Beach driving

what’s up guys looking for some advice for driving on the beach
. Recommended psi for sand
. Recommended deflators
. Any good air compressor setup
. Recommended tools to have with shovel, tow rope, etc
. Recommended speed to drive
. Good tent brands
. Overall advice or other forums

 

15 psi should do. i've heard of people going as low as 8psi though

 

When driving in sand a good rule of thumb is air down until the vehicle rolls some what freely when you let off the throttle. All depends on the moisture content of the particular sand you are driving on. There is no magic number you can shoot for.

 

On vacation now in NC. They require 20psi for curb weights below 5,000lb. I ran 20-22 for 16 miles yesterday without problem. The speed limit here is mostly 15mph. Very few stay with the posted speed.

I bought a Viair 300P recently that has a built in deflator. It took 35 to 20 psi in about 90-120 seconds. Air up is 3mins from 20-35psi on my 35/12.5/18s.

A small shovel is helpful. Always a snatch strap. Floor mats and beach towels work in a pinch if you don’t have traction tracks. And remember that if you get stuck you can usually reverse out in your own tracks if you haven’t buried it.

 

Appreciate it. I was on Carolina beach on Saturday.

 

Ran back up to Carova today. About 20 miles at 20psi through some of the nasty and never an issue. I am on 35/12.5/18 though so lots of flotation.

 

I'm heading to Hatteras the end of this month. Only thing I need to get is an air compressor and was looking at the vlair 300, seems to be a decent product with good reviews. Should have everything else covered besides traction boards.

 

The one nice item on the 300P is the locking deflator. It’s built into the air hose. You can attach it to the valve stem and depress and hold to deflate in small increments. You can also depress and turn 1/4 turn to lock the deflation. It’s nice to not have to kneel. Deflated my 35/12.5/18 from. 35 to 20 psi in about 2 mins.

 

Stay out of the saltwater.

 

It's unavoidable down here at times. I make sure I hit one of the special carwashes that blast the underside of the vehicle really well. Fortunately that's the only cause of rust in Texas, lol.

 

If you have an automatic trans, I drive in 3rd or 4th, mostly 3rd in soft sand.

Viair 400 auto, shovel, tow strap,

If you go off by yourself the list of stuff to get gets longer: jack e.g., Hilift, some type of sand traction device (e.g., treds, maxtrax)

 

Don't need one. Every gas station has air. The red drum tackle shop has it for free

OP just run 18 psi or less. I did some experimenting this past weekend 32 psi made it a couple hundred feet, 22 psi got me out but still stopped me down the beach, 17 psi was the sweet spot for me running 265/75r16. The truck floated on the sand. I'm sure 15 would be fine as well. I had to drive on the road a mile or so to get air so I didn't want to go below 17. This was all in very soft sand. A shovel and tow strap is all you need. Normally there are plenty of people that will help pull you out if needed (of course if your at a popular driving beach)

 

I'm running 285/70R17 Wildpeaks and I was just down at the coast of NC. I bought an annual pass for the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and tried my hand in sand for the first time. I was super cautious and aired down to 17 psi the first trip. I then got a tricep workout in the parking lot airing back up to 30 psi with the pump for my mountain bike (yeah... You can laugh... Haha). The next trip, I decided to see what difference running 30 psi made. The only difference was that I didn't get a tricep pump after leaving. I don't know what factors were really at play (type of sand at Fort Fisher, rain amount that week, design of the tires, etc.), but I'll probably save airing down for when I get stuck. For what it is worth, I tried the deepest/driest sand I could find, as well as the semi-moist sand from the tides. I did happen to see a few people get stuck and dig themselves down, but no Toyotas are on that list. If you don't have a sway bar, you don't even have to steer if you find some fresh tracks (video below). Have fun and be safe. Cheers!