Dune Bashing
Dune bashing involves guiding your off-roading vehicle over sand dunes . In technique , it ' s like a combination of driving in mud and driving over hills . It ' s a popular tourist activity in parts of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates , where sand dunes are plentiful and organized dune bashing excursions are available , but is illegal in many places where off-roading has been deemed a threat to the dunes .
When scaling sand dunes , like any hills , knowing your offroading angles is important . If you don ' t know your approach angle , you might wind up bumper-first in the sand . If you don ' t know your break-over angle , you may become stuck at the top of the dune .
Momentum also figures prominently in dune bashing . Like any hill , you have to gain enough momentum to reach the top without stopping . If you do start to slow , you ' ll have to either back down the dune or make a wide arc to turn around . Turning around on any hill is extremely dangerous because you ' re at greater risk of rolling your car over and ending up upside down . Cars are designed so that they are less at risk of rolling over if they are pointing directly uphill or downhill . When they sit sideways or at an angle , they ' re more likely to tip .
Wider tires work best for dune bashing . Think about how a snowshoe works : The wide shoe disperses your weight across a larger surface area , making it easier for you to stay on the surface and not sink too far into it . The same principle is true for tires -- the wider the tire , the less you will sink into whatever you ' re driving through . Dune buggies , special recreational vehicles designed to drive on sand , tend to have wider tires for this purpose . In addition , reducing your tire pressure can help to give your tires a wider surface area .
You also might encounter hills when you ' re green laning . Read on to learn why green laning is a popular pastime for even the non-hard-core off-roaders .
OFF-ROADING RESTRICTIONS
Some countries , states , cities and towns have laws restricting where and how fast you can drive off-road vehicles . For example , California Desert Protection Act of 1994 turned millions of acres of desert in California into protected land , making it illegal to drive off-road vehicles in the area .
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