LR3 in the Sand

[BazLR3]

Many of my friends who own Land Cruisers are claiming that the LR3 is just about useless in the sand and sand dunes. While I will not perform sand buggy-like antics in the LR3, I expect it to go everywhere a Land Cruiser would go and then some.

Many have commented on its "poor entry/exit angles" and "too many electronics to make any progress", etc. I already bought the car yesterday and it is a very nice car on the road.

Given that I have a camping trip coming next weekend, it will entail going over dunes, some quite high, should I take the LR3 or rely on the good old Toyota, which I also own and has proved to be incredible in the sand! Not only do I not wish to embarrass myself, I also want to make sure I enter and exit in one piece with the family.

From a brand new LR3 owner

 

[drzjoint]

you should be fine in the LR3 How are your tires?
select sand mode and turn off DSC and 4low. Don't forget to turn off the DSC in the sand, that will make a HUGE difference.

 

[morrisdl]

You couldn't pick two more comparable vehicles. Size, tires, turning radius, etc. I dont know the exact specs, but I think approach and depart angles are very similar too. I had considered both of these very closely, bu ended up with an LR3 because it was a bargain in used market price.

I think they may be referring to off-road height auto lowers if you hits speeds that typical in sand. 1st make sure to use the special sand program. I would also recommend turning off the DSC, something better than stock tires aired down, and use lower gears for torque. Short rod mod is a great and relatively inexpensive upgrade that will help overcome the angles.

Did you get a V6 or V8 LR3? Either with some prep and practice should hang with the land cruisers crowd no problem. With the above mods and sliders, I was actually able to keep up with 2 jeep rubicons all day. They were dieing to 'try out' their winch on my truck but never got the chance. ;-p

 

[Mhaise57]

The LR3 is excellent in sand. I have made a couple of dune runs on Galveston, Tx and I have a couple of pics jurking the ever so "incredible" Toyota out of a sandy situation. Tire pressure and throttle response are key in the sand. With the LR3's sand mode, the throttle is flawless. To be honest there wasn't a day when I went to the dunes that I didn't have to pull some poor sap out of his tracks. Where is your camp located? Sounds like a place I would like to ride. Cheers!!!

 

[zgrmns]

I was at the outer banks in NC a few months back with my LR3. Use sand setting, disable dsc, and air down, and you will be fine. I was with two Rubicons and I went everywhere they did, including over some big dunes and deep sand. 4 low didn't seem to do as well as 4 high. I have the HD package, not sure how much of a difference it makes in the sand, but worth mentioning.

 

[BazLR3]

You couldn't pick two more comparable vehicles. Size, tires, turning radius, etc. I dont know the exact specs, but I think approach and depart angles are very similar too. I had considered both of these very closely, bu ended up with an LR3 because it was a bargain in used market price.

I think they may be referring to off-road height auto lowers if you hits speeds that typical in sand. 1st make sure to use the special sand program. I would also recommend turning off the DSC, something better than stock tires aired down, and use lower gears for torque. Short rod mod is a great and relatively inexpensive upgrade that will help overcome the angles.

Did you get a V6 or V8 LR3? Either with some prep and practice should hang with the land cruisers crowd no problem. With the above mods and sliders, I was actually able to keep up with 2 jeep rubicons all day. They were dieing to 'try out' their winch on my truck but never got the chance. ;-p

You got my interest What is a short rod mod? I bought the V8 HSE model with all bells and whistles. The car is a 2008 with 26,000 miles on the clock. She still has the original Goodyears which are in bad shape, however, funds dictate that I delay the replacement. I need an on road tire with sand capabilities, will not be doing any tough rock terrains over the short-medium term, choosing tires now has become tiresome

 

[zulu]

This past summer, I was on the Oregon coast and took my 05 HSE on the beach. I arrived at the beach with 4 adults and 2 kids. I had dropped off my passengers before decesending down to the beach and had a blast. I got cocky and parked my LR on some soft sand and then joined my party on foot. We all returned and got back into the LR and I didnt take into consideration that I was now heavier than when I first parked.. I started to drive but the LR sank deeper into the sand to the point I could hear the sand scraping the under carriage.. all I did was raise my suspension, put on sand mode, and put in on Lo and slowly powered my way out of the sand until it became more solid.. my passenger cargo was impressed as to what the LR could do. Only after bragging about my experience to the members here, did I learned that by disabling my DSC.. it would have performed EVEN better. So I managed to go on soft sand without disabling the DSC.. so go and have fun!

 

[BazLR3]

A trip to a beach or soft sand is in order to test the new (to me) rig, I assume the DSC is the button on the dash. Once it is off, does it automatically engage above a certain speed?

 

[drzjoint]

The rod mod is when you shorten the height sensor rods. look in my album. I make them all the time for guys. Yes dsc is the button is on the dash. It will stay off until you trun it back on or restart the vehicle. Off road height will go back to normal after you go over 30mph. The rod mod raisees you 2" in all modes so when you are in normal mode you have the clearance of stock off road mode. I have been runing it for a few years now. I run stock rods but when I am going to hit the trail I swap them out for the modified ones, it takes 15minutes they just pop off.

comparison in off road mode

 

[bgsntth]

Late model Toyota/SUV's have a quirk whereby if all 4 wheels cannot find traction the brake-activated traction control shut's the whole forward momentum party down. I do not know if the new automatic crawl mode addresses this on the 2009+ Cruiser/LX/4-Runner. I do know that my 2003 GX 470 could get stuck on starting out on a wet, grassy hill. There is an override feature, whereby if you floor the throttle, it will start spinning the wheels. But it was very disconcerting and "messy" if you ever had to slow down or stop on a steep slippery ascent.

I did my own experiment and started the GX on a wet grassy hillside and applied the throttle until about 3K RPMs. A little knocking/shaking from the traction control, but no forward movement up the hill. I then backed--out and did the same thing in my 2005 Outback GT (manual). Various wheels would spin, but I climbed the hill while never going above 2K RPMs or slipping the clutch.

Why I bought the LR3.