Hi all,

Had a great weekend out in the freelander, near disaster, was out somewhere near this location (I think) http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&hl=...iwloc=addr

And the sand got very soft, so much so, i got stuck, i didnt, panic, went to the boot, got out my set of Maxtrax, got myself up and out and then i got bogged again... sand was very soft!!! so then I got the max trax out again, got going again, and got stuck again!! this time close to the water, was starting to get worried, luckly a crew of guys in some pretty nice 4wd's were driving past and they gave me an hour of there time to get me towed out and heading back in the direction of harder sand.... I couldn't believe how nice these guys were - good to see some true Australian spirit still out there... people helping each other out! even they were suprised of how soft the sand was. dont have any photos of being bogged... but think I have some of the beach which was quite nice.. which I will post when I get home.

aside from all the getting bogged in soft sand, the Freelander performed flawlessly on the dunes and the beach leading up to the soft sand, was very happy. (I let the tyres down to 10psi on the beach after getting stuck, worked nice, I had them at 18psi before getting bogged.

I think next weekend I will head to the Mundaring powerline track... no incoming tide there.

Also... if you are planning on driving on the beach... buy a Dyson... ohhhh so much sand!!!!!

cheers,

This is my first offroad trip in the FL2 on Bribe Island... it went mostly well. Thanks to a V8 D1 I got moving again.

Click image to enlarge

Sand can be a tricky one! I am fortunate to have driven on sand for 20yrs This included my three different Freelanders - there was definitely a skill keeping them going in the soft stuff, so don't feel bad at getting bogged. Once you have some experience, the FL (and I imagine Freelander2) goes really well because it is relatively lightweight. The TCS also works a treat when you are crossing sandy ruts

The tricks in soft sand are: Momentum, light on the steering (little changing direction), keep the engine RPM high, and if you feel that the car is slowing down and may stop, don't try to keep spinning the wheels at the stop - rather let the vehicle come to a rest. you will have better chance of going backwards and trying again before you dig the wheels in and belly out.

As you have learnt, once you have stopped, use very little throttle and try to slowly get the tyres up on the sand again. Oh, and you will be surprised how much of a difference one person pushing can make (but don't stand anywhere near the wheels).

Oh, I do love driving on the beach - somehow my Beema just does not cut it!  ______________________________

own: '06 BMW 130i Msport (manual)
owned: '04 FL Td4 3dr
owned: '02 FL V6 3dr
owned: '98 FL Xedi
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The road less travelled you will find me on.

HAHAHAHAHA Wilbinga! i got bogged there my first time too!

Have a look



Dont feel bad... Wilbinga is so bloody soft! I dont care how good you are at driving, if you stop, you are bogged.


Go to Pipidinny next time, its soft but so much fun there. Heaps of 4WD if you get stuck. But most of all theres huge dune areas to learn the FL2 talents.

After th next few busy weekends i come out with ya!

Dorko