taking mdx to the sand

[sitta]

im planning to go to port stephen next week and i will take my dad's mdx and maybe go to the sand dunes and the beach.

i a newbie so im just asking you guys for any suggestion/precautions that i must take before going to the beach with the car?

do i need to press the vtm 4 lock button??
what should i do to not get stuck? need lots of luck
and i will bring a shovel with me :D just incase

[Spunkymonkey]

im planning to go to port stephen next week and i will take my dad's mdx and maybe go to the sand dunes and the beach.

i a newbie so im just asking you guys for any suggestion/precautions that i must take before going to the beach with the car?

do i need to press the vtm 4 lock button??
what should i do to not get stuck? need lots of luck
and i will bring a shovel with me :D just incase

you normally need to lower your tyre pressure when your taking your car to the sand. vtm lock, I'm assuming that's like a diff lock? if so yes use it.

also if you feel like your about to get bogged - try an accelerate out of it, don't gun it but if you slow down - your more likely to get more bogged right lol...

don't forget to stop at the servo and pay for a pass to drive on the beach.

[czy_sol87]

i wouldnt do it if u dont know what ur doin, or unsure, its very easy to get bogged in sand

[jamchen]

lol...
i've taken a mdx to sand... but not mine... it was a loaner when our mdx was in for the 1000km service...( it was in gold coast)
we drove the loaner to the spit near sea world... and we had soo much fun and haven't had stuck even once... we even did drift on sand as well..
just in case if you got stuck, (which is unlikely) or about to get stuck.. try to accelerate.. but not harsh, just gentle acceleration to try whether you can get out.. if not... shift to D2 and lock on the VTM-4 ( which locks rear diff to 50:50 and only works in 1st and 2nd for the speed under 40k) so the car starts from 2nd gear instead of 1st gear.. it should give u a smoother acceleration than in D and should get u out...:D

[SPEEDCORE]

Granted I don't know how big the dunes are at Port Stephen... but the spit is not even a challange for a Rav4. :)

[shinji112]

we took our rav4 onto the beach at port stephens on 7 mile beach i think. yeah just buy a permit and reduce ur tyre pressure (cant remember wat PSI we lowered it to but you could always ask the servo) the dunes werent too crazy. it was good having our car right on the beach. no long walks back to the car with all the fishing gear

[EuroDude]

sitta's next thread: "Help! my MDX got stuck" :p

na u should be alright, just avoid the large dodgy dunes.

[aaronng]

After you finish and get home, you must wash off the underside of your MDX. Even with water restrictions, you are going to have to use a high pressure hose to get the salty sand off so that your underbody doesn't start corroding.

[Zilli]

exactly what i was thinking aarong

[sitta]

tnx all of you, going tommorow and i found these very helpful

[Alpine]

Make sure you take pictures and post em up here!!!

[sitta]

ill do that in a week after im back, going tommorow

[sitta]

update: im in coffs harbour at the moment, i get to use my auntie's computer. i went to the sand yesterday afternoon (no experience yet) and i did get stuck. i was trying to climb this small dune and didnt get enough momentum and i got stuck, the exhaust coming from the engine just after the header touches the sand it was quite low, the under body also touches the sand, lucky it was downhill so my friends push from the front and i reverse. the hot sand from under the car burned my friends foot. and i got stuck again, this time in a low gradient hill and this time it is serious with just the hard rocky surface 20m at the front of the car!! we end up trying one more time and dig a bigger hole. one of my friend went and got help in the nearest petrol station but they say the towing people will charge around $200 so we thought why not a last try and dig a bigger hole or get out. we dig out a big hole under the car first and witha hard push finally we made it out!! pics coming soon

[-MuGen PoWer-]

i remmba going through these sand dunes, i remmba how ez the prado and landcruisers went through. Hard time for the smaller sized 4Wd like the suzuki and rav4 and crv always get stuck and have problems climbing (i think cause of the torque and not permanent 4Wd)
Fun though

[sitta]

http://i10.tinypic.com/2drur9z.jpg

http://i9.tinypic.com/2qtbrev.jpg

thats me in my mdx at stockton beach port stephen:wave:

sorry about the image quality, i was using my phone

problem with the mdx is when i lower my tyre pressure to go on the sand, i have the side step on my car and the ground clearance gets very low and the sand keep hitting under the car and you get stuck more easily