I need sand ladders.

[Matt Peckham]

I really do. anybody got a lead on them for relatively cheap?

If you must know, I will tell you why, but then I'd have to kill you...

[Toy Man]

I have been sort of looking also. Seem to be common in europe and scarce in the states.

The latest I noticed www.mantec.co.uk.
They have both sand and bridging ladders.

No US distributors.

I did not inquire about cost.

I have been thinking about having
some built to my specs.

[Schludwiller]

Here are some lightweight ones. And they don't scrach your paint when you take them off the roof!!

http://www.muddyweb.co.uk/nvp/pages/waffles.html

[Aussie]

Is this the sort of thing you are after?
www.towbox.com


Richard

[Toy Man]

I have the Tow Truck in a Box plates.

The 'waffle's' Schud found are JUST RIGHT.

Send me two <grin>

[Schludwiller]

Originally posted by Toy Man
I have the Tow Truck in a Box plates.

The 'waffle's' Schud found are JUST RIGHT.

Send me two <grin>

I e--mailed them for pricing. Those would be handy to have in more than a few situations I've been in, and easy to toss up into my Kargomaster.

[Synchro]

i have seen the tow truck in a box thingies in action on the trails. they sucked. we had to stack rocks anyhow.

[OffroadX]

Agreed, they're lame, and easily become projectiles when the tires sling them out. Avoid the "tow truck in a box" at all costs.

If anything, a nice piece of 3/4" plywood can be very handy.

Brent

[warmonger]

Here in Florida you have two surfaces you can off-road in, sand and mud. We wheel in some REALLY deep sand and you become VERY good at driving in it after a while. We don't use "sand ladders" here or anything like that.

There are two tricks to driving in sand that you learn early on. First is to use high 4WD as much as possible. Auto transmissions should manually shift, getting the speed up slowly until sufficient rpm is achieved to upshift to the next gear. When the sand begins to thicken, a quick downshift will bring the rpms back up and get the truck out of bog mode.

Second is to substantially lower air pressure in the tires (15 to 18 psi). If climbing a hill and you are not interested in backing back down, make sure your speed is up high enough and don't let up on the gas until over the top.

One important thing to remember, if you bury the rear wheels by showing off in 2WD, most likely you will not drive out, even with a locker. Once you have drag on the frame or diff, your party is over. Also, the newer your tires, the more likely you will get stuck. New tires tend to dig their own grave if you give it too much gas. You want to stay on top of the sand, not sink into it. Mud tires do not usually perform well in sand due to the cleats. Those cleats are made to move mud and act as paddles. In sand, they only dig you down deeper.

One final note and this is one that Xterras are not known for; horsepower is king in the sand. You can still make an X perform well in sand, but don't expect to be doing sand drags. I went head-to-head with a Hummer, but at 45 mph I ran out of steam (or flotation) and he toasted me. Those wide 38's laid me to waste.

Don't know if that is what you need them for, but just a few hints from us poor boobs who have nothing else to wheel in.

[Synchro]

<just_kidding>
I don't know gordon, I don't think your boobs are that poor. they're quite nice actually.
</just_kidding>



and one more smart ass comment while i am really tired and think i am funny.......My tires don't have cleats, my sail boats and my soccer shoes do, but not my tires. my tires have lugs. ;-)

[warmonger]

Synchro,

Ha, ha, cute response. But here in the south the RIMS have lugs (nuts) and the tires have cleats. Just the way some of us refer to them. Kind of like on one bulletin board where I was taken to task for calling a straight axle a live axle. Same thing, but if you are from a part of the country that doesn't call it that, then it sounds funny. This is especially the case for us since we don't have snow so studs are not used. Therefore, a cleat is a little different thing for us. I was LMAO at your response though!

[Aussie]

You should try coming from a different county.
In Australia,
boot = trunk
bonnet = hood
petrol = gas
service station = gas station
tyre = tire
you drive on the wrong side of the road
orange light means stop, not go faster
etc

Richard

[Synchro]

or like in the PNW where they have barkdust (i.e Pine MULCH). when i heard that for the first time this spring i laughed for a long time. it still makes me laugh outloud just to think of it. burkdust..... HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

[Schludwiller]

Originally posted by Synchro
or like in the PNW where they have barkdust (i.e Pine MULCH). when i heard that for the first time this spring i laughed for a long time. it still makes me laugh outloud just to think of it. burkdust..... HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

Do you mean Barkamulch? That stuff is awesome! You should see the trucks spraying it all over everyone's yard.

[Synchro]

no, i mean barkdust. that is what Mosi and his wife called it. if it were called barkmulch, that would be fine, but they called it barkdust whcih i thought was hilarious.