OVERLANDING with an AWD ASTRO/SAFARI VAN?
- Thread starter laz 1
- Start date
Well,
I just got my 99 AWD SAFARI MICRO MOTORHOME STUCK!!
I have been stuck many times before ....
in a 2WD motorhome on the soft sand beach at SAN BLAS ...
and in GUMBO mud up to the frame in my MASSIVE 4X4 PATHFINDER E35O Van conversion ...
and countless times in much lighter off road vehicles, in all sorts of terrain and conditions.
But this was the first time I got stuck in my current "overlanding" rig, my 1999 AWD Safari van with a custom built motorhome body.
And this time it caught me completely by surprise.
I built this van specifically to explore the remote beaches on the East side of BAJA, and I have been there before on an adventure motorycle, so I know what the soft sand around there can be like. I figured the Gnarly Duratrac tires and AWD in my Safari would be enough to get me through almost everything.
WRONG!!
I am still at Lake Chapala, Jalisco, and I managed to dig my self in deep here on the Lakeside beach. I parked close to the lake, in what turned out to be about 8" of very soft DRY sand, with wet sand below.
OOPS!
When I started to pull out, NO GO NOWHERE!
I thought maybe I had lost AWD, but my passenger could see sand flying from the right front tire.
So I got out and looked ...
RT FRONT and LEFT REAR GNARLY DURATRACS had dug themselves in deep, down to the rims.
I am running 50 PSI in.the Duratracs, which is definitely too much air pressure for sand, and I carry a compressor, so I could have aired down, but I am driving mostly on cobblestone streets ... and the cobblestone was only 50'away. So , being lazy, I did not air down.
Instead I pulled out my "traction mats" == 1/8" x 18" x 40" rubber checkerplate material, and put them at the front of the two spinning tires.
STILL NO GO ...
just pulled the mats through and threw them out the back.
I then scooped the sand out from the front of all 4 tires ( by hand ... I left the shovel at home a few blocks away), and made some shallow angled ramps up.out of the holes, einserted the traction mats, and tip towed SLOWLY out of the sand on to harder surface.
Good thing this happened in civilization, and not on a remote BAJA beach, with the tide coming in.
Glub ...glub!
Lessons learned:
- stopping in SOFT sand is never a good idea
- I do not think a G80 / locking rear diff would have helped here in the soft sand, as RPMs high enough to activate the locker would orobably just have dug down deeper, so only slow and easy got me out.
- I got out early, before digging in up to the frame, so not much sand had to be scooped out to make the shallow ramps
- the WET sand ( ? Quick sand?) was only a few inches below where my tires stopped digging in ... good thing I stopped
- the shovel goes back in the van
I just got my 99 AWD SAFARI MICRO MOTORHOME STUCK!!
I have been stuck many times before ....
in a 2WD motorhome on the soft sand beach at SAN BLAS ...
and in GUMBO mud up to the frame in my MASSIVE 4X4 PATHFINDER E35O Van conversion ...
and countless times in much lighter off road vehicles, in all sorts of terrain and conditions.
But this was the first time I got stuck in my current "overlanding" rig, my 1999 AWD Safari van with a custom built motorhome body.
And this time it caught me completely by surprise.
I built this van specifically to explore the remote beaches on the East side of BAJA, and I have been there before on an adventure motorycle, so I know what the soft sand around there can be like. I figured the Gnarly Duratrac tires and AWD in my Safari would be enough to get me through almost everything.
WRONG!!
I am still at Lake Chapala, Jalisco, and I managed to dig my self in deep here on the Lakeside beach. I parked close to the lake, in what turned out to be about 8" of very soft DRY sand, with wet sand below.
OOPS!
When I started to pull out, NO GO NOWHERE!
I thought maybe I had lost AWD, but my passenger could see sand flying from the right front tire.
So I got out and looked ...
RT FRONT and LEFT REAR GNARLY DURATRACS had dug themselves in deep, down to the rims.
I am running 50 PSI in.the Duratracs, which is definitely too much air pressure for sand, and I carry a compressor, so I could have aired down, but I am driving mostly on cobblestone streets ... and the cobblestone was only 50'away. So , being lazy, I did not air down.
Instead I pulled out my "traction mats" == 1/8" x 18" x 40" rubber checkerplate material, and put them at the front of the two spinning tires.
STILL NO GO ...
just pulled the mats through and threw them out the back.
I then scooped the sand out from the front of all 4 tires ( by hand ... I left the shovel at home a few blocks away), and made some shallow angled ramps up.out of the holes, einserted the traction mats, and tip towed SLOWLY out of the sand on to harder surface.
Good thing this happened in civilization, and not on a remote BAJA beach, with the tide coming in.
