Whatever you do, DO NOT RUN GECKOS ON A DS!!!!! They are absolutely the worst tire for this application! They dig holes rather than do you much good at all. Go with Haulers, 22 inch being the preference, in a 9 paddle. You will probably want to drop gearing one in the front and go up 2-3 in the back but it'll be worth it in the hook up and keeping you from getting stuck.

 

I went to Glamis with the Geckos on Halloween, and they seem to do ok, maybe I need to ride another DS with different paddles to see the difference

 

#1 Question - Where do you ride?

If you ride somewhere like Sand Mt., NV where the sand can be dry and the hills are steep and long the 22" haulers will outshine the competition.

If you ride Pismo where the dunes are small and the sand is wet, you can get buy with the substandard Sand Sharks, Sand Stars, Geckos, etc. BUT, I wouldn't spend a dime on those tires. You may as well run your stock tires IMO.

For the most part, Glamis doesn't have steep hills that require an aggressive paddle to get you around but, if you want to go to Olds and race some people the 22" haulers are going to be your best choice.

The 22" haulers will prevent some of the times you get stuck from stopping stupid (aiming up hill.) But, if you don't gas it right, you'll still get stuck.

 

funny you say that cause, every pass up Olds I got my a$$ handed to me, I just thought the gearing wasnt right

 

When I hed cheap tires, not Geckos but Kenda Trakkers, I got stuck on flat or even slightly downhill ground, no joke. I could not get the ATV moving unless I stood next to it, put it in gear, started running with it and hopped on. This was at Pismo, so if that is where cheap tires work best then I was really screwed huh!

My advice, sell the cheap tires, if you start getting stuck and digging holes nothing ruins a good trip to the dunes like having to life the butt of your DS out of holes about twenty four times. I run Sand Skates and like them pretty well. However the Skat Trak 22" Extreme hauler 8 paddle for your basic DS is the perfect tire. You'll have the RIGHT amount of traction, you'll be able to have fun, you wont dig holes unless you screw up and you'll enjoy duning more. The 9 paddles will work as well, however I think they are better for higher HP machines.

 

For the guys that asked about 20 inch tires. Think of sand as a fluid and your quad must float on this. Beach sand is usually fairly pure and the density changes with moisture even throughout the day. Desert sand has alot of different minerals thrown in and seems denser to me unless you hit a soft pocket with alot of dust mixed in. If you are running 20" tires and getting away with it ,more power to you however most sand dunes have lighter density sand and the DS being rather heavy really benefits from a 22" tire. I can't see any problem with always recomending a 22" unless someone wanted to do alot of hard cornering on dense sand.
Small, hard, slippery and heavy tires are the worst.
Large, soft, grippy and light are the best. It's simple. The top tires are ultralight Scat Traks or competition cut Sand Tires Unlimited Padla Brats.

 

That makes a lot of sence! My 21" came with the bike, knowing what I know now, I would have gotten 22"