I just bought my first 4b and am pretty green to the whole experience.

I was hoping you guys who are regulars could give me the links to some better sites so i can have a good read and start the learning process.

hoping to take the wife and the boy up to double island just for the day this weekend.

thanks in advance.

ps pics if interested.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/zzzleepy/hilux/1.jpg?t=1271162659
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/zzzleepy/hilux/4-1.jpg?t=1271162984

you having me on. surely not that low.

for cooloola/rainbow I would probably just go down to about 22 because you can do 80kph along most of it unless the tide is in and you don't want the tyres too low at those speeds, especially if you have to swerve or brake hard

but yeh definitely in soft sand 15-20 is not that low

also keep in mind that if you deflate while the tyres are warm/hot off the highway, you will lose about another 4 psi as they cool down off road so take that into account when deflating

yep that low. you probably won't need it with those fat tyres more than likely, unless you are driving on the soft stuff the whole time.

just do what you can to get as much sand away from the tyres as possible
if possible chuck sticks/logs etc under the tyres to give a bit more traction

more often than not you're going to have people around to help pull you out anyway, bribie and di are high traffic
join a 4x4 club too, you'll learn a lot and your trips will be safer as a result

pro tip, momentum is the key on soft sand

you bought a non-turbo diseasel? oh dear...

as my old man once told me "they couldn't pull your d*** out of your pants"
easy to fix though with a turbo kit

Concur Its the same 2.9/2.8. That they call 3.0 without the turbo it can be horribly gutless had a 92 model. Mind you it was a Great vehicle overall.

i had the same concern after driving the 2000 model hilux diesel work gave me to use for a while. it was gutless as hell.

i live at buderim and you couldnt get better than 3rd gear getting up the hill.


mine though 98 model. powers up the hill great.

but meh.

yeh I did the same thing, good book
most of the routes are really really easy but a couple of them are good introductions to simple 4wding

1+ dirty weekends, good investment

By the time you've failed to get yourself from Letting down Tires or digging away a bit of sand, someone will/would have came past offering help. Make sure you know where your recovery points are, have a Statch strap (Good idea to have a Tow Strap as well) and 2 Shackles (One for your car, one for theirs.) Always ask them to try tow you out first, not snatch you. Even if using a Snatch strap. Less wear on Car/Equipment. If you are really stuck though, then snatch it is.

As for the shade cloth, I dare say it would be ruined. However if you bought it just for that purpose and never wanted to use it for a shade. Or you were stuck and it was getting dark, Yeah, it would work about as well as Sticks/Logs. I would look around for some vegetation to destroy before I threw my camping gear under the wheels though.

If you do get stuck, don't sit there and spin the tyres forward. You'll just dig deeper. Smack it in reverse and give it a little bit and see if you can pop out. Not too much though, because again if you start spinning on the spot, you just dig deeper. If reverse doesn't work, then you start digging ;)

Dirty Weekends really cant be recommended enough for beginner Off-roaders. Great starting point and you might meet some like minded people on the trails.

Welcome to the fold.

Yeah I dont know many people who actually take shadecloth soley for camping purposes, but its one of those items that could be taken along for obvious reasons and help get you out of trouble. and no I cant imagine anyone wanting to use it after a 2.5t+ 4wd has been ripping it to shreads.

IMO one of the best tools to have (especially when doing beach 4wding) is a portable air compressor & tyre guage (a must). Servos are not always close by to do ur tyres back up when youve let them down to ~10psi if really stuck.

Also as previously mentioned, if you get stuck try rocking backwards and forwards, it can compact the sand and sometimes get you out without needing to start digging with a shovel. ive pretty much covered fraser island solo and the only time i got stuck the rocking method got me out without a problem.

Selecting the right gear from the start is a big help aswell when hitting soft rutty spots as changing gear and losing momentum is where most people fail (along with 40psi low profiled bmw suv's :D).