Driving in the sands

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fengger

New member
Wheeling thru uphill of 300 ft of sands. Heard strong knocking and tires were shaking. This is a 2016 rubicon. Lockers off and on low 4. Had 2009 3.8 jk before and never have this situation. Tire pressure at 18 psi. Any words? Thanks
 
How steep of an incline? Perhaps you were starving for oil in the engine or lube in your axles/trans/TC?


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This doesnt really help answer ur question but if you are doing thick sand at inclines im pretty sure you should be using 4Hi to get the required speed and rpm to do the big climbs.

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tips from the Jeep blog:

1. Make sure your vehicle is properly equipped.
Before your vehicle’s tires even touch the sand, it’s important to make sure you have all the proper equipment. When driving on sand dunes, this may include a tall antenna with an attached flag to help make your vehicle more visible to others in the area. Make sure to check with the park’s guidelines before heading out for a full list of requirements.

2. Drop your tire pressure.
Dropping your tire pressure 10-12 pounds below normal can help maintain traction in sandy conditions. Just don’t forget to air up before you hit the pavement again.

3. Understand the consistency of the sand.
The consistency of the sand can affect how you drive your vehicle. You may need to alternate between high (for softer sand) and low (for harder, wetter sand) four-wheel-drive settings, depending on the consistency of the sand.

4. Keep up your vehicle’s momentum.
Maintaining momentum while driving on sand can help prevent your Jeep brand vehicle from losing traction. Try to keep a forward movement going, especially when climbing up large dunes.

5. Avoid tight turns.
Along with maintaining forward momentum, it’s important that you make large, wide turns in your vehicle while on sand. This will help prevent your vehicle from slowing down and getting stuck.
 
I also might be wrong here but if you were engaged in 4Lo ur TC should be disengaged and therefore shouldnt be the cause. Im really trying to think what was causing your issue but i think the more experienced need to climb in here.

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Usually drive in 4hi for momentum...air down as much as possible (I usually go to 6-8 psi with beadlocks) for flotation...if your not running beadlocks, depending on sidewall stiffness & weight, I'd try at least 12 psi, and avoid sharp turns both for momentum & keeping the tire on the wheel


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BigBoy said:
Did you have traction control on? Makes a big deference in the sand to turn it off.
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Ditto!! The ESL engaged will give you those symptoms in sand.............I experienced it myself in my 13, when I was getting to know it at the Oregon coast. Lower the tire pressures, turn OFF the ESL, put her in 4wd, and try again. You will probably have the issue figured out.

Be safe. Merry Christmas!
SFS
 
fengger said:
Not fast at all but gas ped all the way down.
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If you were in 4lo in a Rubicon with the gas pedal on the floor you were definitely hitting the engine rev limiter.
I can't think of any situation that would justify 100% accelerator pedal in 4lo in a Ruby.
As others have said, you should be in 4hi in sand.
 
I do tire psi to 10, 4 hi or 2 with traction disabled, and make sure you throttle a little bit while going down the dune. Also if you cant make it up the hill, keep wheels straight and reverse and try again


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I expect Desertman's correct. Same thing happens in snow. The give-away is that your tires were 'shaking.' Anything else (e.g. Engine knock) and you wouldn't have had the tires bouncing around.

At 18 psi, you've got wayyyyy too much air in your tires. Drop down to 12'ish and you'll get a ton more grip. Need to be mindful of turning too hard, but driving with care it shouldn't be a particular concern.

Drop to 12psi, put your lockers on front/rear, in 4Lo, and you can drive around dunes all day long w/o issue if you're someplace like Michigan's Silver Lake Dunes.

The thing with dunes, is it may 'look' smooth but they aren't so smooth you want a ton of speed. Yes, need momentum climbing a 45 deg dune, but too fast and you bottom hard on the imperfections. Also, go too fast, a lot of dunes drop off abruptly (as in razor's edge) at their crest. You need control as you crest the dune. Plus, most folks don't have suspensions geared to support flying through air<g>.


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10-12psi, 4hi, no lockers, lots of momentum and good line selection. Driving in the dunes is like chess you need to know several moves ahead of time otherwise you can find yourself getting into trouble. If you have no experience in them follow others and watch what they do. Typically it's a bad idea to try to drive straight over the crest. You need to approach at an angle and look to see what is over the other side.

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