So you are stuck in sand with an heavy 4x4 Van and no recovery gear?

Breathe a moment, you will solve also this problem, like the majority of problems you had in life, getting nervous or upset will play against you. It was absolutely avoidable, but don’t care about what other people will think of you, just care about the ones that will offer to help.


Please, you tried to take shortcuts and this got you in a stupid situation, simply follow the steps without taking shortcuts, it will be fast.


1.Understand your situation, are you on a flat surface or you where trying to mount or descend a dune? Is it better to exit by going forward or backward?

As a general rule of thumb, if you got stuck while trying to mount a dune, it will be easier to get unstuck by going backwards, and vice versa you were descending a dune, then it will be easier to leave that situation by going forward.

If you are on a flat surface, got stuck and didn’t proceed in worsening the situation, it should also be easier to leave by going backwards, as you created a track by compressing the sand on your first passage.

2. Look for rocks, branches or material that you feel could be helpful for creating a way out for your tires, it just be material on which they have more traction than sand. Obviously if it’s construction material stranded on the beach, look that there are no spikes in the wood or other debris that could damage your van.

3. Now that you have material to add traction, put it below the tires, don’t be shy neither lazy, it really must be in contact with the tires, so excavate all the sand that you can, in order to create less of a sand wall for the tires, and making it easier for them to move. I don’t care if you will be full of sand because you didn’t even thought of bringing a shovel with before going to have fun on the sand, you will wash yourself later, now concentrate on making the work easier fo your beloved van.


Now comes the most controversial part, because people are generally afraid to do this the first time, you will need to deflate your tires.

Why do I need to deflate my tires, I already excavated in sand like there was a gold mine below, isn’t that enough?

Probably it’s not going to be enough, but don’t worry if you have off road tires, they work on really low pressure, my General Grabber are usually at 55 PSI in the back, 45-50 in the front when we are driving in cities and autobahn.

They are at 40 PSI in the back and 30 in the front when on gravel roads.

And when in sand its more like 30 PSI in the back and 18 in the front.


Yea but you haven’t answered the question of why it will not be enough..?

It’s quite simple, by removing the wall of sand around your tires, you are crating space for your wheels to move, but the initial problem, that put you in this situation remains, the traction. You have to give more surface to the engine to deploy it’s power, and guess where that surface is gained, on the tires. Not only the surface of the tire will be broader, but longer too. Think of snow mobiles, tanks, and other vehicle that are made to be driven on unstable terrains, they all have traction that is distributed on a long surface😉.


Convicend? So, now your following question should be: how do I know how much can I deflate my tires if I have no tool for this?


Oh boy, ho much I love uncomfortable situations, because it’s here that your mind is brilliant and uses all the resources at it’s disposal, check if you have a tire repair kit in your vehicle, if there is, chances are that you can control the tire pressure with the 12V that comes with your kit.

You don’t have one, or it’s not working? Do you remember at least what is your tire pressure (that would be an important information to have before going play stupid games in the sand). If you are at the PSI recommended by the constructor for an Hymer Grand Canyon S, you should be around 60 PSI, with 60 PSI in your tires you can with no worries deflate your tires for 40 seconds with a key, or a stick, this will help you can traction while staying safe and not go in such low PSI that you risk the tire spins off the rim.


Other considerations: let’s say you are not able to solve the situation, worst case scenario you pay someone to help you, if you are on a sand beach there are chances someone has a little tractor somewhere, tractors sometimes are used to prepare the beach.

That time I almost did a 80 meters cliff dive with my van in Albania, I paid if I remember well 250 euros, in total there were 3 trucks (with winch) to take me out of that situation: I must say it was not expensive compared to the possible consequences. In Morocco for example it would cost you less, if you are unsure, as for the price before you ask someone to come help you (if they are not professionals chances are they will do it for free). Maybe if it’s expensive consider excavating a little more, and try harder.


Remember during Covid, when everybody became a financial analyst because stock only went up, but at the end of each message they had to write “NFA” not financial advice? Same thing here, I’m no 4x4/off-road instructor, but I did my research online and tried the solution I wrote, and they worked for me.


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One month in Morocco with a 4x4 Van.