tall or short or whatever. i am gonna try like heck climb them with my knobbies. i really cant afford sand tires for my first time. my new pipe is gonna set me back a little. i will either get up them or roll back down. either way it should be fun. cant wait to get up there. i am debating if i shuld go may 25-26 or go later in the summer. its a 400 mile drive from home.

 

ya don't sweat it. Ive been there 4-5 times over the years and used Knobbies every time. this year I will have both. paddles are nice for drags and such, but for tooling around I prefer knobbies. also some time the paddles will shake the $hit out of you and you bike. The last time I went every one had paddles but me. I still had a riot.

 

If you're tight on duckie, the tires can wait. I purchased a set of SandStars for my first (and only to date) trip. It was cool, but you do shake a bit on the hard pack sand near the beach. Ripping the hills was fun, be careful not to have too much speed or you'll be jumping over the top of the hill and it'll be one helluva big jump. Our friend almost learned the hard way on his first rip up test hill (the name of the first hill, or so I was told).

I should take Hightower up on the front gearing.

 

You can get anywhere with stock knobbies. The hills are not that big at all. I mean even that guy said he could make it anywhere with a 250ex. I would only get paddles if i was going to ride in sand a lot and drag race bucause you will spin at the starts and paddles hook right up

 

Sorry guys, but I don't think you will go up the big hills without paddles. I have been jeeping there for ten years. I watch the quads play on the end of Test hill where it is only half the size. However, once you get past test hill, you are confronted with 2 or 3 more hills just as tall and steep as Test hill, but not used as much because many don't make it past test hill. You can go pretty much everywhere else except test hill and its siblings without paddles. Sorry, but no 250 will make it up test hill without paddles. LOL, the 250 will probably fall into the big sand trenches created by the monster 4x4s near the top.
I hope this helps you Gwinnwarrior
BryceGTX

 

I wont call you a liar by any means, but we had a well built zuki lt230 qs out there in 2003 with knobbies and it had a helluva time up test hill, never ended up making it. I see plenty of blasters and 250's at the bottom of the hill watching each other make it 1/2 way up and slide back down. Granted the dunes arent that big, not even as big as they used to be, but they arent like the bunny hill at your local ski resort.

 

If my heavyass warrior could make it in dry windy conditions up test hill.With
a first time duner.Then anyone can.

 

I can testify to knobby tired quads climbing any hill at Silver Lake easily. Last time we went, a buddy of mine was on a bone stock 400EX with knobbies, screaming up test hill and catching good air off the top. He did end up buying a set of paddles while we were there though, and said it made quite the difference. There is more than ample room to get a run a Test hill......any hill for that matter, and Test hill can't be more than 60 ft max. Bottom line is......don't sweat it, the knobbies will be fine.

 

I forgot to mention, if you are wearing your knobbies then drop your air pressure to 2psi in the rear and 3psi on the front. too high a rear pressure will have you stuck, and too high in the front will push in the turns worse.

Most of the trucks and jeeps you see get towed out there are due to running street pressure instead of lowering all 4 tires before leaving the parking lot. I think most guys are running about 15psi in there trucks for good success. Less ground clearance but the footprint is twice as big.

 

Hey Coyoteman. You are right, if you can get enough of a running start and you go up near the ends and you do it right, you can make it. However, test hill often times gets so chewed up by the big 4x4s and with the whoops at the bottom you cannot always get the momentum to make it up. Nevertheless, chances are you have a much better possibility with a bigger quad like the 400.
BryceGTX