Sand Dune Wheeling questions

['71k-10]

I am planning to take my truck to the Oregon dunes some time this year and have a few ?'s. First off i don't know when i am going but i plan to have my truck lifted 4" with tuff country front springs and ord rear shackles and 33X12.50x15 Bfg MT. How will this combo work any pro/cons/advice. How about axle wrap in the sand. Is that going to be a big issue? I have heard airing your tires down is a good idea, So i will need some kind of compressor. Advice/comments/cautions all welcomed. Also any tips for driving in sand would be great.

Thanks for the help
Tom

[1tonswb]

I live in oregon and go to the sand dunes very often. Your tires are a good choice if you air them down to 10 psi. When you do your lift make sure your tires wont hit the fenders. I dont know how many trucks Ive seen on the sand only to see them later in the day with munched fenders. Bumpstops help out alot. If you can afford it then spend the money for a rear locker or some type of limited slip diff. They help out alot. My truck has a detroit locker in the rear and 95% of the time I dont air down. If you stay away from a tall rear block you shouldnt have any axlewrap problems. As far as air compresser.......they are nice but at places up here like sand lake, florence, hauser, ect... theres gas stations a couple of miles away with air. When you do come up let me know so we can meet up.

[Prerunner1982]

also be careful of whats on the other side of the dune if you plan on jumping over it. also, bring some shovels and a tow strap..

[SWEET7T]

AH man, the memories of hitting the dunes I miss it

Your tires will work great in the soft stuff! Drop the pressure down to ~10-15psi. I never popped a bead at that pressure, but that doesn't mean that you wont. If your suspension is flexy, it sure helps out if you have open diffs. I ran open diffs in a Jeep without any problems of getting stuck. Remember that speed is your friend (but not too much speed ). If you stop, stop at the top of a hill/dune so you can get going easliy. Take a hi-lift (in-case $h!t) and a piece of board to put the jack on so it doesn't sink in the sand.
Keep an eye on your temp gauge, sand can sure tax your drivetrain!

[bouncytruck]

I'm from Coos Bay. Make sure you always know what is on the other side of the hill. There are a lot of drifts with lakes at the bottom and no place to turn around. Drop the air pressure to a max of 10 (I have seen guys run as low as 3psi - but you have a greater risk of breaking a bead). Don't forget to get a flag. The flag must be a minimum of 9' from the ground. If you go on a busy weekend, take extra precausion. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a nice rig with a huge dent in the side from a wheeler jumping a drift and landing on the door of someones truck.

The dunes are a plast! I've never taken my truck there, but I've spent just about every day after school and every day durning the summer at Horsfal. The dunes are stepper the further north you go. I personally like the areas between Coos Bay and Hauser best.

['71k-10]

Thanks to all for the comments and advice. 1tonswb- i live in northern calif. so i wasn't planning on driving up that far but will contact you if i decide to, thanks for the advice though. prerunner1982- thanks for the tip seems like thats what alot of guys say is important. sweet7t-thanks for the comments all are helpful bouncy truck- Coos bay is where i was planning on going. i was also going to camp at horsfall. thanks for the info and other tips on this area would be awesome
Thanks Tom

[cheyenne10]

I also grew up in North Bend and spent a lot of time from Horsefall area North to Lakeside. It has changed some since I was out there. Your probably aware of the ORV offroad permit you need and the flag, fire extinguisher and other requirements. I also recommend against the holiday weekends. These dunes get a lot of use mostly now a days by 4-wheeler atv's. They are quick and capable of going anywhere fast and there are lots of them. I sometimes go over just to get a good look at some nice rides. I imagine now days cell phones and a handheld GPS would both be great tools. Also flashlight and emergency kit. I knew 2 good friends that got in bad accidents both at night but it could happen in day just as easy. Its beautiful out there just take your time and learn your vehicles as well as your own capabilities. In winter expect lots of ponded water, tough to gage depth and what under surface. I saw several people get swamped or worse trying to cross water puddles.

I plan to get back into dunes someday. Probably in another rail or lightened baja. Hope to let my son experience the safe part of what I saw. (I also saw a lot of the unsafe side)

Enjoy Oregon and make sure to take care of it and leave it as clean or cleaner that when you arrive. We are all starting to loose many of our priviledges by a few abusing the rights we have.

Happy trails.

[bouncytruck]

Well said Bob.

Like he said, holiday weekends can be crazy. Alcohol and dune vehicles don't mix very well. There used to be a lot of outragious sandrails and with a lot of power flying over the drifts. Some of these guys have more horsepower than common sense. I personally helped lift one guy out of a tree when he decided to make his own trail. He had no clue what was on the other side of the drift and just hit the NOS to go up and over. We should have left him there for being an idiot. Of course, after we got him down, he did it again, but without getting stuck.

I haven't been out there sense the early 90's. It sounds like a lot of things have changed. If you need autoparts while your there, make sure you hit my parents store in Coos Bay - McInerney's Auto Parts

Have fun and post some pictures!

['71k-10]

Hey, thanks to all and will post pictures when i get back

[1tonswb]

Bouncytruck......WOW! thats a long time since youve been out there. We go there (hauser, horsefalls) every summer and the last summer was the best. The reason it was the best is because of the no alochol law in affect now. We take out bikes down there and usually drag race at hauser and boxcar. On the big weekends at boxcar I cant count how many people Ive seen get hurt out of plain stupidity. Add alochol and it was very dangerous. Since the no alochol law has been in affect if has mellowed out ALOT! I still take mine though......to sit around the campfire a relax. 71-k10......If you go you will have a blast down in that area. Go in the middle of summer and youll see the naked girls! lol!!!

[cheyenne10]

Do any of you guys remember what Boxcar hill was like back in 70's and early 80's? It was steep and tough. It was definitely a challange hill for everyone to climb. The hidden trees and stumps used to start appearing out of the sand and once in a while someones rail would catch a wheel and spin them (ouch). we used t go out and park at the base and BS and watch the night driving. Does anyone have good VW baja info? All this talk makes me want to get back into one again. I still have a new fiberglass baja kit I bought in 1990 waiting for the right timing!!

I think another hill up north was called Compitetion Hill. Its been before the early 90's since I have been out there (more like 1989 when I sold my vw rail to get down payment on our 1st house and we had our 1st child). 2 of the best moves we ever made.

[1tonswb]

The comp hill that I know is at florance. They shut that down about 8-10 months ago but I heard they opened it back up. Im going there for memorial day so we will see.

['71k-10]

1tonswb- sounds good to me, naked girls are always good.