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Driving on the Beach

Wingman

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Hitting OBX next week; Can't wait!
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EsTxDr

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@gurneyeagle

I do Daytona Beach and St. Augustine Beach driving quite often. Have done so for well over 25 years. Those public beach drives are lets say real tame. Stay on packed areas. Yes, where you park is the problem more often then not.

No need to air down BUT, BUT, do know if you get stuck, don't sit there and spin, spin til your vehicle is axle deep.

If you get stuck then immediately air down and get unstuck. You'll undoubtedly drive right out. 9 times out of 10 there is somebody nearby that will gladly air you up again with their onboard compressor.

If no one is around, air down, get unstuck and away from the incoming tide and call 911. Beach patrol will send someone to assist... to air you back up. Helps if you can tell 911 where abouts you are.

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I dont disagree with the overall advice here with one exception. Please do not call 911 to have someone come air up your tires. Be responsible and either have your own compressor or have AAA or some other service you can use to air your tires. There are many and one can call loval police or beach patrol easily without involving 911. Please dont take up valuable resources from people who may have a threat to their life because you wanted to drive in the sand and had to air down your tires.
 

Dadawada

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I dont disagree with the overall advice here with one exception. Please do not call 911 to have someone come air up your tires. Be responsible and either have your own compressor or have AAA or some other service you can use to air your tires. There are many and one can call loval police or beach patrol easily without involving 911. Please dont take up valuable resources from people who may have a threat to their life because you wanted to drive in the sand and had to air down your tires.
Seriously? People do that (call 911 to air up tires)?

Did I buy up or down in the food chain when I bought my Jeep? :-/
 

johnnymiz

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if you air down to 15psi BEFORE you go out, you wont get stuck as long as you don't do anything stupid and are smmmmmmoooooooth with the skinny pedal. and you can drive for miles on the street at 15psi as long as you dont get on the highway and go really fast. I'm sure there are plenty of gas stations within a few miles of the beach to air up. airing down puts waaay less stress on your drivetrain.
I had a fishing buddy that had a vw van. 2wd. he had balloon tires (235/75/15...stock was 175/85/15) on 5 inch rims... he ran them at 15-20psi and never ever got stuck on sand that was like confectioners sugar and deep. when he was done, he would drive them 5 miles on the street that way until he got to the gas station.
the only guys who got stuck were the knuckleheads with big mud tires at 50psi doing stupid sht.
a tip for not getting stuck... your tires make a little pile of sand in front of them when you stop... so when you want to go forward again, back up a few feet first, then go forward. it will give you a bit of a running start.
and if you DO manage to stuck it.. STOP before you dig a hole. put a piece of 2x8 under your jack, jack the truck up, fill in the hole, jack down... go. you should never ever need to call for help...especially 911.
oh, and I had a Subaru.. yes, it will go on the beach. but a jeep is sooo much better for the job.
 

Rhinebeck01

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I dont disagree with the overall advice here with one exception. Please do not call 911 to have someone come air up your tires. Be responsible and either have your own compressor or have AAA or some other service you can use to air your tires. There are many and one can call loval police or beach patrol easily without involving 911. Please dont take up valuable resources from people who may have a threat to their life because you wanted to drive in the sand and had to air down your tires.
@EsTxDr

In what I said I was trying to describe (guess I did that poorly) an urgent situation where life and property was at stake. A vehicle that is overtaken by the tide and being carried out to sea is such an issue. I mentioned in the scenario "if no one is around"...

Both Daytona and St Augustine Beaches clearly post to call 911 in such an urgent/emergent situation. They tell you to call 911 and they sort out who to send whether it be Beach Patrol, Police, Rescue Squad, Tow service, etc.

Indeed, calling 911 should not be something you do without thought or taken lightly.



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Good information - thanks to everyone. We booked a week in St. Augustine in August for the sole purpose of taking the new Jeep on the beach.
 

JessieGirl

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I live in Wilmington, NC and I'm close to Freeman Park (Carolina Beach). I NEVER see people air down their tires. They just head straight from the street onto the beach. Yeah, I see people get stuck every once and again but mostly it seems it's because they don't know how to drive in sand (coming to a complete stop, forcing it through). I'm not sure I've ever been on that beach and aired down or been with anyone who did. Interesting. Maybe I should start since I'm in the JL now.
 

