Sand driving in 2012 Forester

Slorider

Forum Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2019
Messages
15
Location
South Australia
Car Year
2012
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
Manual
Hi all.
In January I'm heading off with the family camping, and it's likely we'll be doing some sand driving given where we are going. This will be my first time driving on sand.
I've done a heap of reading, so I'm well aware of the need to drop pressures, and have bought gear to get us out of trouble should I manage to get us into trouble. However, there are two questions that I would love answers to:
1) Should I be turning the various driving aids off? I've got a 2012 2.5 with dual-range manual.
2) Should I pre-emptively remove the plastic guard under the engine?
Thanks,
Paul
 
@Kevin Thanks for that. I had read through that thread, but it left me a little confused. I think the idea is to switch everything off on soft sand - pressing the button for ten seconds.
I like the idea of a sump guard for Christmas! Unfortunately I think I have spent enough on getting the camper ready, plus the recovery gear, that I'm not likely to get the sump guard past the bookkeeper! (plus I'm probably too late this time of year, anyway). The one made by David at Road Less Travelled seems the way to go. I'll start saving...
 
@Slorider yes, as I said in the referenced thread, any traction aide that applies the brakes needs to be off.

David's guard does seem the way to go for sure.
 
Yes turn off traction control for sure. You need to do this every time you start the car
This doesn't completely turn it off though. If you get bogged, you can pull the ABS fuse under the bonnet, some people do this for driving on soft sand. Remember to put it back in! lol

Air down to 16psi & you will be fine for most conditions. If it's very soft drop to 12psi.
8psi will get you out of trouble but don't go far at 8
 
Sand - air down, it will make it more difference then anything else, less agressive tires will do better in sand.
 
@NachaLuva Thanks. I'm all set for airing down and pumping up again. When we were in Central Australia I dropped pressures for the rough and difficult stuff, and aired back up again afterwards.
@scalman These definitely aren't aggressive tyres! They're street tyres, and they're heading towards the end of their life, so for sand should be fine.
 
We'll, I was in Melbourne over Christmas so was able to meet up with David from Road Less Travelled. So picked up one of his sump guards - nice, well designed part. It's now on the car ready for our trip to the south east (of SA) later this week.
 
We're back from our camping trip at the Beachport Conservation Park. Did one trip out onto the sand - headed to Three Mile Rocks, then on to Five Mile Rocks where we climbed the hill to look at the view and the Aboriginal midden. Absolutely gorgeous spot.
Having not done any driving in sand I was a little nervous and didn't know what to expect. Dropped the tyre pressures down to 15psi, popped the homemade sand flag on the roof and headed out (with kids sure we were all going to die - or worse!). No dramas whatsoever. At first I used a bit more speed to climb the hill in, but quickly discovered that the car was happy just puddling along in comfort. Even the soft sand climbing over the sandhills onto the beach to Five Mile Rocks was completely uneventful.
Very pleased with how capable the car is, and feel much better about driving in sand now. Low range was nice when I wanted to keep the speed right down.
All good!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top