Island season is drawing to a close, but there is still plenty of warm weekends on the east coast left to escape the city life on one of the many islands off the coast of Brisbane in your 4WD!

If you are anything like us and keen on making the journey across the bay to explore the sandy beaches and beautiful vista’s then knowing how to get the most out of your vehicle when traveling on sand will be crucial to getting back on the ferry with your vehicle still in one piece and your pride in tact to tell your tales at your local watering hole!

So brace yourself, there is a lot to learn with both technique and equipment to secure the most out of your setup.

Tyre pressure is one of the most critical factors to driving on sand, whilst many people know you have to drop your pressure down, but how much exactly how much you need to drop out of your tyres will depend on a few factors, like what pressures you normally run on the road, as well as just how soft the beach surface is.

Typically, on the serene and scenic islands off the coast of Brisbane the go to starting pressures we typically use is somewhere around 15psi give or take 1 psi. this falls approximately around 50% of standard pressures. And will let your tyres bag out for enhanced grip, when you’ve tried dumping air pressures down to 50% of your standard psi you will be thoroughly impressed with how much of your power output you can drive into the track resulting in getting further with less fuel and no worries.

But what can you do to drop your pressures down, when you were a kid, you probably remember letting the air out of your friends bike tyres as a joke, by pressing the small valve stem on the tyre, this does work but if you were chasing a specific pressure then a purpose built tool such as a Kwiky Tyre Deflator which features an internal valve core removal tool to dump all the air out quick smart but by containing the valve core inside it secures the lot inside and allows you to fully control your tyre air pressure with its quick dump release valve and accurate bourdon tube gauge.

Once your pressures are ready, it’s time to disembark the boat, but first, lock your front hubs into place and select 4WD on your gearbox and follow the directions down the offramp. Driving on sand is much more challenging than you would imagine, but it is also much more rewarding, with soft sand being a pleasure and a curse.

When you are driving on sand, taking it slowly with an amount of caution when turning or braking will yield the best results, momentum is a fantastic way to roll through the sand, and when you balance momentum and caution you wont ever have to worry about recoveries.

But what happens, when the best possible plans don’t go to plan – that’s where knowing what to do to recover your 4WD will save your bacon.

One of the first things you can do to ensure that you can drive out is not to just give it more berries, but to stop, jump out and inspect what you are hung up on, sometimes it can be as simple as backing it out and hitting it again with a little more momentum, but if you get seriously stuck, there is really only a few options for getting out, the first of which being, to drop your tyre pressures right down to as low as 10psi (give or take 1 or 2 depending on your vehicle but this alone will not save you, often coupling up with using a shovel to get more clearance below your vehicle and fill in the tracks and allow your 4WD to simply drive out of trouble. But sometimes this isn’t enough and the addition of an Offroad Jack and jack base is needed to lift your vehicle up out of the sand allowing you to fill in underneath your tyres and give yourself a sturdy foundation to drive away from!

This self-recovery method will save you 80% of the time, but sometimes when the sand is super soft you might need a tug free from trouble from a mate or a passer-by. This is where a standard snatch strap kit will be able to save you from trouble on the tracks. A snatch recovery works by connecting a snatch strap without any twists to the front of your vehicle and the rear of your rescue vehicle, by creating a 1m overlapping Z in the middle, you create a potential for stretch and create enough strength to pull free your stuck 4WD from trouble.

Despite your gung-ho mates advice to “just send it”, recovering your 4WD requires a bit more finesse with the recovering vehicle having to start in second gear low range and drive with momentum and enough speed to get your vehicle free, whilst you have your vehicle engaged in 4WD low range in second gear with steady rpm until you are pulled free.

Using an agreed system of horn beeps, you can communicate to the other vehicle when you are free. If you are smart enough you can use a built in UHF radio to verbally communicate.

To find out more about the full range of Adventure Kings gear to get you further offroad with the right gear for the job head online to www.4WDSupacentre.com.au call us on 1800 88 39 64 or visit one of our dozens of dealers or company showrooms to see the equipment in person!