Two wheeling at the beach!

Hi all- I've been an off-road enthusiast for my whole driving life (I'm 40). I know you can do a lot on two-wheels and I know where I'm likely to get stuck but I haven't been tossing cars in places they don't belong since I was very young.

I'm looking to potentially live in a place with no real roads, only sandy beach access for > 1 mile. Can I get by with 2 wheels? This is US East Coast sand that's pretty universal in its consistency from like New England down to Georgia.

I've never once been able to get a 4x4 stuck at the beach, even when trying but I know when I hit the sand and I'm 2WD within 100' so, the question I have is if I deflate my tires, perhaps even invest in an LSD for when I do get stuck, am I good? Is the LSD complete overkill? (or even beneficial?? I've never truly looked into LSD on a 2WD for "being stuck" traction)

I'm less worried about clearance, there's a big difference between bottoming out sand at 10mpnh and 30mph and I've experienced enough to keep that managed. (but please tell me if I'm being stupid here too). Also if I find myself doing that I'll lift.

Figured, why not ask the people who drive the ideal truck that I'd buy for the situation and that's Taco people. Thanks Taco people!

Don't be surprised if you see a Chevy Bolt with 2 big beach tires running around North Carolina some day soon..

Potential me in the future (with a better looking dog) Jeeps and Tacos are so cliche:

 

You should be fine. I've never gotten a 2WD car or truck stuck at the beach

 

This was always my "conventional wisdom" but I just got back last week and this year I saw every kind of small SUV stuck. I would never think twice about airing down an Explorer and driving on the beach but I saw 2 separate Explorers with the Sheriff behind them in the same day.

I don't want to be a smug asshole and be like, "if they just would have aired down" and find out I'm wrong with only 1 4x4 and 1 EV living on the beach lol.

 

It's a very popular beach I'm sure many here have been to in OBX. Essentially there are a few groups of houses along the entire stretch of beach and the road ends where the map says "Corolla" and I'm just getting into the market now so I don't know what lot will eventually be mine. I'm more partial to seclusion which means I'd be way more to the north (you can't access it from the north because Virginia has a big ol fence and is like, "You people keep yo crazy ass trucks out" as seen below:



(PS, I'm neither a Nissan or a Titan guy, just a rental)

 

If you get into that Carolina Sugar Sand, you're gotta have a bad time in 2WD.

 

I knew it wouldn't take long to find someone who "knows" sometimes I feel like half the 4x4 community lives in, around or goes to OBX, lol.

But I see a ton of locals, especially service people in service vans, etc. driving 2WD. Is this a thing they just do in season and deal with it when they get stuck and pay someone to get them out?

I'd never call myself a talented rally race car driver but if someone is driving a 2WD fleet truck for a crappy salary on the beach and not getting stuck I want to believe I could do it too.

 

Find a decent used 4x4, regular cab with a hitch. Put a cheap aluminum flat bed on it, some slightly wider, soft tires on 16” rims (think squishy). Take a wire wheel on a grinder and a couple cans of boat primer to any existing rust or rust-prone areas… cooler, maxtrax, shovel, jack board, dynamic recovery rope, shackle butt plug.

 

So let me put it this way, there's nothing stopping me from going to my father's house and telling him to take my Bolt and I'll take his '95 Cherokee Sport. Your answer appears to be: Do that and if you wind up living there forever buy more appropriate vehicle and ditch the Bolt.

 

Dad’s Jeep would be a fine beach rig.

A professional beach recovery can be very expensive.

The salt and sand down there destroys everything… everything.

Cheap, sturdy and simple is where it’s at if you wanna live at the beach.

 

100% and we have similar minds. Frankly I'd love to have a late '80s F150 with a rust-free frame. Something I can keep at the dune lines on a truck where parts are cheap, plentiful and every dented exhaust part doesn't cost me $2,000. I'm betting a vehicle like that driven without abuse and meticulously sprayed would last a long, long time. My bigger concern with rust isn't the beach, I know how to not be stupid on the beach itself, it's once you get over the dune and go home. Those puddles. They're not salt free puddles and if you can't avoid them on the way to your house, I literally don't know what the answer is.