Glub ...glub!
Lessons learned:
- stopping in SOFT sand is never a good idea
- I do not think a G80 / locking rear diff would have helped here in the soft sand, as RPMs high enough to activate the locker would orobably just have dug down deeper, so only slow and easy got me out.
- I got out early, before digging in up to the frame, so not much sand had to be scooped out to make the shallow ramps
- the WET sand ( ? Quick sand?) was only a few inches below where my tires stopped digging in ... good thing I stopped
- the shovel goes back in the van
Yellowstone2Yukon
New member
Great thread, Laz! I just got a 2005 Astro AWD that I'm planning to make into a camper like yours.
Also, is there a general Astro/Safari thread?
Also, is there a general Astro/Safari thread?
Something like that happened to me outside Vegas in a full size truck. Driving alongside a dry creek bed, fat dumb and happy and suddenly THUD, right down to the frame at all four corners. About 3" of hard crust and underneath just soup. Out in the desert I figured if I had to call a wrecker I might as well just hand him the title. Got lucky when a couple of full size locals came by. Took Ford and Chevy both to yank me out that day. 
Wiley
Adventurer
Not a general one, but there are several of us here with individual threads that include pics, that is right Laz I am still calling you out, you thought I would let you off the hook!
Birds of Paradise flocking in my front yard
The pool at my rental casita. Those are ORANGE TREES in the background. They drop ripe Oranges right into the pool
Jacaranda Trees in bloom ... aka ..PURPLE RAIN
The LITTLE BLACK BOX ... 99 AWD Safari MICRO Mtorhome build
Custom front Bumper and Grill Guard ... this gets RESPECT from the Mexican drivers! (;-{)
My PROPANE tank disappeared a few days after I got to Mexico. I should have had a LOCKING door on the compartment.
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W
Wiley.
Guest
Hey Laz, of course I missed the pics lol.
Since you say you go exploring often, do you ever wish you had 4x4? I go back and forth on this, but think I may just leave the AWD alone. How often are you limited with the AWD? It was great for 2 years south of the border, but I often wished I had the 4X4 for peace of mind....now I am thinking I should just air down and trust more, it served me well for my general needs. Thanks
Since you say you go exploring often, do you ever wish you had 4x4? I go back and forth on this, but think I may just leave the AWD alone. How often are you limited with the AWD? It was great for 2 years south of the border, but I often wished I had the 4X4 for peace of mind....now I am thinking I should just air down and trust more, it served me well for my general needs. Thanks
After nearly three years with my AWD SAFARI VAN MOTORHOME CONVERSION, I am still loving it. I have spent about 2 yrs actually living out if it,and still wake up each morning with a smile.
However, the van does not move around much these days except for the drive back and forth between Mexico and Canada. I probably do not need a motorhome any more, so I am thinking about selling it or parking it permanently in Mexico, as my Winter Casita.
If anyone is interested in buying my 99 Safari AWD MOTORHOME, let me know. I can deliver anywhere between Mexico an Canada.
http://s690.photobucket.com/user/Lazerus2000/media/20170421_145147_zps1rg2a2pn.jpg.html?sort=3&o=7
However, the van does not move around much these days except for the drive back and forth between Mexico and Canada. I probably do not need a motorhome any more, so I am thinking about selling it or parking it permanently in Mexico, as my Winter Casita.
If anyone is interested in buying my 99 Safari AWD MOTORHOME, let me know. I can deliver anywhere between Mexico an Canada.
http://s690.photobucket.com/user/Lazerus2000/media/20170421_145147_zps1rg2a2pn.jpg.html?sort=3&o=7
I am Wintering in Ajijic Mexico, still living in my AWD SAFARI MOTORHOME CONVERSION. The little rig is great, but the only rambling I do this days is the trip between Vancouver Island and Ajijic.
I parked the RV three months ago and haven't moved it since. In fact, I am seriously considering leaving it down in Mexico permanently as my Winter Casita. However, that would be a waste of a neat little AWD overlanding machine.
So, if anyone wants to buy it, contact me. I can provide more info and pictures.
Larry Zhttp://s690.photobucket.com/user/Lazerus2000/media/20170421_145147_zps1rg2a2pn.jpg.html?sort=3&o=7
I parked the RV three months ago and haven't moved it since. In fact, I am seriously considering leaving it down in Mexico permanently as my Winter Casita. However, that would be a waste of a neat little AWD overlanding machine.
So, if anyone wants to buy it, contact me. I can provide more info and pictures.
Larry Zhttp://s690.photobucket.com/user/Lazerus2000/media/20170421_145147_zps1rg2a2pn.jpg.html?sort=3&o=7