty good guide if you know your tyre loads and don't go over the max speeds given for the pressures that you drop to.

I haven't had a chance to drive an NPS on the beach.......but I would have thought they'd be fine. The VGT gives them plenty of power over a wide rpm range (which is what you want in sand IMO) and as long as you don't let it get down too much below 2200rpm before you down shift , it should be sweet.......if you're interested, we'll have a Torsen diff available for the current NPS models in about 6weeks.....they'll be very good in sand.

 

[blackduck]

unfortunatley we didnt get to meet for a beer in K town but im glad to hear youve got your truck.
As far as high lift jacks go they may look good hanging off the back of a landcruiser making the serious off roader statement but thats about it
I use to have one but took an oxy to it when my patrol fell off it going through the rear panel like a tin opener
for jacking in sand and mud I use to have a dual purpose BBQ / Jack base plate - a lump of 3/8" plate with drain holes drilled in the centre so i could bolt the jack to it
great for spreading the load under a jack and cooked a pretty good steak to boot

 

[z_halen]

Hey Black Duck.. great to hear from ya, Yeah, it's a shame i didn't get to catch up with ya's


So has anyone else got some Sand Stories, hints or tips for trucks? I've never been in the deserts - is the sand much the same as on the beach? Guess you don't have the worry about the tides as much out there though:wings::wings:

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Heh Heh, all sands ae the same--EXCEPT

Time of day/sun exposure/angles/dangles and the moisture content, make all the difference in the world !

Differential gear ratios and tire tread/footprint/air pressure all will figure into it and properly cooled, an automatic tranny can be much safer/easier and just about the best way to avoid being the "STUCKEE"--

I use my HiLift all the time anyway, in snow/sand/rocks, you have to be very conscience of angles/base and vehicle stability (chocks)-

In the Desert, early morning sand hills are easy to climb, because if condensation(moisture), in the sand, after a few hours of sun/heat, the sand starts getting like ball bearings-

I have climbed hills in the early morning, using 4hi and no tire spin, afternoon, I have to use 4lo and lockers, if I don't let the tire air pressure down

Sand is like dry snow, control tire spin and gentle turns-:bike_rider:


Early morning --4hi/afternoon-4lo-lockers

keep your wits about you and watch for tire spin--you can drive on any sand, but be prepared to air down if it's really fine-

Now. if you're a sand dune climber/racer--thats a whole different technique-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO