We’ve got some great beaches in this country, some that are miles long. It’s a great feeling to be able to drive right on the water’s edge, but to the uninitiated it can be a dangerous exercise, leading to car damage and even injury. Our friends at Hema Maps have provided us with 6 tips on how to drive on sand safely.
This doesn’t necessarily mean speed, but forward motion. The softer the sand the more important this rule becomes, because the moment you hesitate and ease off the accelerator (or change down gears) you’re going to quickly come to a stop. Once at a complete stop in soft sand a recovery effort is often unavoidable.
Line up the path you want to take when approaching a particularly tough stretch of sand, and consider shifting down a gear to ensure you have enough engine power to make it through.
This is a good practice because low-range 4WD often doesn’t provide enough momentum to guarantee you will make it through a patch of soft sand, as well as cutting down the need to change gears and risk slowing down too much.
It’s sometimes instinctual to stomp on the accelerator when you feel your vehicle losing momentum or getting dragged down. However, once a vehicle has lost momentum traction becomes scarce, meaning if you keep trying to power out of the situation you will likely dig your 4WD down further; which is when you’ll need a set of MAXTRAX. Knowing when resistance is futile can go a long way to making any necessary recoveries much simpler and less time consuming.
Wheel tracks will make it turn with great force and potentially bruise or break any misplaced thumbs.
Lower to around 60% of what is normal pressure on bitumen, which in most 4WDs equates to around 20-25psi. This larger footprint will make traction easier to come by and avoid churning up tracks too much for other drivers.
Driving in sand requires proper technique and good judgement – follow these golden rules to help you stay safe on the sand.
Key Industry Partners
