Hey guys, got a couple friends that want to start offroading for their COVID get aways and they've invited the wife and I. Here in Florida that means a lot of sand trails. What sort of tools should we look at grabbing to get out of the sand pits we're going to get stuck in?
Shovels
Boards to drive out of sand traps
Tow straps?
Yes.
Also a portable compressor so you can air down might be a good idea.
winch / come a long ....
and they have something like a Sand anchor that you put in the sand ahead of you to winch your way out......
Kinetic rope, much less impact than a snatch strap. Bubba Ropes, Yankum Ropes, or Voodoo Ropes are three of the larger brands. Matt's Off-road Recovery on YouTube pulls much larger vehicles out of he super soft Utah sand with a Jeep Cherokee. Amazing what inertia can do.
Back in the early 1980's we did a lot of muddy Illinois trail driving and drinking beer.
If you don't want to walk back to get your buddy's K5 Blazer - don't 4 wheel alone.
traction boards. you can get anything decent for under $200 on amazon.
check to make sure you have sufficiently strong recovery points on your vehicles. stock tie-down hooks are probably not safe long term.
get some soft shackles (if your recovery point is smooth enough) and a kinetic rope if its in the budget. make sure to check the working load limit vs the breaking strength of your shackles so you understand how much weight they're really designed to take in a normal pull.
JRGunfighter_John said:Matt's Off-road Recovery on YouTube pulls much larger vehicles out of he super soft Utah sand with a Jeep Cherokee. Amazing what inertia can do.
you're not kidding. fascinating to see how he gets some of those huge pickups out in an otherwise fairly tame looking XJ. made me a believer in Yankum ropes.
What part of Florida? You'll find me in the Ocala National Forest on weekends!
I won't go out on the trails without a kinetic strap, maxxtrax and a sturdy shovel. If you're doing mud then add a hi lift and a winch, too.
I have all of the above in my Xterra when I wheel. Also, It's not a bad idea to have a recovery point on both ends.
It's all new in box as of now but it's good to know it's in the back if I do need it.
ScottyB said:traction boards. you can get anything decent for under $200 on amazon.
check to make sure you have sufficiently strong recovery points on your vehicles. stock tie-down hooks are probably not safe long term.
get some soft shackles (if your recovery point is smooth enough) and a kinetic rope if its in the budget. make sure to check the working load limit vs the breaking strength of your shackles so you understand how much weight they're really designed to take in a normal pull.
JRGunfighter_John said:Matt's Off-road Recovery on YouTube pulls much larger vehicles out of he super soft Utah sand with a Jeep Cherokee. Amazing what inertia can do.
you're not kidding. fascinating to see how he gets some of those huge pickups out in an otherwise fairly tame looking XJ. made me a believer in Yankum ropes.
looks fairly tame, but almost nothing underneath that XJ is stock. I think it's locked Dana 60 rear end, locked Dana 44 front end, heavy reinforcements. It's set up for heavy hitting like that (which actually somewhat limits its suspension travel/flex). But yeah, as far as engine and transmission go it's fairly stock.
I have definitely watched 100% of Matt's videos since I started following him last year.....and learned a good bit of my own off-roading knowledge from watching them!
My take on a few things:
- kinetic rope is awesome, but if you don't plan to use it A LOT, there's no real point. A snatch strap is a lot cheaper and takes up far less space, and will do the job if you only "occasionally" wheel. Kinetic rope is mostly for guys who do a high amount of heavy recoveries (like Matt, and more of the hardcore guys). If you're just going to do some sand trails with friends here and there, just go get a regular snatch strap (note: not a regular tow strap....) Or, if you're a baller, kinetic rope is great. But good kinetic ropes are very pricey.
- I just picked up some X-Bull traction boards (Generation 2). These things are really beefy and are pretty highly rated by a number of guys I know who are serious overlanders who don't sound like they can justify the much higher prices of a few of the marquee brands. You can get them for under $100 on Amazon. Look for the "new" version ones., which are much beefier than the originals.
- Good tires with good tread, air down, carry a good compressor to air back up (I have a mid-range Viair that can get my 31's from 15psi back up to 30+ in about 1 minute per tire.). Little cigarette-lighter-power auto stor compressors will take FOREVER. But seriously, the best thing you can do to NOT get stuck is to be aired down sufficiently. For sand, seems that most guys on A/T tires like it around 15psi. I tend to run closer to 20 in the Raider, but it's pretty lightweight compared to most.
