Beach Driving

[zrone]

I never drove a dually on the beach before and I need some advice. When I air down the tires can I just air down the fronts and outside rears or do I have to air down all six? I also want tow my fifth wheel down the beach. I see many people who do but the thought of towing 15,000lbs through soft sand is intimidating. Does anyone have any experience doing this. I could use all the helpful hints I can get. Thanks

[Jelisfc]

You're treading on dangerous ground here. I've got plenty of experice driving through deep sand with military vehicles and if you don't air down the tires you may not get very far and when you do break traction the whole truck will start hopping...not good.

I would advise not to tow a trailer that out weights your truck in sand. Most travel trailers have relatively skinny tires that will cut into the sand easily. I once got stuck hauling a D7 Cat in the California desert. How did I get unstuck? I unloaded the Cat and walked it 2 miles until the road got better. You can't unload a travel trailer!

As far as airing down duals. 10 to 20 psi just leave enough pressure to keep the tires from rubbing. This is assuming you are putting down the beach not trying to do 40 mph and you air down the tires with the trailer hooked up.

Good luck and bring a loooong tow strap.

[INDI-GO]

Take a friend with a big 4x4

[TLA]

And a D-9

[Richard Pelletier]

I have driven many miles on North Carolina beaches with my old 1990 6.2 with the air at 20 lb. My only concern with the Dmax is the low clearance. Stay away from loose deep sand and by alll means do not take the 5er on the beach unless it's Daytona, packed sand.

[mackin]

zrone,

Somebody here has a White Dually that posted some PICs on the beach , If I find it or remember ,I'll bring it back to life .......
MAC

[Redhawk]

I used to do a lot of travelling in Baja four wheeling, and believe me, all the sand is not just on the beach. My FWD truck (with camper) had 12.50x16.5 tires with a sand tread and didn't have much trouble driving along the beach with medium tire pressure, but it doesn't take much to break traction and then down you go. When I added a boat and trailer in the equation it was really iffy. I doubt the boat and trailer weighed more than 4000 lbs. The question you have to ask yourself is what is your fifth wheel worth to you if you get stuck and the tide is coming in. I've had a lot of sand driving exerience too, but wouldn't dream of driving in deep sand with anything approaching the weight of your fiver. On a Carolina beach there might be a lot of help available, but in some places where you are the only person around, stuck in the sand might be a perilous and expensive situation.

[ 05-17-2002: Message edited by: Redhawk ]</p>

[INDI-GO]

Mackin, do a search on nomad56. I think the beach pics might have been him.

[bbugg]

Hey,
I have a house in Baja and go down there all the time. There are literally hundreds of pickups hauling trailers and pulling them onto the beach via sandy roads. The question is how deep of sand are you talking about? If you are the first one to go there, you had better take it easy. (Do you have a winch?) I've seen people with trailers on some deserted beaches that blew my mind. I have no idea how they got there.
My biggest complaint about my Duramax is clearance. Once you let some air out of the towers, you have even less. (They make special valve caps that you can preset the tire pressure you want to go down to.) I don't think the D/A was designed for real off road use, although I've had mine in some sand dunes and it did okay. (The owner's manual says to remove the air dam.) In any case, driving off road is so much fun that I wouldn't hesitate to drive on the beach, just be a little cautious and use your head. If you really get stuck, take some pictures!!
Check out my pictures. I could get to that beach with a trailer. It was about five miles of dirt and sand and not one person was on that beach.
Have fun...

[Vincent]

As one who has been there, done that...trust me you dont want to get that rig stuck.

I was driving along the lake shore and got into some sugary sand. Dont get me wrong, Im an experienced 4 wheeler, but in my tricked out Jeep CJ-7.

I wasn't towing at the time but my truck started hopping and bucking in this loose/deep sand and before you know it, it was digging its way to China!!

Talk about stuck...every skid plate was buried deep, rear differential was buried like a boat anchor.

What got me out?? A F*** Excursion (diesel no less) with 35" tires on it! Talk about humiliating. I had already aired my tires way down and he had no problem at all yanking me out backwards.

Thank god he had a tow strap!! Next time I have the urge to drive in the sand...I'm bringing the Jeep!!! :eek:

[mackin]

zrone,

Here you go .........
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=6&uid=469559&

Thanks INDI-GO you were right on the money ........ Haven't heard from 56nomad in a while, if I remember it right, he is out on retirement enjoying himself, I think ...........
MAC smile.gif

[zrone]

Thanks for all the replies and the links to beach pictures. Here on Long Island campers are allowed on many of the county beaches. I've seen guys towing 36' triple axle 5th wheels and I'm still amazed they could do it. I imagine that larger tires are probably needed, but since I tow on the highway most of the time and because of warranty concerns Im sticking with the stock tires. I did pick up a set of the gizmos that automatically air down your tires but have not tried them yet. I will be heading down to the beach without the trailer to try the truck out and talk to some of these guys. I'll post some pictures if I can. I still need to know do I air down four or six tires?

bbugg Great pictures. I like that winch that is a great looking setup.

mackin Thanks for the link. That sand looks a little harder then the stuff here on L.I.

[SledZep]

Zrone, are thinking of going out to Smith's point or something? That sand is really soft, some places in NC are halfway to Daytona type sand. I used to live in Hauppauge and went to Smith's often with my Scout. Many a great party out there for the weekend. all you need is a few 4x4's/firewood/beer/ice/friends/generator/stereo/fishing poles/surfboards/dogs/frisbee's... you get the idea. We used to shutttle people from the parking lot out to where the party was. Free if you knew me.....

[zrone]

SledZep Right on, Smiths Point ,Cupsogue, Ginn Beach and Shinnecock East are all beaches that you can find trailers, and 5th wheels on.

[SledZep]

Zrone, how do you like the J&J products? I am hoping to get the millenium tube boards...

[zrone]

SledZep I've had no problems with the boards or flaps. They have been on about a year now. They appear strong and I can stand on the front and rear boards with no problems (230lbs). The only problem I had was they sent the wrong rear boards the first time, but exchanged with no problem.

[56Nomad]

Hi zrone,

Diana and I just got back from our travels
after a wonderful time at the Rendezvous in B.C.

The pictures of the dually in the sand are at:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=637440&uid=469559

I took the pressure in all 6 tires down to about
20 lbs and it handled great in soft sand as the
photos show.

There was no problem with clearance... however
the wind blown fine sand at Pismo Beach got into all the
nooks and crannys (both under the hood and in
the cab).

When I got home I used the air hose to blow the
sand out and that worked fine.

Also, I would not recommend running the truck
in the salt water.

Have a great time!

[OldCarKook]

I've put some time in beach driving on Nantucket and Cape Cod, and find that it all is dependent upon the type of sand.

Nantucket sand is brutal and you can sink quickly at 12 psi all the way around if you don't pay attention. Other parts of the Cape you can drive at full pressure without batting an eye. These beaches are less than 50 miles apart, but the sand conditions are totally different. Just tread lightly and I'd go without the trailer until you get the feel and decide whether you can get away with it.

I think if it's real hard to walk in (deep) then you might leave the trailer in the parking lot. Driving below the tide line generally has harder sand but then you risk the tide if you get stuck.