martinvh Posted August 29, 2018 Report Share Posted August 29, 2018 Hi all, My girlfriend and I are going camping around San Luis Opisbo during this holiday weekend. I have always been looking forward to driving on Pismo Beach - hey, it’s so well know that even we Europeans talk about it. Any tips or advice on where to go, how to get to ‘dune trails’ and how to handle those? I’m not a very experience wheeler (yet). Any airing down etc etc? My setup: lifted 2006 RR Sport with 19†Cooper Zeon LTZ’s Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foster Posted August 29, 2018 Report Share Posted August 29, 2018 I went there in January for the first time, and had a blast. Camping on the beach was really fun...but since it was January I'm sure it was a lot less crowded than it will be this weekend. I'd recommend camping there, but be prepared to be woken up throughout the night by engine noise (and headlights on the tent, which is terrifying at 3am). I camped here: https://tinyurl.com/yczbunlo it's all pretty wide-open. You might have better luck if you go up from the water a bit, it can get windy. Use your truck to block the wind. I have a pretty similar truck set up to yours. I didn't air down (laziness) but it would have been much more fun to: https://tinyurl.com/y8oso36e Rover, for scale: https://tinyurl.com/y7oyelzm Advice: take it slow. be careful of ridges, both going up and down (always make sure you know what/who is on the other side). it's just like driving in deep snow, which is super fun. If you start spinning your wheels and not moving forward, you might want to just back up and try another line. Bring a shovel! We skipped all the craziness by the ATV rentals and went further south on the dunes, which was much quieter. It also could possibly be more fun to park the truck and rent an ATV. Either way, it was a really cool experience. Have fun, take photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted August 30, 2018 Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 A- Air down. A lot. I think I ran my LR3 with 275-70-18s at about 15 psi. That's lower than I'd normal use on the trail but you need all the flotation you can get for these things because they're really heavy and have small tires. B- Bring a full size shovel! Chance are you'll get stuck at some point and if you do you don't want one of those dinky little folding shovels. You want to move a lot of material as quickly as you can. C- camp away from the beach itself. The crazy party types (read drunken idiots) hang out near the beach. You'll be better off heading inland, perhaps by one of the eucalyptus groves. That's where we normally camp when doing club trips there. D- pay attention to the dunes; after a while you'll start to get a feel for how they lay. the wind blows in off the ocean and you get a different pattern heading inland vs out. E- expect a lot of noise/rowdy/drunken behavior late into (all) night. The closer to the beach the more you'll have. This being a holiday weekend things will be turned up to 11 and Pismo is heavy on the Bro culture F- have a kinetic recovery strap on hand and be ready to secure it front or rear. these seem to be the best way to get a stuck vehicle moving again. Don't let somebody use a regular strap as a kinetic strap...I've seen lots of people try that and just rip things apart. G- there aren't really any trails, it's pretty much go wherever you want. There is the 'sand highway', and there's sort of a road along the beach but otherwise you're on your own. Maps are pretty much useless. If you have a GPS you might want to drop a pin at your camp so you can find it again if you're not used to the area. Otherwise if you get lost just drive toward the sound of the ocean and you'll figure it out from there. H- talk to our man Lutz! He's a native and seeing how he owns the Hummer tour company there he spends WAY more time on the dunes than the rest of us combined! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpaca Posted August 30, 2018 Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 I took my rrs there with the club - Pirelli street tires. Did air down to 25psi or so. Mostly no issue in the sand - but - there were a couple of spots where I grounded the front air dam (best to remove before you go - only 3 screws or so on each side) , I think you need a “flag†- you can buy those at the stores on the way into the beach - and if you don’t have anywhere to easily attach it outside the truck, I just stuck mine through the rear passenger window. Avoid the big holes in the dunes - easiest place to get stuck ! Sand ladders could come in useful to get unstuck if you are by yourself ... with the club there was always someone there with a winch to pull you out in the worst case - but on the weekend there are so many people down there you will probably find someone to help if you need it. Have fun ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted August 30, 2018 Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 Ah yes, I always forget my flag! And also definitely avoid the big bowls - witches eyes some call them. They're hard to get out of unless you have a lot of tire, light weight, and a lot of power. You'll find you burn a ton of gas in the sand because you're always driving around at higher RPM and load than normal. Go ahead and use the 'sand' mode; you'll see it is very soft on the launch then holds gears longer. The basic technique is don't spin the tires. When taking off from a stand still ease into it then get the revs up so you have power (the computer will do this for you in sand mode). Try to keep your momentum up but of course the counter to that is don't go sailing off a lip. When climbing a dune you want to go as fast as you can without bashing the front of the truck into the approach but ease off just as you crest the top so you don't fly over the top. It's a balance. If you loose forward progress and start to spin the tires STOP! A lot of times the instinct is to stay on the throttle because you're 'almost there', but you'll quickly feel the truck going down into the sand if you spin the tires. That means a lot more