Outer Banks NC beach driving
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 213
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From: Kernersville, NC
Outer Banks NC beach driving
Hi guys,
Has anyone been to the outer banks lately and can comment on the beach driving if you're done any? We are heading down in a few days to the Hatteras area and I'm wondering if I should even think about venturing out there. I have an ATV but have found out that you can drive a 4x4 but not an ATV on the beach, which is quite annoying since the ATV is far more fun and much less likely to get stuck (and easier to get unstuck). Is there anywhere to ride an ATV out there?
That aside, I've got a F250 4WD and a 5spd but I'm feeling that it's simply too heavy to enjoy driving it out there. Then truck weighs 5500lbs, and I'm running 265/70R16 tires but am unsure if that hurts or helps over the stock tire size. It would be great if there was a place to practice that had a huge crane that would just swing over and pick you up if you got stuck :-) I wish they had a class I could take or something...I'd like to become good at it so we could rent a house more off the usually travelled path.
Bryan
Has anyone been to the outer banks lately and can comment on the beach driving if you're done any? We are heading down in a few days to the Hatteras area and I'm wondering if I should even think about venturing out there. I have an ATV but have found out that you can drive a 4x4 but not an ATV on the beach, which is quite annoying since the ATV is far more fun and much less likely to get stuck (and easier to get unstuck). Is there anywhere to ride an ATV out there?
That aside, I've got a F250 4WD and a 5spd but I'm feeling that it's simply too heavy to enjoy driving it out there. Then truck weighs 5500lbs, and I'm running 265/70R16 tires but am unsure if that hurts or helps over the stock tire size. It would be great if there was a place to practice that had a huge crane that would just swing over and pick you up if you got stuck :-) I wish they had a class I could take or something...I'd like to become good at it so we could rent a house more off the usually travelled path.
Bryan
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 370
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From: gurnee
i dont know about atvs but a couple years back my family went down there with some friends to rent a house. all 3 families drove out in a beach area with stock suvs. we had a mountaineer, explorer and a durango. i think your truck is kinda big but i dont think you'd have too much of a problem!
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 151
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Don't worry about it. Take your F-250 and you'll be fine. I've had mine out there on several occasions and have yet to get stuck(although mine is also sitting on 285/75R16's (33's) and 2.5" of lift).
Some words of advise:
Air your tires down to 15-20 psi. Shift it into 4wd High range before you even hit the sand, don't go out on the sand, stop, then lock it into 4wd. The sand near the dunes, i.e. away from the water, can be VERY soft and deep. Stay about halfway between the water and the dunes and you should be alright. If you must drive in the deep sand, keep up the momentum. If you do get stuck, breifly try to back out, but don't burry it. Take a shovel with you, a little hand digging can often get you out(provided you didn't completly burry yourself.) Good luck and have fun, driving on the sand really isn't hard at all.
Some words of advise:
Air your tires down to 15-20 psi. Shift it into 4wd High range before you even hit the sand, don't go out on the sand, stop, then lock it into 4wd. The sand near the dunes, i.e. away from the water, can be VERY soft and deep. Stay about halfway between the water and the dunes and you should be alright. If you must drive in the deep sand, keep up the momentum. If you do get stuck, breifly try to back out, but don't burry it. Take a shovel with you, a little hand digging can often get you out(provided you didn't completly burry yourself.) Good luck and have fun, driving on the sand really isn't hard at all.
