Took my 2006 H3 out to the Silver Lake sand dunes in Michigan. My H3 is stock with the 3.5L I5 and the Luxury package. This was my first time driving out on the dunes and have a question or two to help me out for next time.

All the driving was done in 4-low:

1) What gear to use ? For us, after fiddling around all day, we ended up using in just "D"rive while on the flats approaching the steeper dunes to get speed, then when on the incline, we dropped it down to "D2" for grip. This helped in some cases.

2) Mashing the gas pedal ? This one seems a bit odd. But on the last run of the day, I realized that if I had the gas pedal to the floor, the H3 would run slower on the flats and would bog down on the incline. The very last hill I climbed, it worked really well if I feathered the gas pedal instead of flooring it. Unfortunately that was the last hill, but it was probably the best climb I had all day. It would have been better to figure that out earlier, but hey, I went away feeling good.

I actually had a lot of fun and will do it again. For Q2 above, is this just a novice learning the ropes, or a limiter for the H3 or both ?

Thanks...

 

I've been to Silver Lake Sand Dunes a bunch over the last 30 years.

First you said stock, so if you are on the stock Wrangler tires, you need to air down to 13-15PSI.

Next, 4 Lo is worthless in sand. You run it ALL in 4 High/Lock. Turn OFF the StabiliTrack and TC (push and hold the traction control button 5 seconds or so until your DIC says StabiliTrack Off ... with a 2006 it may say Traction Control off).

You can go anywhere with a bit of momentum.

 

FWIW, Doc is the expert on Silver Lake. I don't know him personally, but from this and other forums, I know that he knows what he's doing on sand. I'd reiterate the airing down. That is the single biggest thing you can do to help yourself. Sand is all about momentum and not power. I'm really glad to see you getting it offroad and having some fun with it!

 

I did have the tire pressure down to 13 PSI on the rear and 15 PSI on the front. But I'll have to try 4 High and also take off the StabiliTrack and Traction Control.

We did have a great time out there - My 9 year old son loved it too. We'll be back

 

I also recommend turning off traction/stability control. The system seems to work against me in the sand.