Forester in Sand

Test drove a Forester today - very impressive! I would want to use it occasionally for surf fishing at Cape Hatteris seashore and was wondering if anyone has any experience using it in sand at the beach. I am concerned about low ground clearance. Any experiences?

Reply to
Robert Krieger
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Not with a Forester but with an Impreza and my advice is: stay on the hard stuff or you'll get beached.

Reply to
powertrain

Robert, No first hand experience driving in sand, yet :-)

Besides this news group I also monitor the following Yahoo discussion groups.

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The Forester owners involved in the Yahoo groups tend to be more "performance" or "off-road" focused in their discussions. What I have assessed from the off road guys is, when driving in sand you should... . lower your tire pressure and . be aware of causing damage to the sump guard/ skid plate on the bottom of the vehicle.

FWIW Tom

Reply to
Tom Forsha

my 93 impreza ( with the local sticker) does great at the outer banks. I am sure you have more clearance than I do . Besides bottoming out (and reversing out) my trips have been uneventful. Do make sure to wash the underside as well as the body when you leave. I do drop the tire pressure to 10-15 psi and remember to start off slowly in the sand. Most people try to use the snow/sand hard launch spin start and dig a pit. Once you begin moving gas it and go. Do not make sharp turns or you will dig in and try to follow previous tracks and if you do back, stay in your tracks. The weight advantage we have makes all the diff. Wait til you pass a mega z71 and watch! AJ

Reply to
here

I haven't had my OBW on the beach yet, but have taken my 1991 Isuzu Trooper many times on the sand in the Outer Banks (used to live in Virginia Beach). I think you'll be fine, IF you stay below the high tide line (on the packed sand). When driving on the softer sand, you'll encounter serious ruts that can easily bottom you out if you don't have high clearance. My Trooper has good clearance, but several times I've been worried (although never stuck). I usually lower my tire pressure to around 15psi or so, to get the extra "grab." It makes a huge difference. In the summer season, I've many times seen SUV owners go plowing into the sand at the access points, and become stuck within 20 feet. Just because you have 4WD or AWD doesn't make you invincible!

Reply to
Brian Wasson

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