Tod, Tire pressure, and Beach Driving

Hi All....

Hopefully someone can answer my question
about driving on the beach ?

Taking the vx on vacation to do some beach offroading...
The sand is really soft so you have to let the pressure
out of your tires down to like 10...
I've had isuzu amigos and jeeps...
and you sure do or you wont go anywhere...

How is this going to affect the TOD ?
I've heard stories about the tod vibing out
because of uneven tire pressure ?

I tried searching the forums couldnt find anything that specific !

Is it ok to just let the TOD go bizerk (which it probably will) ?

Or is there away just to pull that fuse on the TOD ?
And which one exaclty is it ?

I know all you out there are doing the TOD switch to shut it off and on whenever you like, which is really cool.
But I dont need to do that ?

Any info,
PLEASE Reply.

Thanks !

I know nothing about driving in sand ......... I live in PA .......... what do I know about sand ...... although we have a few limestone mines - there is something similar to sand around the limestone mines ....... BUT - we do have an abundance of radon - we pretend that is our sand .........
.
the first time I rode a bike (motorcycle) in sand, the front tire dug in, knifed under ..... and just bout threw me over the bars ....... WTF !!! ................ but that is a different topic ......
.
back in the sand ..... or to the sand ....... again, I don't know squat about sand ...... someone told me that glass is made from sand ........
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but why ........ WHY .........would anyone want to reduce their tire pressure to 10psi ....... unless they desired the tire to roll off the rim and go flat ? ........... the tire contact patch is optimum when it is properly inflated ........ or .... wait ..... is that is a blow up doll ? ........ ??? hmmm ........
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and why ..... WHY ........ would anyone want to DISCONNECT TOD (poor guy TOD - people always talking bout him) when driving in the sand ? ....... TOD is the 4wd mechanism - I would guess you want Mr. TOD's help ............ I would not want to be on the beach with a 2wd Vehicross ........
.
ME - ??? - I would pull back that little lever that shifts the transfer case into 4wd lo ......
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you know, the lever that is evidently too much for the soccer moms to be able to handle ........ so the fine people at Borg Warner developed the little switch - the switch on the dash that operates the motor - the motor that actuates the mechanism (fork or whatever) ........ to put the transfer case in lo range ..... the same low range that a simple movement of the lever will accomplish ...............
.
Yep ........ I would put that VX in 4wd lo range ...... keep my foot on the gas ...... and never look back ......... who's looking back in the VX anyway - you can't see anything .........
.
sOrRy FoR tHIs pSyCHoTIc RaMblE ...........

4-lo and you will be fine! If you want to deflate a bit I would only loose like 5-8lbs. Just keep the tires spinning slightly faster then what your going and you'll be fine. As soon as you dig in a bit slowly back out. I have used TOD in deep sand and found that it worked OK but 4-lo was much better at staying on top of the sand. HAVE FUN! and keep the speed up when mobbing the sand!

You guys are nuts !

I mean that in a good way !

But seriously....
Im talking about driving on the dunes and stuff...
I've done this for years...
with jeeps and amigos...
and really...
It does sound stupid....
but you have to leave the air out to about 10 -12 lbs...
If you dont you will just sit and spin...
in 2 or 4 ....
you just wont go anywhere...
I'm talking deep soft sand....
(your tire wont fly off the rim until you go below about 5 psi...
I've seen it happen....its not pretty !)

Seriously !
I would have never said it work...
but thats what you have to do !

So I was just worried about possibly doing some damage
to our poor friend Mr. TOD ?
Like I was hoping I could disonnect it...
and simply leave it in 4H ?

I've gone thru the tire pressure tod crap already
so it is true...
You have to keep em all about the same.

So again, just wondering what this will do to the TOD if anything ?

Hey t2p....
I live in PA too !
Harrisburg area....
yuck...nothing here !

And AlaskaVX...
I know what you mean about the speed...
once you get here goin' you're good.

But the thing is, you cant go fast..
too many freakin people !
who dont know how to 4x4 !

So you gotta go slow...
under 15mph...
hence why you need to keep the psi around 10 !

I have TOD disconnect- I air down to 10 lbs when running Sand Mountain- I worry more about SAND getting by the K& N Air Filter and believe me it does.

Been there -Done That

http://www.schweich.com/imagehtml/TM86NVSandMtn.html

Bob F

As long as all 4 tires are at the same pressure you should not have any problem with the TOD. I air my tires down when ever I am off roading as do most all others here who do any serious off roading. One concern you might want to address is a way of airing up once you hit the road again. Make sure you have a close by air station, Co2 tank, or a compressor.

Hi Jester 0064:)

Your dead on about tire pressure.. 10 or 12 is fine...my ole 89 Amigo liked it like that..but the VX has more power by a long shot..she'll run good with stock pressures real well

I have those Nitto's and havn't run them on the sand yet..but I know they'll be better by a long ways..those skinny old stock one's wern't built for htat sandy stuff..

Now as for the TOD..when you shift into compound low you effectively "lock up" the system..and she acts like any other 4wd. To confirm this for yourself watch the TOD readout on the dash and drop it down into compound low 4wd.

