Prado not reving when its on the beach

[sangaman Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close sangaman]

Hi

I have just bought a 2003 GXL 3.0 Turbo, 5 speed. I took it on the beach for its maiden voyage last week. It went alright on the main track, i went off around sum sang dunes and noticed that it didnt want to rev up and hold the revs, so i let the tyres down to 20psi, it still kept digging in and it was like the computer or something wasnt allowing the revs to stay up to get me out of the bog, I put it in low range and got out ok. Than i tried to climb a small hill in low range and it didnt even make it half way up!! Could the traction control be coming on or something? any help would be appriciated.

[mudboy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mudboy]

Prado not reving when its on the beach

Sand is one of the hardest and power hungry environments to drive on, u may need to use Low range to keep revs up, make sure u have let your Tyres down, I usually drop to 15 psi.

U do need to give it a boot full to get it going and keep momentum up

U should only need low range on the really soft stuff, tyre pressure does make all the difference here

[pjorek Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close pjorek]

Re: Prado not reving when its on the beach

yup 20psi is too high, 15psi is normal for soft sand. High/Soft sand dunes 12psi and she'll get up no worries

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

Re: Prado not reving when its on the beach

If you do a search for "sand driving" or "sand tips" (etc) there are lots of tips and tricks about how and what to use and when to use it.

Generally, not necessary to go down to LL unless you get stuck, sand driving is all about steady and constant momentum. I would leave it in HL for the most part and adjust the tyre pressures to suit the "softness" of the sand you are driving on... You will find that the nature of sand driving, especially when soft, the car will want to slow down very quickly due to the drag so a little bit of extra accelerator is required at all times to get the revs up and the car moving forward.

As I have already mentioned, there are threads on this already and this question would be better asked in one of the existing threads.

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

Re: Prado not reving when its on the beach

25 psi (hot) when doing the Simpson Desert crossing, via the French Line...no problems - and that's much finer/softer sand than a beach...
I can't imagine ever using less than this for a beach!

Remember 25 psi hot is about 21 psi when cold...

If you find you are digging in with these sort of pressures, then you are not maintaining enough forward momentum, and/or your car is overloaded!

[ozwapet2 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close ozwapet2]

Re: Prado not reving when its on the beach

and for the record a 2003 GXL won't have traction control

[don1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close don1]

Re: Prado not reving when its on the beach

it happened to me as well going up to the sand dunes with very soft sand around mid day..i was just digging in the sand with 15 psi and didnt even made it halfway. i just reversed down and noticed that my A/T temp light was coming on.had a bit of a rest while waiting for the A/T to cool down and just went around the beach..

[grizzly63 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grizzly63]

Re: Prado not reving when its on the beach

In my experiences on the south coast of WA tyre pressure makes all the difference,start at 15 psi and go from there,dropping as little as 1psi per time until about 8psi and keep the revs up! The difference 1 pound can make can be quite amazing! Of course the lower you go the gentler your cornering needs to be to keep them on the rims. 8psi may sound low but in the middle of summer it sure beats walking.Lower tyre pressures keep wheel spin down and therfore makes for smoother tracks for everyone to enjoy.lower them early and everone wins.
Cheers!
Grizz
PS. smooth tracks equals less shook up beer!!!

[yngveny Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close yngveny]

Re: Prado not reving when its on the beach

We regularly drive in soft to very soft sand here in Qatar and keep our tires at about 15 psi.
Like others have stated it is the last psi that gives most effect.
Reducing from 30 to 20psi gives very little difference.
Dropping from 20 to 15psi really makes a huge difference.

4L works for most any sand driving as long as you keep your momentum up.

Ride safe and enjoy those dunes