There’s a phenomenon where once you experience the best of something, you always compare everything against it. Whether that’s the best pizza you’ve ever had, the best fight scene in a movie, or the best 4th quarter comeback, you have a high-water mark for everything.
If you’ve ever been to Glamis, then that’s your high-water mark for dunes.
Massive dune fields featuring towering dunes, deep bowls, and ever-changing routes challenge even the most experienced riders.
That’s why it’s so important to have the right gear on your rig before you take on Oldsmobile Hill or the China Wall.
First things first: you need to make sure you’re as protected as you can be while behind the wheel.
You need the essentials:
These will keep your fingers, face, and eyes from getting sandblasted.
Heat and hydration management are a must too. Temps can be comfortable in the winter—around 70 most days—but summer temps regularly hit triple digits.
Make sure to bring along plenty of water to cover all your riders, and pack some electrolyte packets to make sure you stay healthy. As always, bring plenty of good snacks along too. Nothing makes the gang grumpier than low blood sugar.
Always bring emergency tools for your side-by-side too. Here’s what we recommend you bring:
Dunes offer a unique challenge for riders. There’s plenty of wide-open space for high-speed rides, but little traction for tires. Riders are also faced with massive dune slopes that are begging to be raced across in defiance of their 50% grade.
If you want to do any of that, you need the right gear for your UTV.
You need sand tires if you want to make the most of the dunes. Rear sand tires use paddles to dig into the sand and propel you along. The front tires usually have a strong center ridge to provide better control and have buffed rubber for a little extra traction.
Add some lightweight wheels like SuperATV Highline Wheels to keep unsprung weight down and flotation up.
Altogether, the right wheels and tires will keep you flying across the top of the sand instead of getting buried in it.
This one’s a no-brainer: get yourself a long-travel kit for duning.
A long-travel kit widens your stance to give you a whole host of advantages.
First, it gives you a more stable base, so you’re less likely to roll over.
Second, it gives you more suspension travel with the same amount of shock compression. Trust us, that’s just trigonometry at work.
Finally, it gives you room for bigger tires. Bigger tires mean better flotation, traction, angle of attack, and all that good stuff that makes you smile when you hit the gas.
Speaking of larger tires, a gear reduction is a great way to get back any torque you lose when you increase your tire size.
Once you have a capable machine, you need to protect it. And you need to protect it well.
That’s because dunes beat the hell out of your machine. From whoops you don’t see, to half-buried debris, to misjudged dune crests, to abrasive sand, everything in the dunes wants to destroy your UTV.
Here’s what you need to make sure you stay in one piece:
Whip flags are not only a requirement in Glamis, but they can also save your life by making you visible when a dune is blocking other riders’ line of sight.
And let’s not forget cab protection. Get yourself a half windshield to divert sand over your head without trapping heat in your cab. And make sure you add a roof that can block out heat. We highly recommend our tinted polycarbonate roofs, which cool down your cab while still allowing you to look up and see the top of a dune.
You need to bring along cargo and spares to make sure you have a good time in Glamis.
And with how aggressive and violent the dunes can be, you need solutions that can stand up to them.
Our insulated cargo boxes are watertight to keep sand out of your sandwiches and drinks.
For extra storage, check out our cargo racks. We have roof racks, bed racks, and hood racks, which make it easy to properly balance your weight.
Speaking of weight distribution, you’ll find that your UTV is really picky in sand. Too much weight in the front and it’ll plow in the sand. Too much weight in the rear and your front end won’t dig enough and won’t steer.
For maximum control and power, you need a little more weight over the rear axles than the front, which is generally how they’re set up from the factory.
Bottom line—don’t add 400 pounds over the front axle without balancing that out with some cargo in the rear.
You should do pre-ride maintenance and checks before every ride, but especially before you take on Glamis. Breaking down in the dunes can lead to an extremely difficult and expensive recovery.
Inspect your:
The heat and sand can be especially brutal on drive belts. So be sure your clutch is sealed tight too.
There’s a whole list of know-before-you-go details for Glamis. Don’t just show up at the parking lot and expect to hit the dunes.
You need to know the boundaries of the dunes (having the relevant map data downloaded to an app or GPS is a great idea).
You’ll need to make sure your vehicle is registered in California or have an out-of-state permit.
Check up on the events going on. Some people want a crowd, some people want more space. Either way, going during a big event like Veterans’ Day will dramatically change your experience.
Finally, make sure you check the weather. A spring heat wave might make a trip to Glamis miserable. High winds can whip up sand and make it hard to do anything without goggles on.
Check out our Comprehensive Guide to Glamis for even more info.
And be sure to outfit your rig with parts and accessories from SuperATV. Our insanely fast shipping will get you ready to ride faster than you thought possible.
