I made up the brackets and bought some chain to use the hi-lift for winching. Had a chance to try it out today. Time to start saving for a winch!

My father and I went to the OBX to do some wheeling in Carova. Had a blast. Found a hill that was rather steep. My XJ is sitting on 5" of lift w/ 33s. Got a running start and made it up fairly smooth. My father's YJ is on 4" of lift w/ 31s. He didn't make it up the hill. Crowning the top he dragged the transfer case skid (1" TC drop) and got stuck. Then sunk it to the axle (soft sand).

Dug it out. Tried snatching it with the XJ, no Bueno. Then hooked the hi-lift to the XJ to winch it out. Wow! That's a lot of work. Pulled it forward maybe 3" before I maxed out the jack. Couldn't crank the handle. I'm no lightweight, so I imagine I was close to it's capacity. Finally gave up on continuing up the hill and reversed it down the hill. Rolled right down.

If we had a winch, it may have just pulled the XJ to the YJ.

 

Yeah it can work but will take a long time to get anywhere,Don't you have any kinda recovery straps ?

 

That was the second thing we tried, after digging. (second sentence of second paragraph) The sand was so soft it was hard getting any momentum with the XJ. Just getting it rolling up there was a challenge.

 

I have been using Hi-Lift jacks since 1974 for winching in a pinch even with my tow trucks. I still use with my winch in the XJ when I need to pull 2 directions at the same time to clear a tree or large rock I use a 60" one in my XJ with extraction tool (for cutting) along with others for it.

 

Since your dealing with sand you need some of these https://www.4x4australia.com.au/gear...rds-comparison

 

I've got a couple chunks of 2x6 I carry. I don't think this situation would have benefited from those. The YJ was buried to the TC skid.

Do you have any experience with those? I'm hesitant to spend that kind of coin on 'fancy boards'.

 

Well when you get stuck then try to floor it your way out you get really stuck.Where i live its mud and rock i never have drove on sand at all so i can't say forsure they work or not.

 

Climbing sand dunes requires lower tire pressure (12 is good. 15 psi max) and just enough momentum. Spinning tires only causes jeep to sink.
Sand ladders are effective in marsh type environments where the muck is deep. Usually a shovel will free a vehicle stuck in sand, provided vehicle is not bottomed out on chassis.

 

I have been running 18 PSI in my 33x12.5 General Grabber AT2s on 15x8 wheels. I am a novice, and was nervous about breaking a bead. What is a good pressure to run around on the sand all day at? Would I deflate to 12 PSI to climb the hill and air back up? What is the consensus on a minimum pressure before I break a bead?

 

12psi you shouldn't pop a bead unless you act crazy,If your worried about raceline sells steel beadlock rims for not a bad price,Or interco makes a special normal rim called the bird dog thats close to a beadlock but isn't one.

 

Will it hurt the tire to drive at 25 mph down the beach all day at 12 psi?

 

All day? I would run 15 psi.
Run 12 if you want to climb Penny's Hill (60' sand dune) or see who can outclimb the other. Or if you find yourself struggling in deep and offcamber sand trails. But do not run 30+ mph down the beach at 12 psi.
I have never popped a bead.
To run 30+ mph down the beach I like 18 psi.
Only issue I have had is that debris can get trapped between tire bead and rim when running low pressures and 'joyriding'.