Driving in sand is facinating.
Sanddriving on a flat surface on the beach it is quite easy.When the sand is dry like in the desert it becomes much more difficult – specially when you have to pass through dunes, which quikly can become impossible.

The main isue is about keeping the right speed - lowering your tyrepressure – and to stop when you start spinning and before the car has digged itself down to the chassis- and in the dunes exstremely important - to find your way through, before going in there.

When you get stucked you need a showel and sandladers or assistance from people pushing or from a another car to start again.

Lowering the pressure gives a bigger surface. Thus mening that the roling-resistance is lowered considerrable – some say that the rolling resistance is equally raised by the increased resistance of the flat tyre – but first; this raise in resistance for the driven wheels is only to be conquered by the engine power – and not by the friktion in the sand meaning less risk of a spinning wheel. Second it is not true, that the raised rolling resistance from the tyre equals out the lowered rolling restance from the tyre roling deep in the sand. - as a matter of fact one can be able to use so much power that driving i 1st speed is the only possibillity and in that case often shortly before you get stucked– after lowering the presure by 1 kg driving in 2nd speed suddenly becomes relaxed for the engine.

If you travel only one car under remote and sandy conditions, sandladers are an obligation. It is very slow operation to move your way out of trouble - but it can actually be done by only one person.
Since we are a group we can help each other in this case, but still sandladders can be a help also by crossing step rivers.

But in my opinion it is not necesary for all cars to bring that kind of equipment.

we got so sick of the sand ladder shuffle , get the car on the ladders move forward 1.5m repeat. then when the driver gets some traction drives off leaving the pusher to recover the ladders and trudge off in 40* heat after a car that now is on the horizon

we tried the technique of long leashes on the ladders attached to the rear of the chassis, then once the car was moving it recovered its own ladders as the pusher hopped on the back of the car.

unfortunatley the ladder often acted as a drogue, or anchor and snapped the leash and it ment that one of us had to trudge back for the ladder

there is no easy way to cross sand

fortunatley what little of it there is in Morrocco is restricted to the oueds and is usually little more than an intersting diversion from constantly hammering over the rocks

Sean

I can get my hands on a electric winch, is it advisable to bring it?

I used to drive with one my self but it is heavy and if you are raiding with other people it is easier to be pushed by helpers or pull with other cars. But I have been quite happy for it a couple of times especially when driving all alone in mud.

When using a winch in sand you have to dig for eksample a sparewheel down in the sand or have a set of anchors and all this takes time to set up.
We will mostly be going into the sand for playing with our cars and a part of the fun is to get the car rolling after getting stucked.

So shortly you wont need it and most of the time it will be ekstra weigt - one the other hand if you wnt to play with that kind of tool - then I shall be the last to shake my head...

One tool that I have been using with a lot off succes is a dynamic rope 15 to 20 m long.
With this rope you just park as close as possible to the stucked vehicle attach the two with the dynamic rope and get your 2CV running as fast as possible (10 to 15 km/h).when the rope gets tight you can eventually press down the clutch to awoid getting stucked yourself - this tecnique allows you to pull a lot more than one thousand kg (over a short distance) witch is mutch more than for example a big 4x4 can do by using its traction on sand snow or mud.
I have helped many much heavier cars stucked typpicall in the snow, but also for example a VW transporter in sand, by using this metod.
Usually I dont tell people how it worked just leaves them astonished over the 2CV´s performing - wicth actually had nothing to do with it.

This dynamic rope overules a Mèhari 4x4 equipped with agricultural tyres when it comes to pulling force - but they can certanly be effective together.

Do we get snow in Africa...!!!

At winther time in the Atlas, yes- but im not sure about july - maybe we should considder adding snowchains to the must bring list...

Une aperitif - this is where we should be next year on the 12th of July (happens to be on my 50 years birthday)

Ulrik

Lovely, looking so much forward to this. Don't forget to bring or make a birthday cake. I think it will be a sand-cake

dunes lke that are restricted to a small corner of Morrocco

normal Morrocan surface...well actually good surface most off road stuff is like driving over a demolished building