Denali on the beach???

[Allen T.]

Has anyone out there got a GMC Yukon Denali that they have had on the beach surf fishing? I am not too sure that I trust that fancy schmancy automatic AWD that it has. I only ask because I have had it out in the snow and it doesn't act "normal". It also has Stabilitrak and will not allow me to power it up my somewhat steep back driveway when there is snow on it. As soon as the weels start spinning it begins to take over and apply brakes and regulate the throttle. (What can I say, it's a chick truck) The last thing I want to do is get my wife's truck stuck on the beach. She would never let me live it down. I would guess that it would do OK on the flat part of the beach itself, but it may have trouble going over the dune ramp.

 

[Bill McElroy]

You'll be fine, but packed or damp/wet sand would be better than dry loose stuff...but you should "advise" your wife that if she's going to spend that kinda cheez on a pimped out SUV,....get it w/4WD!!

 

[Scott Smith]

I know this is gona sound crazy, but if you plan on driving it on loose beach sand, remove about 35% of the air from the tires. Fully inflated tires on loose beach sand = stuck.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Ditto to what smitty said. Spread the surface of the tire tread out a bit before you find yourself wishing for a Warn winch.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Also check the regs, I think you are required to carry a shovel, towstrap and boards to slide under the tires if you get stuck. Watch out for the sugar sand and stay on the hardpack. Airing down is a good thing but make sure you have a place closeby to air back up when you get off the beach. You'll blow tires real quick driving them aired down on paved streets (heat). In Florida they have air stations in some of the parking lots. You can carry the portables that plug into an acc outlet in the vehicle but they take for ever to re-air and usually overheat. The hard core beach drivers have heavy duty air pumps mounted in the engine compartment.



Have fun



TOXIC

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Mac/Toxic, what's the difference between 4-wheel drive and All wheel drive?



Nancy and I have, until lately, gone to the Outer Banks for thirty years. I didn't have any interest in surf fishing but did go on the beach and sand bars quite a few times to watch. I had a Jeep Cherokee and never had a problem but do watch where you are going.

If you see a place where you think you may get stuck, you probably will so don't drive there.



Uncle Billy

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

If I'm not mistaken, 4WD has one front and one rear tire pulling/pushing (in 4WD). For REAL 4WD you need locking differentials (front and rear) to make it all 4 tires powered. AWD is where the engine sends power to the wheels that are losing traction. So, in my 3/4 ton with 4WD and a locking rear diff, I get 3 power wheels (2 rear and 1 front). I don't think the front is a locking diff, but I could be wrong. Remember the old 4WD's where you had to get out and lock in the hubs at the tire....That is true 4WD. Now the hard core guys have air lockers where thy can lock in the fronts with a switch in the cab.



TOXIC

 

[Bob G.]

Toxic,



You are correct about AWD and 4WD. The Chevy front diff is not a locker. I have the G80 rear locker like you and it works pretty damn good.



Bob G.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

It's very confusing because most don't know that 4WD is really 2WD, just opposite wheels. Real 4WD is not drivable on the streets (axle wrap). Having a jeep and off roading a good little bit helped me get it straight.



TOXIC

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Remember the old 4WD's where you had to get out and lock in the hubs at the tire....That is true 4WD.

I remember that real well and used to hear a lot of cursing about frozen ice, etc all tamped into the wheel hub. I thought that was why "shift on the fly" did so well?

I was supposed to stop at putting my Cherokee IN 4-wheel drive and also OUT of 4-wheel drive. And I also HAD to have slippage. I would drive down a street looking for snow or ice just so I could drive through it to get slippage.



So, I was completely ignorant of 4-wheel drive and now still am.:huh: So, just where can I get one of those two, three, four wheel drives vehicles?:lol:



Thanks Guys,



Uncle Billy

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Unk....Shift on the fly allows you to put the vehicle in 4WD but does not "lock" the front differential. Thats why you had to lock both front hubs on the old versions and unlock them on the street. My first jeep had the locking hubs (from the outside) and it was a pain!! What a lot of people dont't do is engage their 4WD on a regular basis. I was told you need to try and do it once a month. I can usually find some gravel (my daughters barn) or rainy streets to shift it in for a couple of miles. Had a buddy who moved to california and ended up replacing his whole front diff because he never needed 4WD. I've never had a problem.



TOXIC

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Tox, when I bought that Cherokee it had double and right hand everything on it. It had a steering wheel on the left and the right along with turn signals on the left and right and brakes on the left and right. Remember what my job was and I was tired of getting stuck in that little postal jeep. So, thank me.. After I bought it, it didn't snow enough for me to use it for two years and I almost made it through a third year when we had one of those freakish almost spring heavy duty snows. BUT, I didn't use the four-wheel drive in all that time.

You are right though. Nobody, except a few, really know what 4-WD really means or how it's accomplished.



Thanks Tox, Uncle Billy