The reason I'm going in with the Bolt potentially is because I'm mulling picking up a Gladiator and renting it out in-season. For the next 1-2 years if you can list a Gladiator specifically on Turo in OBX I think you're pretty much guaranteed $300 / day. A taco would be my first choice (hence why I'm on a Taco forum) but the convertible of the Gladiator makes it a beach rental dream. I dunno if you know OBX or not but it's legit crazy down there and it's hard to make actual business decisions cause who knows how it will all eventually settle out...

Anyways, if I do that I'll wind up with a 4-Runner and Gladiator in my driveway, otherwise it'll be a Taco and 4-runner. We're just trying to figure out the in-between

...and the tl;dr: sounds like I'm trading the Bolt for a '95 Cherokee in the short term. Or not, who knows, I'd love to be that weirdo driving an EV on the beach. Let's see how lithium-ion holds up to salt spray!

 

Man if by "MNMLST" you mean you always like to cut the the chase...

 

If the sand is wet you’re fine, if you can keep your speed up, you’re probably fine. But a lot of the sand to get to the beach is very fine and very deep. I can’t tell you how many F250s in 2500s I have pulled out. Even with them having 4x4.

Its different than sand out West.

@ajohnson or @jlemmond would probably be more qualified than me to answer your question though. They are out there way more than I am.

 

Check out "Corolla Beach Idiots" on Facebook.

 

That’s a bit of an overstatement. I’ve driven a good number of beaches along the East Coast and they are all different.

Also, it really depends on the approach to the beach. If you can get to the high tide line easily, then there’s a good chance you’ll be fine. Is the approach smooth so you can keep your speed up? Or is it bumpy and rutted out? Are the ruts so deep that you’ll bottom out? Is the sand packed after a rain or is it wind blown and dry?

For reference, I was at the OBX and drove it 100% in 2WD. But I can’t make it past the entrance ramp at Assateague without 4WD. It really just depends on a number of factors.

 

Ok...here goes my response.

Im sure, youll be fine till your not.

Ive been north of corolla and stayed in corova many times. All over the coast of NC and there are times of the year and some weather conditions that MIGHT permit use of a 2wd HIGH CLEARENCE vehicle.

But more often then not...i wouldnt recommend it. If the tide doesnt wreck the conditions the heat and ruts will.

When the tides low and its off season you can move down and ride the waters edge( i dont personally ). However when its high tide and/or peak season you will be forced to hug the dunes. The sand gets soft and deep, quick. 2wd might work but low clearence will not.

What i stated previously gets you down the beach but not over the dunes. Those entry roads to corova get deep and chewed up from renters and home owners coming and going along with people joy riding.

As far as weather conditions...moisture and cool temps keep the sand somewhat compacted. Stay in the tracks and you MIGHT be ok. The ruts will still get deep. Turn the heat up and dry the sand up and it gets super soft. Ive seen normal everyday halfton 4x4's get stuck in those types of conditions.

Last thing, the beach is still the highway, its still highway 12. People use it like a highway. Contruction, mail, solid waste...20tons cranes etc.

Do not get your 2wd commuter car stuck with an incomming tide moving at 530 pm on a friday. Dont be that guy.

 

Nah…. BE ‘that guy’.



UToobers gotta eat too.

 

Im gonna ad one last thing.

When i said "dont be that guy" i really meant to say was "dont be the douche bag that inconveniences other people b/c you chose to do something that you new you shouldnt have"

Its not an offroad park, its not a state park. Some of the people that you will inevitably inconvenience are not out there for fun, there driving on that beach making money for there family etc.

What your talking about doing is irresponsible IMHO.

Enough stupid shit happens and they'll make changes that effect everybody. Residents and tourists alike.

 

I live about two hours inland from Nags Head and have spent a good bit of time driving on the OBX over the past fifty plus years (although it’s been more around Hatteras since things got so upscale in the northern sections). You will need 4WD and you will need to air down unless you plan to only drive just above the surf line at low tide (and that’s no guarantee for success). 2WD won’t cut it although you might see some box trucks on ag flotation tires in use by the drum fisherman on Cape Lookout. The LEO’s that monitor that stretch of beach have a well known low tolerance for dumbassery.