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Re: grp grates for sand ladder's/ off road, board's

Posted: 27 Sep 2011, 23:14
by ELVIS
if its only sand in this country dont bother too much TBH.

The grp waffle boards wont be of that much use, remember O level physics? surafce areas/pressure n all that jazz? If you add up the total surface area of the grp 'grid' on the grates it probaboly dosnt differ too much than the total footprint area of the tyres. They are of no real benefit in soft stuff tbh.

Have you so considered tyres/tyre pressures? tyre widths? wider tyre with lower pressure is going to give a larger surface area/footprint therefor givving an overall lower PSI of van/ground. make sense?

I wouldnt bother too much with mats tbh either if its just for uk beaches. Going to be fairly comapct sand overall. Without looking at daily tides/water content too much , if you compare the densit of the sand to desert conditions its fairly 'settled' and dosnt shift too much in comparison and will have a much greater density/'hardness' than dunes.

Not forgetting rule #1 though :mrgreen:

I *guess* your recoveries are pretty much planned so you have the advantgae of being able to walk the course first to choose best route. If at any time you think its too much etc and an emergency than call the pro's out. No point in becoming an extra casualty/concern to any ongoing incident.

If its the 'big quick tides' that concern you, then dont go on the beaches! Make sure you have done on ususal stuff ie first hand local knowledge of beaches/tide books etc etc

Just my two penneth. Dont profess to be an expert but like to think i have fairly sound experience gained from driving offroad both on green lanes and more 'techinal' surfaces both in the uk and abroad.

Re: grp grates for sand ladder's/ off road, board's

Posted: 28 Sep 2011, 13:05
by dirty-syncro-lover
thank's for the input

Re: grp grates for sand ladder's/ off road, board's

Posted: 01 Oct 2011, 09:56
by Mick & Tracey
I'm with Elvis on this - simpler just to drop your tyre pressures. A few years ago we did a big trip in southern Africa with a TLC. We had some lovely alu waffle boards but never used them, dropping the pressures always got us through sand far more quickly. The boards' only use was as security to stop anyone breaking in through the windows. IMHO waffle boards only worth it if you deliberately try to get stuck or want to look "kitted out".

Probably obvious but wash any salty water / sand off if you do a lot of beach launches - have seen plenty of heavily corroded 4x4s that are used a lot on beaches

Re: grp grates for sand ladder's/ off road, board's

Posted: 03 Oct 2011, 16:56
by dirty-syncro-lover
trying to sort out a decent 12v compressor that does'nt cost to much? any idea's??

still like the idea of some roll up rubber strip's just in case! for me and for other people i come across!

an i like the idea of using the board's as security

Re: grp grates for sand ladder's/ off road, board's

Posted: 03 Oct 2011, 22:12
by Mick & Tracey
Some compressor suggestions here https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 9&start=15

Search on US, South Afrcian or Australian off-roading sites or look for truck tyre pumps. Oz & S.A kit generally well made and, apart from the global brands, quite well priced.

Re: grp grates for sand ladder's/ off road, board's

Posted: 08 Oct 2011, 08:38
by ELVIS
Clicked on link and M+T are (IMHO) bang on the money. ARB is the daddy :ok