When the weather takes a turn for the better and the summer months start to roll in, people in Australia start to think about heading to the beach. For some, that means grabbing a towel, a swimsuit, and some tanning lotion, while for others it means getting the 4wd vehicle out of the garage. Those rugged 4wd vehicles are made for life off the beaten path, and in many cases, that means a trip onto the beach to ride the dunes and get a little water on the tyres.
4wd drivers can’t wait to get back behind the wheel and onto the golden sand, but they also know that there is some work to be done before all of that can happen. This is especially true if your vehicle has been sitting in the garage over the winter months. If you simply hop behind the wheel and head on down to the beach, you are potentially looking at a situation where one of your 4wd buddies is going to need to come to your rescue by winching you out and giving you a tow back home.
Chances are you may have used your 4wd on the city streets during the winter. If that is indeed the case, then you are going to need to let a little pressure out of those tyres before getting onto the sand. If you keep the tyres fully inflated, you are quickly going to find yourself stuck. There is no exact science here when it comes to tyre pressure, but we suggest that you start by reducing the pressure to around 22psi, as this should give you the dig and grip that you need to handle the sand.
No matter how well you prepare to hit the beach in your 4wd vehicle, the time is going to come when you get stuck. Driving on the beach, or on any off road surface for that matter, requires a little bit of preparation on your part. This means making sure that you have the recovery equipment you need to get yourself out of any sticky situation. Since the 4wd community is a close-knit one, it’s also nice to have that gear on hand in case you need to help someone else get out of a tough spot.
Finally, it stands to reason that your run the risk of corrosion issues with your 4wd vehicle if you don’t have some kind of rust protection going on. If you live anywhere near the coast, you probably already know the havoc that the salt water can have on all your metal parts rusting. Now, just imagine how much worse it could be if you get right down in that water without any type of protection. It’s always a good idea to rinse off your vehicle after a spin on the beach, but adding Rust Bullet rust protection will help ensure that the salt you miss when you rinse does not cause rust to take a hold.
