Dune bashing is a popular sport in the United Arab Emirates. It takes skill, poise and guts, and the feeling of climbing a dune in a car is like nothing else. Whether you’re going with a friend or climbing during a group excursion, you need to be prepared.
First thing’s first: you need the right tires and the right tire pressure to climb a dune. Dune buggies come equipped with ideal tires, which are wide and have fantastic traction. You can install appropriate tires on other cars, as well. The wider the tire, the better your balance will be on the dune and the more effectively the weight of your car will be spread. After you’ve chosen and installed tires, lower the air pressure before climbing a dune. Lower air pressure gives your tires more traction. Through trial and error, you’ll discover the ideal air pressure for dune climbing with your car.
When climbing the dune, know your off-roading angles. Knowing your approach angle will ensure that you don’t end up with your bumper stuck in the sand. If you don’t have a firm hold on your break-over angle, you might get stuck at the top of the dune. It’s a good idea to go with an experienced off-roader the first time you try climbing a dune; when you learn from someone who knows how to do it well, you’ll get a better feel for the concepts and their applications.
Climbing dunes also takes momentum. Start far away and accelerate so that you have enough speed to reach the top of the dune. As you climb, the car will slow, but if you’ve accelerated enough, it won’t stop. If your car does stop or slow down too much, you’ll need to turn around using a wide arc. Be careful when you turn around on a dune (as on any hill), because your car is designed to balance effectively when heading directly up or downhill. However, it’s not designed to be sideways or at an angle, so in those positions, it’s much more likely to tip over. Narrow turns on dunes are extremely dangerous.
It might take a little practice to learn to climb dunes, but as long as your tires are properly set up and you have patience, you can become an expert. In the meantime, many organizations offer training programs and dune bashing excursions during which you can learn and gain experience.