With the extensive info gained from DriveMoz, we were well prepared for the trip. I cannot recommend the DriveMoz community highly enough for the advice, friendship and assistance provided between members traveling through Mozambique.
The beach sand at White Sands is the softest, thickest sand you could ever wish to tow a heavy hunk of metal like the Commander on. Before I tell you how we managed, let me first say this...we knew that our tire pressure on both car and caravan needed to be 0.8bars for sand driving.
When we arrived, we parked our car and caravan on the firm, wet sand and began the extremely tedious task of letting down not just 4 but 6 tires. When you are doing this the good ol' key-in-valve method, you start thinking maybe 0.8bar is overly cautious, you convince yourself that 1.4bar will be absolutely spot-on! Well, I'm here to tell you that it absolutely isn't! Why? Because you get stuck, that's why.
Oh, it was fine for the first 500m, and then we hit the really soft stuff, the stuff that apparently the last 4 cars before us got stuck in and churned into a horrendous mess. The Chev, by now, is belly down in the sand while our camping neighbours sit in their fold up chairs, watching, drinking beer, silently mocking the newest victims.
There's me lying on the ground, digging with my bare hands ineffectively at the sand bogging us down. There's hubby about ready to throw in the camping towel for good, when, along comes McGuyver. McGuyver, was THAT camper, the dude that has EVERY gadget known to camping, and he knows how to use each one. McGuyver has these two bright orange plastic MaxTrax in his hands, which he starts digging with to clear a path for the tires. He then places the Trax under the tires and indicates for hubby to "put foot" and we are out. Can you Adam and Eve it? I swear, I will never again mock a gadget camper!
What did we learn from this experience? Well, we learned that tire pressure is just so damned important in the sand. You really need the extra surface area and 0.8bar will be my go to the next time we drive on thick, soft sand. We discovered that Trax are an absolute must have, worth-every-red-cent, essential item. We found out that a decent compressor for reinflating tires (preferably two at a time with a long duty cycle) is worth spending money on. We learned that with an automatic car towing in sand, it's better to kick into manual 1st gear and keep momentum going when going.
Would I do it again? Hell yes! It was the most fun I've had in a long time. Would hubby do it again? I think he realised that 4x4ing was more technical than we gave it credit for, but, yes, I believe he would!
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