What You Need to Know Before Off-Roading in Sand

Taking your vehicle off-roading in sandy areas requires preparation no matter if you’re rolling up dunes or just trying to drive your vehicle out near the water on a beach. We at Cumberland Customs have created this guide to help you get prepared for such outings. Contact us if you want to make sure that your particular vehicle is correctly equipped for these excursions!
Tire Tread and Pressure
Several factors come into play when you’re getting your truck or SUV ready to face off-road conditions in the sand. For starters, you need to get the right tires to suit the task. All-terrain tires are often a good starting place for most regular vehicles, and it’s best if they have flat blocks to increase the surface area that makes contact with the ground. Another consideration you need to make is the amount of air pressure you have in the tires. Generally, you’ll have better traction and handling with less air. You’ll need to use manufacturer-specific information to determine how much pressure you should allow to remain in the tires. Even then, there are some factors that may necessitate changes, such as driving on damp, packed beach sand or granular dunes. 
Driving Techniques
Once you have equipped your car with the right wheel and tire configuration and discovered the right level of pressure to maintain for your adventures, it’s time to look at how your behavior impacts your outcomes. A vital approach to successfully traveling on sand is to drive steadily at any speed. If you accelerate quickly or brake suddenly, you can get bogged down. In fact, when possible, allow the vehicle’s momentum to bring you to a stop rather than using the brakes. Bear in mind that you should not try to turn at a sharp angle. Instead, it’s best if you use wide, sweeping motions to make it to your objective. Driving up a dune is not about flooring your gas pedal, but you should make sure to gather speed on approach and keep your vehicle’s output steady as you move upward. Going downhill, try to let the resistance from the sand slow you down instead of hard braking, which can lead to your vehicle going sideways. 
What to Bring Along
You need to have a kit ready for your off-roading adventures on sand to bolster your safety and ability to get out of a tight spot. This is very important since some of these areas are in remote places. Make sure to bring a sand flag to be mounted on your vehicle. It should have a bright or neon color and a flexible pole. These items are used to help increase your car’s visibility to prevent accidents. Getting stuck in the sand is a real possibility, so you need to be ready to act. Bring along a shovel for digging, a tool to drop your tire pressure, and a set of recovery boards to provide temporary grip to get moving forward again. You should also get tow or recovery straps that are rated to handle more than the weight of your vehicle so that others can help you out of a jam or vice versa. If you’re trying to get your car equipped for off-roading in the sand, reach out to us for a consultation or to get an estimate on your planned upgrades. 

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