Michigan Bronco Club

Hello! Just joined the group and I'm looking for some advice on taking my bronco to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes for the first time next month. I have a stock 2 door Big Bend and I'm wondering if the stock tires can handle the sand with an air down to around 15-18psi. Also I'd like to avoid breaking anything as this is my daily driver and I love it lol. Any advice will help

Stock tires should be fine for cruising the dunes, might have issues if you attempt Test Hill, but otherwise should be fine, use Sand Mode. Airing down to 12-15psi will help a ton too. I ran my pressure at maybe 15-18 and dropping to 12-13 helped a lot.
As far as breaking anything, just be cautious and drive slow until you are familiar with the layout and where the dips are, there can be some big ones that sneak up on you. There is a lot of area to explore that is easy for a stock Bronco.
Last time I was there, I saw a Porsche SUV, BMW SUV, Honda CR-V, plenty of Jeep Compass/Cherokees...all kinds of vehicles out there.

Permits & Passports: To enter the park, all motor vehicles riding on the dunes must display:
-ORV license AND ORV trail permit.: Purchase at DNR ORV Welcome Center, or online.
-Recreation Passport: Learn more by visiting the states website. & passport: Purchase at DNR ORV Welcome Center, or online
-Orange Flag: To ride in the dunes, vehicles must display a rectangular orange safety flag that is 10 foot in height (at standstill, 8-foot in motion).

What VB said above. We had stock Big Bends make test hill and the entire area, think 10/12 lbs and take it easy on cresting hills and steep declines.

Thanks

I really appreciate the info. I’ve got my orange flag already, just gotta get my oRV permits but I found a place by me that sells them. I think I’m gonna get some braces for the tie rods as well, I’ve heard they can break easily

@BigBlue4

@BigBlue4 I have tie rod sleeves on mine, but I would not be concerned about those at the dunes. From the videos of broken tie rods I've seen, seems more prone on rocks and logs, when tires are spinning freely and then get traction suddenly. What I am saying is, I wouldn't put off your trip to the dunes just for the tie rod spacers. Go out there and have fun!

I definitely agree on the tie rods. No issues on the dunes. Most that are breaking are in rocks with 37s or larger. I have been with 100s of Broncos off road for probably thousands of miles now with no issues. The most common problem is running high speed through water and mud and taking out an alternator. I would never recommend doing that with any vehicle, but I have now seen two or three fail from high speed water intrusion. If you go throw water, stay below the maximum fording depth and build a bow wake vs. charging through and forcing water into the engine bay.

@Mattwings

@Mattwings thanks for the info! I’ve watched a lot of instructional videos on YouTube by overland bound and he taught the same thing. I also learned from watching my buddy ruin his Jeep commander’s engine by going into a window deep puddle at a construction site super fast, he hit the water was stopped and had water rush up his exhaust. I for sure will avoid water like a plague lol

Thanks! For sure won’t be putting it off, this is one of the places I really wanted to go while I was waiting for the bronco. Hopefully the sand doesn’t cause any issues, people warn me sand is bad for vehicles

Taking your vehicle off road accelerates wear and requires some extra care and maintenance. Definitely be ready to spray everything down and rinse off as much of the sand as possible. It’s even worthwhile to pull your wheels and skid plates on occasion and get everything rinsed off. These day all the seals and suspension parts are fairly well sealed, but sand is definitely abrasive!

Michigan Bronco Club

BigBlue4

Michigan Bronco Club

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