Since I am new to the Jeep world I have a question regarding running in sand. Actually I have several questions. First, for beach running I know you air down your tires. How much do you air down? Is it dependent on whether the sand is packed or loose? Second, what setting on the transmission should I use? I am thinking four wheel locked (not low) and use the shifter feature. Is this correct? If not, please enlighten me. I will be wintering in Arizona and want to get my overlanding (ok, mild class 2.0 to 2.5) on. I eventually know I will be needing some add on's. What is the first thing I should look into modding? Thanks for the help.
I normally air down to 20 lbs for beach driving. I have gone a little lower for powdery sand but normally 20lbs works good. Sand mode does work good but I have used Auto mode also with lock and manually shut off the traction control. Sand mode turns off traction control, keeps the rpms high and in Sand Mode I like to use the auto stick where I can shift. First gear in a Trailhawk is basically low range at 20:1, the Latitude is 17:1 which is fairly low. In Auto mode I usually leave it in automatic. I don't have low on my Latitude but very few guys I fish with use low range exclusively. When I had my Toyota I rarely used low range on the beach. Try different settings to find out what works good and you are comfortable with. I haven't been on the beach this year because we have had a number of Nor'Easters that washed a lot of the sand away. Our beach season starts after Labor Day to Memorial day and it wasn't worth the fee.
Beach driving requires you take some extra equipment (required in most states) such as a shovel, tow rope, jack with a strong board to use as a jack plate, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, full size spare tire, etc. Unfortunately my Latitude lacks recovery points that the Trailhawk has. Edit, forgot to mention a good air gauge and a good air compressor to fill up the tires, some places do have air stations.
Thanks for that heads up. I have everything but a tow rope. Any ideas on what to buy such as length, a snatch rope or perhaps a place to buy one that I don't have to take a personal loan from a guy named Vito?
You can get tow ropes at just about every auto parts store, Walmart, etc. I was always told to get a tow rope with a weight capacity that is 2 to 2 ½ times the weight of what is to be towed. 4,000 lb car would be 8,000 - 10,000 capacity. If I remember correctly my strap is 20'. An auto store like Oreilly Auto could help you out, they can get you a lot of answers.
