i have been there once before with a friend who had a wrangler with bigass tires. he did fine.
my Cherokee is stock, has a fully rebuilt 4.0 motor, well broken in. running slightly larger then stock new BF Goodrich All-terrain TA tires....

will i make it up test hill? as long as im careful i should do fine right?
there will probably be 2 other people in the truck with me....

will sand cause problems in my drive train components?

 

Silver lake is a bad *** place! I love Michigan!! Your stocker will be fine there just air down the tires a ton and don't dig yourself in a hole. You better have recovery points just to be safe. That should be everyone's fist purchase for there jeeps! Bring a tow strap and a shovel and have fun!

One more thing I think silver lake requires a flag for your jeep. You might want to look into that.

 

silver lake is cool, i live only about a hour from there, so we make it up there alot

couple tips

your cherokee will do fine, if you start to spin, just stop..dont dig a hole

bring a strap, not a chain

recovery points are a must

BE CAREFULL If its your first time driving there, take 30 min and just slowly cruise thru there, you will find out really fast who the idiots are (and to avoid them)

check your cooling system, bring a jug of 50/50 along just to be sure, check oil leaks too...last thing you want is to over heat or loose oil pressure

air your tires down

one thing that 99% of people never do, make sure you battery is clamped down and your connections are tight. one little bump can have your battery bouncing around like a brick under the hood

be carefull, again there is something about the dunes that makes people go nuts...dont be that guy. Its fine to have fun....but remember there are families out there....people, vehicles and quads/dirt bikes.....keep your head on a swivel!

 

I grew up an hour from there, my father had a IH Scout and haven't been back since the early 70's. I plan on going back in July with our local off-road club.
Back then flags weren't required. We actually camped on the dunes. No it wasn't allowed, but we were quiet and didn't move after sundown.

 

This is great news. I just put new radiator hoses, cooling system flush, fresh oil change, and New battery " securely clamped". Now im All excited... thx for the advice

 

Me and a buddy are taking a trip up there the weekend after the fourth! I've never been there before but I'm so pumped. Anyone else got anymore tips for a sand newb? Also is anyone else going to be there at the same time? I'll be there from the 11th to the 15th.

 

Toilet paper, never forget to take toilet paper! Oh, you may want to take some food and water too, and a knife, and a blanket, and some tools, and some babywipes, and some good tunes, and some gloves, and a hat, and some sunglasses, and some rags, and some extra engine oil, and some extra ATF, and a hatchet, and some snake repellent, and some...

 

It's a blast. Have fun! You've been giving good advice.

 

so i just got back from Silverlake. and i can say it was absolutely amazing. bit of advice to anyone running a stock setup. Air down to around 12-10 psi, and if automatic transmission, set transfer case to 4-low and stick around 3rd on the hills. i noticed when i was in 4-high and overdrive i could make it about 3/4 way up test hill. but in low and 3rd gear with RPM's around 4-5k i made it up with power and speed to spare. gearing really makes a difference. to note my diffs are 3:55. when nearing the crest of the hill its a good idea to slow down a little on the RPM, i noticed my tires started hopping badly and that's with new shocks, if i backed off slightly on the gas as i slowed towards the top i had no problems. also momentum is your friend. When tooling around in the bushes i kept my speed up and never got stuck. and if you see a hill coming up plan ahead, check if area is clear and hammer it.
i also noticed that the engine always ran hot and cooling fan never shutoff, that is until i went 4-low. the higher RPM's keep my belt fan blowing faster and did great keeping system cool.

when entering the dunes make sure you have a DNR-ORV permit, state park permit, and 10ft orange and square flag mounted to your front bumper. also on weekends you need a voucher to enter, this is obtained from the park office on the previous day only.

i also discovered i had broken a sway bar linkage and that may have been what was causing my tire hopping. the front axle was probably rocking up and down when tire speed got to high while forward speed slowed.

all in all i had an absolutely excellent experience, and would recommend anyone with a stock jeep to go, as long as your jeep is in well maintained condition you will do great.