- Yes, a shovel. Fold-up shovels are cool, but if you have space for a full-size shovel it makes life much easier if you have to dig. Digging on your knees sucks.
- WInch is fine, but if you're in sand without anything to hook to, won't do much good. Also in sand, more weight carried = more chance of getting stuck. If you're with another capable 4x4, there's no real reason he can't get you out of any stuck spot without a winch, IMO.
side note: what are you driving?
Tom Suddard said:What part of Florida? You'll find me in the Ocala National Forest on weekends!
I won't go out on the trails without a kinetic strap, maxxtrax and a sturdy shovel. If you're doing mud then add a hi lift and a winch, too.
I think he wants to start in Croom?
Very mild stuff, from what I've seen online, but I grew up with a bunch of Bubba's in north Florida and know that offroading goes sideways quickly
In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :
you can also get sand anchors for winches
MrChaos said:In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :
you can also get sand anchors for winches
yeah, I know. But those things are a big hassle. I mean, if wheeling alone, not a bad thing to have. If you're with other rigs I don't see why you'd bother though. But I already carry more gear than I probably need to, so who am I to talk :)
Couldn't find the picture, but I have a pelican 1640 that I keep an arb snatch strap, extra shackles, folding shovel, folding saw, 50' winch extension(can be used with a hi lift or in a deadfall winch), and when I had a winch, a snatch block.
I used to keep a mini shovel in the roof box of my Xterra as well. Mostly used by tourists to try and dig out their cars at the beach.
Air down and run in 2 wheel drive. When you get stuck engage 4 wheel drive and drive back where you have already been. Scout the bad area and decide if you can get through it. All of the tools already listed are great.
Great info! Def an inflator/deflator, shovel, and boards at a minimum. As pilotbraden said - air down and 2wd until you need 4wd, similar to beach driving. I've seen oak tree and cyprus roots absolutely ruin peoples day off-roading in Florida. 5A out in Osteen used to be a great place to get muddy until someone bought all the property and decided to turn it into a subdivision.
Snatch straps or kinetic rope are an easy thing to carry as well. There's enough trees in Florida that you don't necessarily need a sand anchor unless you're in a cow pasture.
found my pic, forgot I also had a synthetic winchline repair kit, and a tree saver.
Hand tools and common sense.
In reply to Strizzo :
that is a slick idea but I can never hope to have that back neatly in the box again knowing myself lol.
Just remember, walk without rhythm.
In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :
I'm nervous for the remake...
Curious about the 2WD/4WD technique. Why 2 wheel on the sand? I'm guessing it's so when you get stuck you're not berking stuck?
On my honeymoon in Hawaii my wife and I rather ignorantly took our jeep out onto the beach in some deep sand. We never got stuck but I often think about how easily we could have been. Where does one learn about these kinds of things?
Oh, wow. The X-Bull sand tracks have really come down in price. I think I'm going to pick up a set.
I've always heard it said that 2 wheel drive gets you stuck, 4 wheel drive gets you out - sand or otherwise. Basically, if you start in 4wd and get stuck you've got no where to go but recovery. Of course, this is advice for actually driving places, not rock crawling and 4 wheel parks where stuck is basically the end goal.
Everyone else covered the big tools already so I'll pass along some advice:
Air down. No really, AIR DOWN. I ran 20ish psi (down from 35 psi on the street) on my 99 4Runner whenever I'd be off road for more than a little bit. That was probably a hair too high for cruising on 100% sand.
Always park facing downhill in sand. Might not come up much in Florida but it will save you in any dunes.
Go as slow as possible (to not break stuff) and as fast as necessary (to not get stuck). Meaning, momentum is your friend and your enemy. Fun part here is that the line is learned from experience 
Try not to stop anywhere soft and deep. Trying to get going again in soft sand is a great way to dig down and get stuck.
That said, trying to get going again after stopping in deep/soft sand is a great time to engage 4wd. Then go ahead and pop it back into 2wd once your rig climbs back on top of the sand. You'll know what I mean when you feel it.
With my old VW dune buggies and VW buses I would have an ignition coil kill switch ,
if I got suck I would kill the ignition , put it in first or second gear and try and pull out of the hole with the starter motor .....
you can not get the RPM down low enough when its running not to dig a bigger hole !
might not work with heavier trucks or jeeps.....
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