Have fun;)

Quote:

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Originally posted by Triathlete
Make sure you have a close by air station, Co2 tank, or a compressor.

---

You can get an all-in-one 12-volt compressor / emergency light cheap.

Quote:

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Originally posted by transio
You can get an all-in-one 12-volt compressor / emergency light cheap.

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Yes, and you will take HOURS instead of seconds to reinflate your tires. You get what you pay for.

Bob F

Interesting reading from SPAZZ to me about hubs and stuff...

......
IF YOU ARE 4 WHEELING when you have transfer case shifter in HIGH it uses TOD...when you have transfer case shifter in 4LOW all 4 wheels crawl. You should use 4LOW for control..TOD was meant for fast speed driving, but works in some slow situations.

Our stock hubs ARE LOCKED all the time. Makes em wear out way faster than if you had to manually lock them in.

When Manual hubs are in FREE it does not allow the TOD to send power the front wheels. It tries, but it can't, so you don't have to waste that gas it takes to send power to turn the front. You don't understand the whole saving mileage issue???...then just think about how much gas you use in 4WD and how much gas you use in 2WD on regular autos...a big difference.

so, if you had Manual Hubs and you just did normal everyday driving, put hubs in FREE to save gas mileage and wear and tear

if you go offroading, put Manual Hubs in LOCK and you could either keep transfer case shifter in High and use TOD or in 4LOW to have all 4 wheels crawl

same concept if the weather gets bad and you would just put Manual Hubs in LOCK and you could use TOD.....

as for a TOD on/off switch...that is not hard..you just have to install a switch of your choice and tap into the TOD wire I believe located either beside drvr or passenger side seat...
in this case ou could disable TOD for total 2WD to save total power sent to front wheels by the TOD...comes in handy if you break a cv.

there is 2 types of hubs for us

a) AISIN
b) Super Winch

AISIN hubs are stronger than Super Winch and more expensive. AISIN hubs can be found in junk yards or buy brand new... on any ISUZU with a 17 spline axle and same 6 bolt pattern that our hubs now. I posted pics in my gallery, check em out.

if you get the AISIN hubs from junk yard..I got mine for $30..not each but for the pair...that is $30 total price to me for a pair of AISIN Manual Hubs. be REALLY careful taking them apart...

easy tip...

1) put the AISIN Manual Hubs in FREE to retract the spring inside to the outside portion of hub...if in lock you will have to deal with some issues that you could just prevent

a) 10mm socket to get these 6 bolts off...might take some force but a hard hit to loosen will usually work...DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THESE BOLTS...if you turn the wrong way or force these when tightening they will twist off in the hub and difficult to get out. Once out side portion is free, just pull off.

2) Snap ring pliers to take of snap ring...be careful to get the spacer ring or two behind the snap ring...easy thing is to lay outside piece you took off 1st in safe clean dry place and lay snap ring and spacer(s) on it...

3) next a allen head is needed...same size as the bolts holding your front drive train to your pinion flange on front axle. Remove these 6 bolts and then remove inner portion of hub being careful not to allow guts to fall out...easy thing now id to put snap ring and spacer(s) inside this inner portion, put 6 bolts in holes, and the put outside portion on and screw outside 6 bolts in...this will hold everything together and you can transport them safely...

if you want once they are all off and you have them in together holding all pieces...rub them in some greasy mud to amke them look worse than they did...that way you might get them cheeper..if you bring them out of the junk yard looking all pretty and clean they will charge you more......

.... uhh ...... ahem ...........
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the soccer moms are NOT going to like this talk about manual hubs ............ nuh uh .............
.
then again, you could have a system like my Explorer - also designed by Borg Warner .......... similar in some ways ......
it has an 'auto' 4wd setting ......... when the rear tires begin to spin, power is transmitted to the front end ......... and there is a BOOM ! when the hubs lock .......

I have personally run my Vx on the Grays harbor beach in Washington State for over 15 miles with the tires inflated with 45lbs of nitrogen, where we were on vacation 2 years ago! I was going anywhere from 1mph to 80 mph and had a blast. We even did a very baddddd donut! The secret is to run on the wet pack sand, which is just before the wet line that you can see in the sand where the water has gone out with the tide. If you ever get stuck in the sand, pour water in front of the tires and pack the sand down and you can drive out slowly! Don't gun it and spin the tires or you'll sink again! I've done this with a 30,000 lb diesel pusher motor home and it works also! Running on the beach is only like trying to run the dunes between the road and the beach if the road doesn't go to th packed sand. Then you just make a run for it! Have a blast!!!!!!

Locking out the TOD box is gonna return minimal fuel savings... You're still turning all the AWD machinery, with all its inherent drag...you're still pulling around all the weight of the AWD machinery...might as well enjoy the benefits AWD. You can always operate, and remove the offending machinery, rendering it a full time rear driver.

The problem with running tod in the soft sand is about the same as running in the snow. The front wheels do not kick in until you spin or get up to the speed where it kicks in. So you may find yourself spinning the rear tires before the front kicks in.. I would use 4 Lo. If you choose not to use 4 Lo you could use winter mode to get started. shawn