im going to the outer banks for a week in october leaving on the 8th. im taking the dodge and i want to know if it will make it through the sand down there? i know to air the tires down real low. they are stock bfg's. im just wondering what to expect or if i should do it at all. this will be my first time with a truck in the sand. love playin in the mud, but newbie to sand. any help would be great.

 

you should be fine, were are you going to? If you go to corolla it a great beach to ride on. theres a cul de sac at the end of the road that people park at to air down that leads right on to the beach "if its still there after the hurricane". what Ive done in the past is not air down but maintain speed "a rolling start from the pavement" across the loose stuff until I could get close to the water. once your there the sand is tight and you can drive easy. "BE AWARE OF THE STUMPS" the water side of the beach is for driving up "NORTH" the dune side is for coming back "SOUTH" its a traffic pattern parking is in the middle if you want to stop. Oregon inlet is about the same closer to hatteras than Corolla, Corolla is north by duck. you can stay on the beach all night but you cant sleep. theres plenty of good folks that will help you get unstuck but bring your own tow rope. theres also wild horses on corolla but you cant get close to them, some one shot three of them a few years ago so its bad JUJU to get close to them. theres a visitors center at nags head on the right as you get off the bridge about 2 miles up stop in and they can tell you what gates are open there maked by mile markers. its a great place to go at night corolla is very fun to be people have parties on the beach with fires, oregon inlet theres more fisherman there but still cool to go to.these are the only places I go to but theres many more. I was on Fenwick island MD in june great place. good luck hope this helps.
Bring a fishing pole... A big Fishing pole surf fishin is great!!
Have Fun
strips of chain link fence 2'X4' work good to keep you from sinking if you get stuck and you can roll the up

 

Just like mentioned above, if you keep the speed up, you can/will float over it, but I like to always air down my tires. I live about 10 minutes from Kitty Hawk, on the mainland(you will nearly pass by my house on your way down, I live in Grandy NC).

 

The stock tires are marginal on sand. I did "ok" with the stock tires aired down to 15-18psi. If you stay on the hard packed sand, you will have no problems. Do not spin your tires or make sharp turns. I have seen alot of people stuck in the Carova Beach area north of Corolla. Usually people get stuck when they get into deep ruts with low clearance vehicles or drive into an area of soft sand (by the dunes) without airing down. With 285 BFGs, my truck floats on the sand much better and will go just about anywhere on the beach/dunes that I want to go. Going really fast on the sand to float instead of airing down is a great way to damage your truck or have an accident. Two people got killed on Assateague Island last year because the driver of an H2 thought that getting drunk and baja-ing on the beach would be fun. I have been renting houses in Carova Beach for a fews years. It is an awesome place for a fishing/offroading vacation. I have pictures of both of my trucks offroading in Carova on this site and on pavementsucks.com. PM me if you have any questions about the area.

 

I go to the beach a lot with the family, and you can see pics in my "gallery" I go with 305/70-16 and don't air down one PSI. No problems. I keep er in 4X4 low-less tear on the tranny and watch my tranny temp guage.

 

i found 18psi was best, don't want to risk blowing a bead. buried the truck at 60psi on the stock michelins. if you're a good samaritan carry a tow strap, every time i'm on the remote access beaches i see someone try to take their minivan/camaro on the sand. they make it about 30'

 

True Story....Our honey moon last year was in the Outer Banks-and good ol me didnt do my homework before going so we took my (no longer with us) Crown Vic down. After driving to the end of the pavement in Corolla, I was amazed at the "sand road" so much I attempted it with the car. Made it about 10 feet and sunk Next time we will take the Jeep down.