# beach driving



## fishingadam95 (Oct 6, 2008)

can you drive a 2wd on the beach or does it have to be a 4x4


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## rider3 (Jun 8, 2008)

i know here in jersey it has to be 4wd.


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## Fireline20 (Oct 2, 2007)

You can drive your 2wd all you want on the beach....you just wont get very far


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## chadwickfeesh (Nov 13, 2008)

it can be done, but the ramps on and off the beach will most likely give you problems. i drove in 2wd most of the time this weekend -- the sand was in good shape. its expensive to get someone out there to pull you out if you do get stuck.


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## chris storrs (Aug 25, 2005)

im pretty good at forgetting stuff like locking hubs in my f150 or forgetting to shift into 4wd all together in my moms xterra...never been stuck yet...after first few times i forgot i started testing and seeing what would happen...hardly ever actually have to use 4wd..keep up the momentum..avoid obviously trouble areas..go easy staring from a stop in the sand...forgetting to in mud is a different story


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## Shooter (Nov 14, 2004)

You can drive 2 wheel drive on the beach but you better have a good tow strap and lots of cold beer to offer folks when ya have to get pulled out and don't get up-set when ya get laughed at.


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## Fireline20 (Oct 2, 2007)

Shooter said:


> You can drive 2 wheel drive on the beach but you better have a good tow strap and lots of cold beer to offer folks when ya have to get pulled out and don't get up-set when ya get laughed at.


At Fort Fisher,,,2wd is verbotten, and those that try are generally ignored to suffer their own fate.

Now, if u have 4x4 and get stuck, the Ft Fisher 4x4 Army is at your beck and call...

I ain't gonna waste a day of fishing on some ding dong in a VW Dune Buggy, F150 2wd, Jeep 2wd Cherokee, that got about 30 yards into the ramp...even the Rangers sit and watch.

2WD on ur own

4WD you got an Army of buddies


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## skunk king (Mar 25, 2008)

the secret is to air down to like 6-8 psi. Drive super slow on the roads till you can air back up.


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## rider3 (Jun 8, 2008)

i got a 2005 Toyota Rav4. It is all wheel drive, and i have not hadt it on the beach, but i have had it in some mud and other sand,(soft deep stuff and hard packed), deep snow and she seems to do pretty good without having to air down. When i take it out on the beach this year i will be airing down mt tiers. Been down on some beaches and i saw guys crusing around and it did not seem to me that they aired down. The sand was alos very hard packed.


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## Fireline20 (Oct 2, 2007)

skunk king said:


> the secret is to air down to like 6-8 psi. Drive super slow on the roads till you can air back up.


I get away with air down to 20 psi on Ford Explorer and have never been stuck at Ft Fisher where the sand is notoriously loose. Also at that poundage, you can still drive on hard roads with out too much problem, just don't go trucking back out to the interstate till you air up.

On the flip side, the first time I went out to the Fort, I did not air down and got stuck.

So pretty much tells the tale I believe.


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## don geronimo-NOT (Apr 1, 2007)

Just an observation, In my many years of time on the sands I have seen EVERY Make and model of ALL 4x4's have some kind of problem at some point in time; to even see a HummVee get hung up; NOT because of his driving or vehicle abilities but to avoid the stupidity of another. He took a bad situation, and prevented a child from getting waffled. The people who saw what he did, gave 100% to get him un-jammed.

Why take the chance of screwing the pooch? Murphy tells me the day I get fouled will be the time that fishing could NOT have been better. Better to be tossing lead than to be cramming a plank under a 4X4.


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## Nemisis (Jan 17, 2009)

My answer will be sure you can drive a 2x4 on the beach, providing you stick to a couple of rules. 1) deflate the tyres as said above( dont know psi but .8bar wil ldo ).2) do not pull away fast 3) no accessive braking 4) when you have stopped rather back up on your own tracks a couple of meters before going forward. 5) where possible stay in already made tracks.6) should you feel you are getting stuck a) rock the vehicle forward and back --so flattening the sand in front and back of the tyre.b) rather get out and clear the sand before taking the"power out" route. 7) Dont be brave--you only have a 2x4 remember that and take things gently and with caution.


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

*alot has to do with where you fish*

some ramps are killer .... Driving seems much better once you hit the beach .... but conditions change ... I wouldn't try it in 2 wd .. but most of the ramps going over the dunes are by far the worst part .... and red sand ... steer clear .... ya might get lucky a few times but It will get you sooner or later in 2wd .... and like they said a tow truck on the beach is big bucks


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## surf&stream (Sep 6, 2009)

I wouldn't try it even if someone else was paying for the tow truck. Every beach I've been on has really soft areas that even 4x4 vehicles have trouble with. 

Maybe after a long hard rain.


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## nitehunter (Sep 14, 2009)

I have a 96 dodge ram 4x4 that I use at cape point and Oracoke for fall an spring drum runs I HAVE TO USE THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE Then I have a 2000 ford explorer 2 door that I have never used the 4x4 on the beach I think it all depends on the wheel base and the weight of the vehicle but its nice to have 4x4 when u need it:


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