More Info on Sand Driving Please

[MisterE]

Hi All,

I spotted a thread on Sand Driving and it had some great information thanks!

Like many of you I am thinking about going to the Hummer Homecoming \ Silver Lake Sand Dunes and I had some specific questions about sand driving so I thought I would post them here:

1. A\C and Vents Is it better not to run the AC in the sand so that the sand does not get sucked into the vents. Along this line is it best to close the vents up \ tape them up to keep sand from getting in the vehicle.

2. Air Filter. I know from Dune Buggy \ Sand Rail we use to run pre-filter elements (essentially a really fine mesh) do I need this \ are they made for the hummer.

3. I read about taping the over the window openings \ windows down to get sand out of the moving parts. Should I do this with CD \ Player too?

4. It will be a 3 hour drive home for me. Other than hitting a car wash (hopefully I can hit a good 25? power wash or at least one with good under carrage spray) and doing a good visual inspection of the vehicle anything else I should do prior to having the oil \ fluids changed at dealer when returned?

5. Any other "house keeping" items for my H3 to help with clean-up. During the summer my H3 is a partial daily driver so I can put in some good elbow grease to clean it well when I get it home. Tips to get it back to show room clean would be great, I love to have fun but I also want to the truck to last a long time and look great.

Any advice would be great!

[usetosellhummer]

No problems, you really can't keep it out. i have had more problems with Mud then sand. 1. keep the vent closed. recirculate the cabin air. 2. 4 high and lots of gas, do not stop if you can avoid it in the deep stuff. 3. get a great detialer or kid in the hood to suck it all out with a vacume when your done.

[lance-n]

I haven't done very much Dune driving, but I do get out on the beach at least a couple times per week.
That was some good advice to use 4 high, lots of gas and te A/C on recirc.
You really don't want to stop in the soft stuff. Another tip is not to turn too sharply, as it seems to cause the front end to dig in and the rear push doesn't have a chance when the wheels are cocked to one side.

In my limited experience, I have found that sand driving is all about maintaining momentum.

When I need to traverse long stretches of soft sand (and I mean REALLY soft sand where the tires are slipping significantly AND I am digging in a few inches, or if I need to go uphill in soft sand without a running start) I drop the pressure until the tires fatten a little. It helps to have a wider footprint. It also helps to have bigger tires! DUH However, you don't want to lower the pressure too low where you risk losing the bead of the tire on the rig. You'll have to put up with that annoying tire pressure sensor for the whole freaking time though. Does anyone know how to disable that one? I carry a little digital tire gauge and a simple 12 volt compressor, so I can return the tire pressures to operating levels on the pavement, otherwise it is dangerous. I wouldn't recommend dropping the pressure below 20# at the extreme lowest and return to at least 30# for pavement.
Other than that, jusy be aware of the environment. Nice big stones just love to hide under seemingly soft, fluffy sand. So do logs, rebar, concrete blocks, mini coopers, etc!!!

Have fn and please post some great pics of your trip!!!

[NEOCON1]

i like to put an extra coat or two of wax on my sides before goin to the dunes .

[MisterE]

Thanks to All for your input!

I am getting pretty excited. This will be my first trip to Silver Lake in a 4WD. When I was younger (about 10 years ago) I was really into Dune Buggies and we used to go crazy up at Silver Lake, greats shots of us getting 6-7' of air jumping over the hills. Big engines and RWD combines with little weight and cutter brakes was a ton of fun, but now I am trying to get prepared for a totally different kind of driving.

E

[H2Finally]

Before using the vacuum, try the leaf blower first. Open all four doors and rear hatch, remove floor mats, loose change, sunnies, etc... BLOW AWAY!! :D

You'll see a very satifying WOOSH! of fine dust esp from the top of the dash :D

Then the vacuum (some twigs, small rocks, etc, need to be brushed with vacuum hose to loosen), wipe down, and you're done with interior.. :D

[MisterE]

I popped this question over in the photos thread as well, I couldn't view the photos for some reason, but that thread was almost a year old. Anyway I remember the photo very well it was just before \ after the H3 came out and it was a yellow one at Silver Lake, this State Park require a really tall orange flag on the front of all vehicle so they can spot you cresting hills. Anyway I am trying to find out the best way to get the flag attached to the vehicle. I have the flag and it is a bottom mount (essentially it has a threaded bottom) didn't know if the owner \ tester of the that yellow H3 could give me some hints or if anyone else had some pointers.

Thanks!

[Sewie]

Neocon has a mount on his, he put some info in a thread a while back. Just use a cb mount or an L-bracket and mount it to one of the tow hooks or brushguard.

[NEOCON1]

http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7938


here is a linky for you :D :D hope it helps

[hmrlvr]

Here is a quick release I got from a motorcycle shop. I just mounted it to a bracket behind the spare. The mount always stays on and the flag slides in and out.

[NEOCON1]

lvr has a real nice set up :D with mine the swing gate cant be opened

[HummerNewbie]

I popped this question over in the photos thread as well, I couldn't view the photos for some reason, but that thread was almost a year old. Anyway I remember the photo very well it was just before \ after the H3 came out and it was a yellow one at Silver Lake, this State Park require a really tall orange flag on the front of all vehicle so they can spot you cresting hills. Anyway I am trying to find out the best way to get the flag attached to the vehicle. I have the flag and it is a bottom mount (essentially it has a threaded bottom) didn't know if the owner \ tester of the that yellow H3 could give me some hints or if anyone else had some pointers.

Thanks!

Welcome back E, how ya been? That yellow H3 was Hurf. See him pop in here and there but not in a while.

[MisterE]

Thanks Guys!

Glad to be back! I was really sick for awhile, I was outta work for 6 months and spent over 40 days in the hospital:(

Happy to be back on the forum and back behind the wheel! Good to be chatting with you guys again, missed the DieHard Hummer Fans!

Thanks for the photos!

Hope to see ya at the Dunes!!!

[HummerNewbie]

Glad to be back! I was really sick for awhile, I was outta work for 6 months and spent over 40 days in the hospital:(

Man that really sucks :(
Glad your doing better now though.

[ETD]

You'll have to put up with that annoying tire pressure sensor for the whole freaking time though. Does anyone know how to disable that one?

Just press the button on the dashboard and it toggles off.