High or Low range In the sand

Hi Stephen,
I used to own a 1997 3.4L V6 Prado Auto, and like you I had never had an auto in the sand before, only manuals. So it was a bit of trial and error. I found the best way for me, on beach driving was to leave it in high range, overdrive off, power button on. For going up dunes "as above" but if speed and RPM decrease, hit the accelerator again so it down shifts to a lower gear and hence maintain speed so you don't bog down. As for going down steep dunes, I used Low range, 1st gear and feathered the brakes if speed increased too much. Never had a problem with overheating transmission doing things this way. I also tried that 2nd gear start button a few times - waste of time, as you can not get up enough speed if you climbing a dune. Hope this helps.
Have fun in the sand,
Howard.

Hi Stephen

I run the 120prado petrol in hig range if just reving up and down the beach clicked over in to 3rd (od off) when I was up at stockton a few years back.

When heading up and down I ran it in low range to pick up the grunt up the hill and use the same for in 1st for down the other side.

Too much wheel spin in high going up hill

Let the auto do the work u just use the right boot to help it pick a gear.

what ever gear your in beach driving is great fun. Expeiment for your self and see what your happy with.

Trevor

High or Low range depends on conditions..

Same as anywhere else you go wheeling, drive to the conditions.

If your worried, get a gearbox temp guage - always a good idea in an auto that tows.. Rodney at wholesale automatics in bayswater Vic sells kits, had one in the GQ, and it was amazing to see the changes in gearbox temps on sand and towing.

G'day Stephen, have you considered an additional tranny oil cooler as extra insurance? As we all know excess heat is an auto's natural enemy. My BIL put one on his 03 Jackaroo V6 auto from day one just for some peace of mind, not that dear either.

Cheers Stefan

I find High range good in most cases.

But if the sand is soft I will use low range as a precaution and it just does it that bit easer if you do hit that soft patch.

Use high it it's easy going, Low if not. either way you need to watch for wheel spin. Also don't be afraid to go lower than 18psi. Have been below 10 in a tough spot, got me going again....
Nick

Hi Stephen Good question . I am fortunate to be only 30 mins from North shore (Noosa to Rainbow Beach) and often head along beach including Fraser Is In my old auto v8 Disco i always found that the vehicle does a great job of finding its own comfortable working range as the conditions change. An auto can be a real blessing and pleasure on the beach as small soft sections are easily tackled by keeping the right foot pressure fairly constant and letting the transmission decide on weather it needs a change or not. You will find on the lower tide runs its easy to forget what speed your actually travelling at But remember that the beaches up here often have police present with RADAR GUNS so remember the 50 or 80 kph limits. The only times i have ever needed low ratio has been at the high tide point in very soft deep sand or if forced to wade in the shallows once again due to high tides and a lack of time and beach space. Even now with a 3.0 ltr Turbo diesel Manual low range is the very rare exception recently after 3 hours or so of beach cruising i got a bit of a surprise to see that i hadn't even engaged 4wd. The best thing to do is definately reduce tyre pressure 18psi sounds perfect it will really help soften the ride on Fraser's tracks which can get quite corrugated and otherwise bouncy on the exposed tree roots along the main tracks ENJOY THE TRIP

Like mentioned above........................drive to conditions. I always left mine in D. Never had a problem. SPent more time in Low than high....................Just to be sure :)

Like mentioned above........................drive to conditions. I always left mine in D. Never had a problem. SPent more time in Low than high....................Just to be sure :)

Thanks all, sounds like leave in high and trial and error situation. Drop the tyres and see how I go. Thankyou. Regards Steve

Hi Steve,
The only people I've seen who need low range on Stockton Beach are the ones who run huge road pressures in their tyres.

Really mate I think you know the answer to your own question, just drop the pressures to what worked in the Hilux and let the auto handle the gear choice.

Geoff