Stuck in sand.

Stuck in sand. Well sooner or later this will happen for most of us and there is no reason to panic, unless you are close to the ocean and the tide is coming in, then you really need to move a bit faster.

The first thing to remember is, if you feel you are not moving in the sand stop spinning your wheels, they will just dig deeper into the sand, that is the mistake most new 4 wheel drivers do.

Deflate tyres.

Make sure your front wheels are parallel with the car, maybe deflate the tyres a little more, between 13-20 PSI is about right for sand (You did take some air out before you went into the sand, didn’t you?) Try to reverse a little and then try going forward again, that might get you going.

Maxtrax and Wooden Boards.

If that doesn’t do the trick when stuck in sand, then start digging, remove some of the sand around the tyres and if you got a couple of maxtrax or wooden boards they will be a great help here, that’s what they are made for, just place them in front of the tyres and drive onto them, and get your passengers out and give the 4 Wheel drive a push as well. Every little thing helps.

If everything else fails, and still stuck in sand, get another 4 wheel drive to pull you out, but still remember to remove some sand in front of the tyres, that will make everything so much easier and put less stress on recovery gear and the vehicles involved. Make sure you use the right recovery points, don’t attempt to use the tow ball for an easy fix, this is a big NO and can be very deadly.

For More About Maxtrax See Here.

Clean you’re 4 Wheel Drive.

Don’t forget to clean your 4 Wheel Drive after a drive on the beach, the salt, sand and metal is not a good combination. Its handy to have a high pressure hose system as you can blast off any foreign sand or dirt, however even a spray with a garden hose should do the trick for sand and salt.

If you buy a new 4 Wheel drive look into spray on rust proofing (can be done on older 4WD) or an electronic corrosion device, I have one on my car and reckon it’s an good investment, so far I haven’t noticed any rust attack even at places where I have lost the paint.