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@JessieGirl

Well, fortunately, there are few places where you can actually drive on the beach anymore.

At most places, if it is allowed, the Beach Patrol, etc. has a lane / lanes marked clearly (often with cones) and you stick to the lanes.

The sand in those lanes is packed and it is not typical to get stuck in the sand while you are in the lane.

Where people get stuck is when they get off the lane and park. Often you park in very soft sand and if you are not careful or make a foolish maneuver you can/will get stuck.

So, if you go to the beach with the family, whether it be in a car, Jeep, motorcycle or whatever, you do not need to air down.

Yes, important to know that airing down can often get you unstuck..
 

TXRobD

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Jeeps are fine on the beach. Just try to avoid the loose stuff and you will be fine. I didn't air down my tires or anything. I just kept it in 4H and drive around 15-20 mph and enjoy the ride! If you do get into some of the water make sure to rinse your Jeep thoroughly after so you don't get any rust on your undercarriage.
 

Simulacra

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Air down your tyres, you will be fine. I've done this exact thing in a Subaru Forester and it did brilliantly so a Jeep will have no problems whatsoever. The Taco will be great too but you can't take the top or doors off! :)
 

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Freeman Park is fairly easy. Took my JK out there a few times. Didn’t air down. Fort Fisher recreation area: never aired down, but strongly recommend (haven’t been there in years, so not sure of the current conditions.) Went to the OBX last month and took my Sport S w/ Goodyear all terrains and LSD (I have the manual transmission.) I did air down there. It’s part of the rules issued by NPS. I wouldn’t have tried it w/ out airing down. Very deep sand.
The few beaches in NC you can drive on in NC (Freeman Park, Fort Fisher, N Topsail, Surf City) are not like Daytona. There are “lanes” but they are heavily rutted, deep sand. No cones marking a path. The rules are simple on all of them: stay out of the dunes, 15mph speed limits (NPS enforced in the OBX - imagine getting a speeding ticket on the beach!), stay out of the water (common sense) pedestrians and wildlife have the right of way (don’t even THINK about going into the roped-off bird or turtle areas!)
A stock Wrangler will do fine on the beach. Just use common sense. Don’t bother calling the NPS rangers, state park rangers or local police if you get stuck. They won’t/ can’t help. They won’t/ can’t air you up either.
 

MotoMax

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Better to turn "traction control" off or leave it on in the deep sand?

Even though we live here at the beach I've only driven the Rubicon in the soft sand twice with fully aired up tires just to see how it would do.
I tried turning it off for a bit then back on while in 4H and I couldn't tell any difference. Thoughts?
 

ekimgnuj

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Whoever said Jeeps are bad in the sand has a definite bias against them for some reason. Most of the sand recoveries I've seen were done by Jeeps, usually pulling out a huge manhood compensator diesel.
If someone said a Jeep isn’t good in the sand they are crazy, I’ve been driving jeeps in the sand since the early 1980s. My JL is awesome on soft sand, you just need to lower the tire pressure like with any 4x4. I’ve pulled out a fair number of stuck H2s and other SUVs, and even one nitwit who buried a Porsche Cayenne up to its axels in the Outer Banks! I usually go down to 20psi without a problem, most say12-14 psi is recommended I think, I’m just worried I’ll pop a beed when I get back on the road looking for air
 

johnnymiz

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leave the traction control alone.
just put it in 4h. if the sand is firm, drive.
if the sand is soft, air down then drive
if you havent aired down and the truck starts to bog, STOP. get out and air down.
15psi is good if you have a gas station within 5 or so miles or a mini compressor. you wont pop a bead.
but 20psi is fine if youre if it keeps you from worrying... i drove a 79 fj40 for 18 years and never had more than 20psi in the tires. you wont pop a bead unless you go down below 10 and then drive like a maniac. pulled a lot of big 4x4s out with that little mule.
airing down greatly increases the contact patch, reducing the psi that the truck puts on the sand.... decreasing wear and tear on the drivetrain. its all about floating and not digging
 
 



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