digging if you can't get somebody to snatch you out! It's a lot like snow driving in that sense, but you can carry a lot more speed. I don't go to the dunes often but it's always a fun change of pace from what I normally do - it's the only place where I can go fast instead of inching along on an obstacle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinvh Posted August 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 WOW that is a lot of very useful information. Thank you for this! I hope other people keep using this for future reference. I will definitely follow your advice on how to handle the sand dunes. I will make sure a buy a flag, bring a shovel, take it easy, air down and take plenty of pictures. My girlfriend says she likes gardening so I assume she will be okay shoveling sand Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lutz Posted August 30, 2018 Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 If you need anything just give me a call. I will be out there all weekend working. If you see a black humvee waving at you that's me.the wind has been up so the dunes are nice and smooth right now. We expect around 15k people out there this weekend.So drive with caution and keep speed at 15mph on beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandRonB Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 If you're too lazy to air down or not enough, this comes in handy plus a shovel: https://us.maxtrax.com.au/ if going solo. Better if you go with a buddy system and kinectic rope for recovery. Or both Maxtrax and kinetic rope. See if you can borrow a pair from another club member who's willing. Maybe put a deposit down in case you damage it. Just a thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Probably to far away for you, but I'm happy to lend you my Maxtrax if you want to pick them up at my place in Walnut Grove and can have them back next week. PM me if you are interested. I'll be working in Sacramento tomorrow though I doubt that helps you much. I can also loan you a flag. But a kinetic strap and a buddy are by far the best option for getting un-stuck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinvh Posted August 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Thanks all! I feel prepared and I have a tire deflator, compressor, flag, shovel and 15k snatch strap. I’ll have to find a buddy there in case I get stuck :-) I guess I’ll just wave the flag until a Jeep guy pulls me out. There’s one thing I’m unsure about. How much do you air down? I have LR3 HSR size 255/55r19 tires on my 19†Range Rover wheels. For road use the manual states (that would be a slightly smaller 255/50r19 tire) 33 psi front, 36 psi rear. What is the pressure I’m aiming for, I was thinking 18 front, 21 rear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Ah, pretty low profile with the 55s on there. I'd say your thinking is a pretty good place to start. I wouldn't take that tire that low for a trail run or you might damage the wheel on rocks, but in the sand (or snow) you can go much lower than on the trail. There won't be a lot of sidewall deflection since it's so short but it will help increase the footprint a little and you can use all you can get! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinvh Posted September 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2018 Hi all, Thanks again for the great tips. I had such a blast in the sand! This was my first ‘off the road’ experience and it was a friendly way to get acquainted with the car’s features and capabilities. To summarize:I arrived at Pismo Beach and saw a BMW 5-Series and a Prius driving on the beach. I got cocky and didn’t feel like airing down... I mean, if a BMW can do it..... 10 minutes later I got stuck in the dunes. A little bit of shoveling and airing down to 20 psi (it took a while to find the valves, they were buried in a foot of sand) got me unstuck. A friendly guy in a lifted GMC with monster truck wheels was waiting next to me, hoping for a chance to pull me out :-) The rest of the day the car did great and I didn’t get stuck again. With the car in Sand mode, low range and aired down it would climb almost every dune. Sure I didn’t make it to the top of every dune, but I got off the gas before it would dig itself in and would just backup and try again. After about an hour I got a feeling for how soft the sand really is and how much speed/gas it requires to make it up to certain dunes. I got some scary moments when the car started sliding sideways. It’s extemely hard to read if the dunes are level (side to side) because there is no real reference point. I have no clue how far the car can tilt before it would roll over. I decided to steer in the direction the car was tilting and accept a steeper descent, but at least without leaning sideways too much. Will post some pictures once I’m at my computer. You will see a huge smile on my face on most pictures. It was awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted September 7, 2018 Report Share Posted September 7, 2018 Sounds like you got the hang of it pretty quickly. And good call on turning into the slide. Although you can lean further than you'd think you're always better off facing up/down the hill than across it. Playing in the dunes is fun and like you said after a while you start to get a feel for how much speed to carry and what to expect. It's about the only place I every get to actually go fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted September 27, 2018 Report Share Posted September 27, 2018 Will post some pictures once I’m at my computer. You will see a huge smile on my face on most pictures. It was awesome! I thought you said there were pictures? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foster Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 He sent the pictures to Whatsapp.... you don't check all 400 daily messages?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 He sent the pictures to Whatsapp.... you don't check all 400 daily messages?? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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