Beautiful part of the cost. I spend about a week sometimes twice a year along that beach. We stay in Manteo at a condo I have access to.

 

we sometimes go up to Manteo to the Weeping Radish for a great bier. On a rainy day we take the kids to the aquarium or to Fort Raliegh. Yeah, it is a nice town!

 

Home depot/black & Decker has a selection of cigarette lighter powered air compressors...

depending on the one you get, they may have all kinds of features... this is the one I got:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...8&ddkey=Search
I usually store it in the back of the Ex..

IF you use it off your battery, it will take a while, but I air up my Excursion tires with one all the time...
just have a good charge on your battery (or if you are still in the boonies, maybe idle while doing it )

At any rate, you probably won't need it until you get back to 'civilization' at which point there should be service staions...

Get you a cheap gps that can save favorites and search google maps before you go so you know where they are....
go to amazon, they sell refurbished ones with warranty many times..

Sounds like fun ! am jealous already !!!

 

yes the little island is growing up. Bj's pizza, the blue parrot, Harry A's. are all still there, some of the others have closed or moved. The last time I went to the state park area was before the last hurricane , so I cant tell you the condition of the 4x4 area. I have a buddy with a house just over the bridge in apalachicola, and we spend a lot of time on the island.

 

Milk Crate

Something else that can really help with those little compressors I have found is a plastic milk crate often the hose is too short to reach valve stem unless it is at bottom so set the compressor on the crate. The real advantage is it lets more air get into the compressor than it was sitting on the ground and it keeps it out of the sand.

 

Just air down and use 4hi not low. The big diesel in frant makes it feel like your drivin a plow.lol

 

Just got back from trip to fort fisher, below carolina beach with my f-250 air down tires to 35 psi did not want to go lower was pulling boat on road to ramp every day driving in sand afternoon did very well . Did see a lot trucks sunk to frame 1 f-250 he did not air down tires and was flooring it.

 

Like Reagan4ever I too have been spending alot of time down at obx and it can have some of the looses sand around.

In addition to what's been said I bring a couple of scrap carpet samples for traction and it works great.
Also, sty in someone elses tracks if possible and be as smooth as possible.

Good luck !

 

Air Compressor? I have the one attached to the link below. I use it almost every day and don't know how I survived without it. Not cheap, you might be able to search and find a less expensive one. Good Luck.

http://www.supertruckusa.com/products/92043_005.htm

 

Yeah like the other guys said.

Only been on soft sand a couple times in 35 years of driving but I can definitely tell you what not to do. I have done more driving on medium to hard packed beach sand.

Do not go in with fully inflated tires, especially street tires. If you get stuck, all the gas in the world ain't going to help. I spent a whole night on the beach Digging, putting down carpet, driving 6 feet and repeating. Only thing worked for my 2wd Datsun truck was some guy with a big F250 4x4 yanked me out. I thought with my big fat tires and full speed ahead I would make it. Ran out of momentum before I ran out of soft sand. Speed will get you over short stretches, but proper equipment and planning are what is needed for long stretches of sand.

From reading Off Road magazine, are they still around?... you air down the tires till they bulge noticably. You don't want to go totally flat but you do want the tires soft and squishy and bulging out a fair amount. Look for smooth sand when planning your path if you can. Recommended items included a good shovel, tow straps, a winch and something you can bury in the sand like a steel pole(driveshaft recommended) for the winch etc.

I like the idea of steel fencing as a mat. You could probably also bury it for the winch.

I have driven my 94F250 4x4 with highway stock size tires on relatively packed sand several times, for maybe 10 miles at a time. The key is steady motion, no sudden stopping, acceleration, hard turns etc. And again plan your path. Definitely a big difference with a truck with big floaty tires versus my stock treads.

Most modern airpumps seem to be made in China. I have used a couple on cars and stop when they start to smoke, a bad sign. All my good air pumps are ones I bought 20-30 years ago and they don't smoke, but since they are old I can't make a new recommendation other than it takes a Looong time to air up a truck tire with most 12volt units. Maybe 30 minutes, most pumps I have seen smoke at 20.

If you do air down, you can usually drive slowly on the road for short distances to air up at a station. You don't want to drive freeway speeds or long distances since you will overheat the tread or risk popping the tire bead off the rim.

Have an ice chest with plenty of beer, you and your buddy will need it if you have to dig out.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

WOW - a couple of you have said smoking air compressors.... that B&D air station I got has NEVER smoked and I've had it running for a LONG time filling up the ex's tires....

What brand are you guys talking about ? Walmart ?

and to your point about tires overheating if too low pressure....
exactly the problem with 90% of the Ford fiasco a few year ago.... peope would run their tires to low and the stresses would pop the sidewalls..

the 'bulge' at the bottom straightens out for 3/4 of the turn and then bulges again...
like us doing 637 sit ups per minute (the rpm's my tire turns)

 

Driven on the beach all my life in Corolla, NC - In fact, its a necessity - no paved road. Air Pressure is all that matter - I take my F250 down to 15LBS and rarely use 4x4. You'll be fine. When the tires look Flat - ur good

 

Another great item to carry in your beach buggy, as long as you have a winch, that is, is a small boat anchor, like maybe about the size you'd use on a 19 to 21' boat. It makes a great deadman for a winch.

If you have nothing else to use and nothing to winch off of, another thing that can work is burying your spare tire under a few feet of sand and anchoring your winch line to it. It's important that the hole you dig to bury it in has a nice square edge on the side you'll be pulling against.

In a real pinch, pull out your floor mats and lay them under the tires for traction. It's a bit tough on the mats, but if you've ever seen a truck get pounded by the incoming tide, the price of a new set of floor mats seems pretty small!

 

Check out this link:

http://www.gearinstalls.com/pepboys.htm