Driving 20,000 Pounds Through Sand

Before this trip, we really didn’t know how the EarthRoamer would handle sand. It’s a 20,000-pound truck. It’s heavy. Heavy things sink. The only sand we’d driven before was hard-packed beach sand on the Oregon coast, which barely counts.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Roam Outdoor Adventure Co. UTV Tour

Driving deep sand made us nervous. There aren’t many recovery options where we were headed, and we were the only EarthRoamer out there. If we got stuck, we were two hours from the closest town. Recovery would either be completely on us or… something undefined. We weren’t exactly eager to find out what that meant.

We bought a Deadman sand recovery kit from EarthRoamer just in case, even though we’ve never actually used it. We understand how it works in theory. That felt different than knowing we could execute it in real life. We carry Maxtrax and a shovel too, but the goal was to hike that day, not spend hours digging. We had our permit so postponing wasn’t really an option.

Moqui Sand Caves

Jacob did what Jacob does and went deep into research mode. He watched YouTube videos from other people who had driven out to Vermilion Cliffs and studied their routes. Most of the trails are single lane, and trying to pass someone in sand isn’t exactly ideal. Losing momentum can mean getting stuck, so he mapped out which direction made the most sense to approach from and tried to minimize the chance of meeting oncoming traffic in a bad spot.

When it came time to commit, we aired down by about 50 percent. Twenty-two PSI in the front, forty-five in the rear. Shifted into 4WD high. Picked a line. Kept steady momentum.

And… it floated.

Coyote Buttes South - Vermilion Cliffs

We were honestly surprised. The truck moved over the sand far easier than we expected. The only sections that felt tense were the deeper stretches with tight turns. Slowing down meant losing some momentum, which meant sinking a bit more and working harder to pull through. But we never got stuck.

White Pocket

In the corners, Jacob carried just enough speed that the rear would slide slightly and follow the front through the turn. As you straighten out, a little more throttle helps pull you forward and keep the momentum going.

By the end of it, we were far more impressed than we expected to be and a lot less intimidated by sand than when we started.

Watch the whole adventure in our latest video!