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Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:25 pm

I hope this hasnt been covered before with its own thread. I searched and couldnt find any thing specific. So i was hoping someone could shed some light and tips on desert driving for a forest/mud/country boy.

Im going up to the Reno desert this weekend and im towing my baja on a trailer. I have never driven in the sand and im a little unsure of what to expect. Im bringing some wheels/tires off my stock 65' bug for the front. There 165/50. Im taking them because i have 215/75's on the front right now and im told you want a skinnier tire for sand. Please let me know if you think thats a bad idea. I also have 1 spare for the back.
my tires are also mud terrain tires. I was told that all terrain tires are better for sand because they wont dig you in as much. Is that true?
I know if i do get stuck to drop some pressure in the tire but im not sure how much. Like down to 15 psi?
Should i cover any holes to keep sand out. Maybe cover the dizzy?
Any help is appreciated.
Heres some pics so you know what i got.

one of my favorite pics

Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:34 pm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=370169

Just went on that run through the desert. I run stock size tires up front, 235/70/15 streetish tires on the back. We went through some soft silt/sand and I didn't get stuck, but it was a little hard going. All the other roads were just fine.

Engine wise the only special prep I did was put some offroad foam over the air cleaners. Definitely a requirement with good oil on them because it gets dusty there.

Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:38 pm

Thanks, my air cleaner is on the inside and it has kept pretty clean on dusty roads, but i might cover it just in case.

Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:38 pm

Air down the tires and everyone will probably tell you to park facing downhill

Tue Oct 20, 2009 8:46 pm

I do lots of 120-500 mile on off road trips, 150 miles on Sunday. I ran 30x10.50 BFG ATs and Yokohama 700 15s on my Baja and it did fine in sand washes. The rail has 33x12.50 and 33x900 All Terrains. My friends Baja had 33x 12.50 BFG Mud Terrains and had no problems in sand washes. Never stop in sand if you can lelp it. If you do keep the wheel straight and go slow when taking off. If it is deep Glamis sand go around it unless you bring a set of play paddles on the roof rack. Most of the time I just leave the tire pressure at 20 psi. When I am by myself I will try to stop downhill when taking a break. In the sand expect your mileage to drop to 10-15 mpg. I often take twelve gallons of spare fuel plus the 11 in the tank. I have a hi lift jack, plywood, pick, shovel, chain, tow strap, come along, tape, oil, gear oil, CV boot, fix a flat, patches and plugs, two spare clutch and acc cables. barrel nut, Clutch hook and pin, plugs and points, etc. I still need to keep a spare CV joint and replace my air compressor. I use a paper air filter covered by one wet and one dry unifilter. All the edges are greased. For the distributor I used an oil rag wrapped around the shaft of the distributor to cover the vents at Glamis I could not go up a hill without cleaning the points to get it started again. Rag has been on for 16 years, real low tech but it was what I had 250 miles from home..

Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:15 pm

speed and momentum are your friend in the deep sand. yes you want to be facing down hill when you stop . you dont get stuck taking off as easily facing down hill.avoid sharp turns and stay on the gas, lots of throttlle and speed . 15-20 psi in the tires. a set of paddles is the only way to go in the deep stuff. have fun and be safe.

Tue Oct 20, 2009 11:03 pm

Some good info on airing down:

http://www.4x4now.com/sfjun96.htm

Tue Oct 20, 2009 11:25 pm

Thanks peoples. i never would of though to park facing down hill. and that info lotrat left is some good stuff too. never though airing down had such a big effect. Maybe i'll get my self purposely stuck to learn how to get out, in range of a tow of course.

Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:51 am

Ed Carp wrote: speed and momentum are your friend ........avoid sharp turns and stay on the gas, lots of throttlle and speed . .

X2

Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:15 am

dirtkeeper wrote: Ed Carp wrote: speed and momentum are your friend ........avoid sharp turns and stay on the gas, lots of throttlle and speed . .

X2

yep i went all over the dunes i aired down to like 10 psi. on 31x10.5
I would run the wider tires up front it will keep the front in up on top the sand.

By kbwakesk8, shot with SV-AV25 at 2007-05-22

Wed Oct 21, 2009 4:26 pm

yeah man, we live 15 miles from the dunes here, so thats our main playground, i run 31x10x15 bfg's aired to around 8-9psi all the way around, and keep her throttled up pretty good (4-5500rpm) and up on the powerband and it runs all over the place out there, we drop into some big bowls and race as far as we can up hills all day long, its a lot of fun in the sand! just take it easy!!

Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:03 pm

Ed Carp wrote: speed and momentum are your friend in the deep sand. yes you want to be facing down hill when you stop . you dont get stuck taking off as easily facing down hill.avoid sharp turns and stay on the gas, lots of throttlle and speed . 15-20 psi in the tires. a set of paddles is the only way to go in the deep stuff. have fun and be safe.

Good advice. Momentum, momentum, momentum. With enough momentum you can overcome anything. The first time you feel the wheel spin and you don't move, you will learn an important lesson.

Also, for the love of not being stuck the rest of the day, BRING A SMALL FOLDING MILITARY SHOVEL, preferably with a pick. It will save you.

When you get stuck, depending on which way you want to go, dig AHEAD of the tire, and down, making four small ramps to drive out of.

If you jack one tire up that has buried itself, try not to fill the hole back in with dirt or sand, but instead of rocks are nearby, fill it with rocks. Loose dirt likes to stay loose and will not help you.

Oh yeah, have a jack handy, too.

Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:04 pm

So it appears to me that low tire pressure is the key to keeping my self from getting stuck. So that brings another question into my mind. My baja is going to be towed up there on a trailer. Will it be damaging to my wheels or tires when its towed back home on 10-15 psi?
after reading my question it sounds like a really dumb question because its not like the wheels are going to be turning. but im worried about the bouncing on the trailer causing the tread to come off the tire or bending a rim. any way my question still stand

Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:08 pm

Thanks tundra, i actually realized this morning that i have two jacks. A high lift and a heavy duty, Harbor Freight scissor jack.
Im hella excited about this weekend. I love the desert

Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:11 pm

haha, nah man you'll be golden on the trailer aired down- no worries at all

Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:47 pm

I carry a small air compressor. They are only $20 bucks or so. My little yellow one from Pepboys can even fill my rv tires to 85 psi. It's a good little unit. It's a good thing to have. If you air down too much or run into some hardpack, you'll want to be able to air up.

Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:04 am

I was just looking at those 12 volt air compressors. It was $50 which was more then i wanted to spend, there was also a winch for $50 too so it would of been a hard decision.

Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:36 pm

i wouldn't waste the skratch on a $50 winch, its probably a pile, Warn or nothing in my book.. and those compressors are perfect with some battery clips on them to air up a down tire or pop one back on the bead... good call IMHO

Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:25 pm

I bungee strap a Craftsman jumper/compressor/worklight/invertor/high speed inflator in the front of my sandrail on the passenger side! Everything in one package. Have had the thing for years and it has saved my and others bacon innumerable times. No special charger either, just plug a two wire extension cord to it to re-charge!!!!

Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:28 pm

Well crap, i guess the baja didnt want to go play in the sand. It toasted a fuel pump while i was playing around today. i opened it up and tried to put it back together correctly but it still dosnt work. There was a little spring (about 12mm round) and a plastic disk (about 13mm round) that where lose in the main chamber (the one you have to take 6 screws off to open). also the inlet valve screw(from the fuel tank) was really lose. im not sure how tight that is supposed to be but i tightened it down a bit. Any way i dont have the money to buy a pump and gas to get up there and drive around. Guess i'll be wheelin around on my feet.