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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Tips for off road driving along muddy dirt roads
If at all possible - don't do it. My locking differentials and mud-terrain tires were not up to the task of getting me through a short section on my
way to Shell Island in 2007 as you can see here.
 
Baja swamp and sand mud is very sticky stuff - My INTERCO tires got SWAMPED by the gooey stuff in Baja!
After getting pulled out, it was an easy drive to Shell Island.
The Laguna Salada is no exception. When entering from Hwy 2, beware of the bottomless mud pit that extends from the edge of the salt flats down to
Cohabuzo Junction. "Laguna Salada is a vast dry lake some 10 meters below sea level in the Sonoran Desert of Baja California, 30 km southwest of
Mexicali. The lake's shape vaguely resembles a rhombus." - Wikipedia
The Laguna Salada Creek - east of the Laguna Salada provides access to Guadalupe Canyon, but at a deep cost - salty mud covering the under carriage of
your vehicle.
Steady momentum is key in crossing the Laguna Salada Creek - be safe, and don't try this alone. Minimum one vehicle should travel with yours.
Once across, the only vehicles with mud clogging the tires were the ones with All-Terrain tread patterns. Not the best for use in heavy mud.
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basautter
Senior Nomad
Posts: 862
Registered: 7-1-2013
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Cool pics! Were you deflated to ~20 psi when you got stuck at Shell Island?
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64743
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Some tires need to be even lower. I found 10psi was needed for 3 ply sidewalls like BFG All Terrains or Cooper Discoverer STTs or other mud tires.
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Its important to get your vehicle to a car wash before the mud dries.
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Tioloco
Super Nomad
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Registered: 7-30-2014
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Will ArmorAll prevent the mud from sticking to the tires? 
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
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Location: Riverside, CA
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I hadn't aired my tires down - yet. Once on the sand, I got down to ~12 psi. I run 20 psi on the street.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64743
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Not Baja's sticky, salty mud... nope!
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 18111
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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20 psi on pavement? Lifted jeeps are prone to tip over, so why you running low street air? You got health insurance?
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Fatboy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 736
Registered: 6-28-2005
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Or else US customs will send you to secondary then take down the barriers and send you back into Mexico on Christmas eve to clean your vehicle....
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liknbaja127
Nomad
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Registered: 1-17-2012
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David, You are so right! That mud, and sand mix is REALY hard to get off. We call it 2 time dirt. You clean it once, let it dry, then you have to
do it again, To get it clean! but it is still so worth it
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64743
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  |
20 psi on pavement? Lifted jeeps are prone to tip over, so why you running low street air? You got health insurance? |
Heavy sidewall tires on light vehicles do not need lot's of air pressure. My Tacoma (it is not light) has a suggested 29 psi on the front stock BFG
tires. Less air would be harder to roll over than more... ie./ better grip. You again are wrong about roll over, anyway. That was the former Jeep
CJ-5. The Wrangler replaced the CJ Jeeps with a much wider track and lower body height over the axles... to prevent 60 Minutes or any other TV show to
end a long-running popular model.
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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the number of plies in the sidewall do not indicate whether a sidewall is stiff or soft.
I remember doing a side by side comparison with a 2 ply Goodyear and a 3 ply BFGoodrich. The 2 ply Goodyear was significantly stiffer than the 3 play
Goodyear.
The 2 ply was also more puncture resistant than the 3 play.
The 3 ply handled much better in all situations as well as at high and low pressures.
So, when it gets cold - you can have 2 heavy coats or 3 T-shirts. Layer is layer, right? Which combination indicates you live in Baja?
Harald Pietschmann
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
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Location: La Paz, BCS
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tire pressure on a 4x4 is an art. You need to play. Need to experiment. Vehicle weight, the volume of air in your tire and sidewall flexibility play
all together.
A Suzuki Samurai on 35's may have completely overinflated tires at 10 psi.
My trail pressure is 20 psi on a 7,000 lb vehicle. 15 when the trail gets rough. 10 at the beach. 5 for mud. And sometimes I chose half the pressure
for the front. 295/75R16 BFG AT.
20 psi with 35's on a TJ in the mud? You are going straight to China.
Why spend all the money for a super 4x4, for big tires, for lockers - when you drive it like granny.
Harald Pietschmann
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Tioloco
Super Nomad
Posts: 2304
Registered: 7-30-2014
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Tip: MOMENTUM
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
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Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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the very last thing you want to use when 4-wheeling is momentum (it has it's place as an absolute emergency)
Harald Pietschmann
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Cisco
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4196
Registered: 12-30-2010
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These Guy's do it a little differently.
https://youtu.be/cYN80QVfRqw
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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Those Russians are some crazy assed mofo's.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 18111
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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When it comes to driving, most (all?) males are afflicted with illusory superiority. That's where you think you are a better driver than everyone
else on the road. When the boy drives a 4x4, the boy thinks he is an off-road driving savant.
But did you know women are BETTER drivers than men!?!?!?!?!?? Men are 3.4 times more likely than women to get a ticket for reckless driving and 3.1
times as likely to be cited for drunk driving. Women are on average less aggressive and more law-abiding drivers -- attributes that lead to fewer
accidents.
So, let's hear from some women about how to drive offroad in mud, eh?
[Edited on 11-2-2015 by mtgoat666]
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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driving in mud? just plan ahead....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnRRGW6z3UQ
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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from my limited experience (30 years) - women are the better drivers off-road.
Initially.
Because they are more careful.
But they don't care much after they have done it a couple of times.
Guys suck in the beginning (many continue)
Since guys are more competitive, they exchange ideas, talk, improve, get better
Much better
Harald Pietschmann
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