TheyCallMeMellowYellow

Hello everyone! I'm new to the forums; in fact I'm a newly converted Wrangler owner, although I've wanted one for a long time. Since we just got our JK recently, I haven't had the time or money to get started on my modification journey (but that will change very soon), so it is still stock as far as I can tell. By the way, it's a 2008 yellow 4-door JK sport (not a Rubicon or Sahara). I've been dying to take her off the pavement since I bought her, and I have a long weekend coming up on August 15th and my wife and I have decided to take the Jeep up to Silver Lake, Michigan. We really don't intend on doing anything crazy like jumping sand dunes or going through deep water, but I was wondering how a stock 4-door JK might do on the sand in general. We really just want to putz around on the flatter trails and drive down to the beach and just enjoy the outdoors and being off-road. Is this something my jeep will be pretty capable of with stock tires? Also, what tire pressure is ideal for these purposes? These are my main concerns, but any other advice about where to go and what to do for a couple of days in that area would be appreciated as well. Thanks everyone!

-Jon

kbp810

Stock JK will do just fine at Silver Lake, you should have no problem making it through the dunes. There is a shop up there that rents jeeps to use at the dunes, and they're all stock JK's on stock tires.

Not sure what tires your on, but street and AT tires actually do better there than aggressive MT's; the MT's tend to want to just dig down (my jeep on 37' MT/r's made it through everything just fine, but it did not do so as easily as others). In either case, just make sure to air them down, I'd probably start with somewhere around 10-12psi.

Obviously don't do any jumping, but absolutely go up test hill (and hence the rest of the dunes that follow); I'd also highly recommend hanging out on top of test hill or another tall dune at sunset, its an awesome view over Lake Michigan. Also, look out for those "puddles" near the beach, some of them are just a tad bit deeper than they appear. Most importantly though, keep your head on a swivel - test hill and the following dunes are one way, but the rest is a scramble area. People on bikes, ATV's, and sand rails often go flying around every which direction, not always paying attention.

Have fun!

AnvilX14

Everything in the previous post is spot on. If it's your first time in sand dunes then play around a bit on some of the smaller hills first and soon you'll have a feel for it. Then, do test hill. I'm not sure if you've been there before, but Test hill is the first hill you'll see on the left as you enter the dunes. Here's a few more things:

You'll need a dune flag that must be attached in the front, usually on the bumper or tow hook. There are shops in town that sell them and even rent them out if you don't want to buy one. It is pretty long (I want to say around 8 feet) and it must be high enough to hit an overhead bar as you enter the long road into the dunes.

This year there are a total of three stickers you will need to buy. Two of them are orv stickers and one is a state park pass. The orv stickers are somewhere around the $35 mark total. I'm not sure what you will pay for a state park sticker. You might be able to get a day pass.

I run a 2014 4 door Rubicon on 35s with auto transmission. Before that, I had an 01 Sport on 33s, 4.0, and 5 speed manual. They are quite different from each other in the dunes. My new one needs a little more speed before heading up the hills. I drive in 4 hi and I always have in the dunes.

Have fun.

TheyCallMeMellowYellow

Well that's great to hear! Thanks for the feedback, guys. Any other trails in the area that a stock JK could handle? Maybe wooded trails within a reasonable drive? We are going to be up there for a few days and was wondering what other fun activities there are for my wife and I to do; both Jeep and non-Jeep related.

AnvilX14

There are some seasonal roads/trails around there somewhere. I have not driven them, but a buddy of mine has. I'm not sure where, but they aren't far.

kbp810

You're not far from Manistee National Forest, plenty of forest roads to explore. We often will just turn down a road and see where it takes us; if its a case where there might be a potential for getting turned around or lost, I launch a GPS app and record my track (I usually use Back Country Navigator, but View Ranger is another good one I've used as well).

If you head out towards Baldwin, there are two ORV routes I know of that are perhaps mildly better than your typical forest road - "Tin Cup" and "Big O", they are somewhere off of M37, north of Baldwin, but I don't remember the exact location.

Up by Wellston there is a cool seasonal road that runs along the Pine River valley (I think it is actually in Norman, MI); you turn down Low Bridge Rd off of M55, then look for the second seasonal road on the left (Its called Pine River Rd but I don't remember if there was sign for it or not, but If you cross the river you went too far), some really great views. If you do head up that way, make a stop by Dublin, MI (very tiny town), there is a really good fudge shop, and across the street a grocery/hardware store that has good jerky and meats (and sells everything from groceries to guns, lol).

strohme2

My wife and I just went exploring around the Manistee Nat'l Forest area east of Pentwater. The seasonal roads and unmaintained roads were plenty fun and a made for a fun ride around the woods. We had to turn around on a couple roads because they looked sketchy enough to possibly get stuck. Seeing as we though were the only Jeep it made sense. We had a blast regardless.

rt chips

Nice color jeep! Have fun up there! I live about 2 hours away.