Driving in Sand

Shouldn't have any problems driving on the beach. I won't go into the dunes. Having driven Army trucks in the desert in "real" sand I know from experience it can take a lot of horsepower to power through loose sand. Twice I had to have 6X6 AWD diesel powered trucks winched out of sand.

Acknowledging I haven't taken an AWD vehicle into sand... beware very deep, soft sand. Once you get more than a couple inches deep in sand it takes a bunch of power to move forward (you are actually moving the sand behind you as you move) and I don't know how much of that your AWD system will put up with. At work I have to take my F350 SuperDuty 4WD all sorts of places, and the soft sand of the Navajo rez is as challenging as several inches of snow... just not as slippery. In any case, take a shovel with you. A few minutes of shoveling will work wonders if you are stuck in sand.

I'd think wet beach sand would be no problem, but the dry stuff... dunno.

Mike

I've taken my '05 OBW Limited onto the beach on Assateague Island in Maryland twice. There's a combination of wet/hard packed sand and soft sand. It did pretty darn well. The most difficult part was driving out of the tracks left be larger 4x4's. When I was on soft/dry sand, I kept the speed up. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't have the horsepower to get through the dry sand if I let it slow down or stopped (base 4cyl, automatic), but it actually did OK.

--- Jay

Just remember one thing, Salt Water + Metal = RUST.

I will never forget the scene in Cocoa Beach many, many years ago, when some guy drove his sedan out on the hard packed sand. I guess he decided his car was dirty, and proceeded to wash it. He was carrying buckets of the Atlantic Ocean over to use as is water source. I wonder what his car looked like a year or so later.

It's probably not much different than what I got today driving down I-94 in the Michigan snow belt. The road is wet with a mixture of melted snow and road salt. My black OBW has a layer of salty dirt.

But that guy was an idiot anyway...imagine the spots!

-John O

Damp, packed beach sand is no problem. Just for fun, I took my Outback into it and tried to spin all 4 tires. Couldn't do it, just got good traction....

As others have said, stay away from dry dunes unless you don't need to get home any time soon (:

So did you actually check the laws or regulations regarding that strip of property to determine if you are actually allowed to drive there? Just because you might have a monster truck capable of handling sand doesn't mean it is legal to drive there. I'm sure the other beachgoers don't appreciate some a-hole digging up trenches in their beach.

Yeah, if you go to the nps.gov and look up Cape Hatteras National Seashore it says that you can drive on the beach. So I am assuming that you don't know anything about the Subaru AWD. Thanks

I've taken both my '03 OBW and my '91 Isuzu Trooper on the sand in the Outer Banks (usually at the northern end, above Corolla). As others have said, driving at low tide on the packed sand isn't a problem. The Subaru should handle the dry sand OK, too. The biggest problem is dealing with the many ruts in the sand from other vehicles. I got hung up several times with the Subaru, basically bottoming out. Not a problem with the Trooper, as it sits a lot higher. I have seen a number of other Outbacks on the beach, and they seemed to be doing OK.

On the Trooper I reduced the tire pressure quite a bit, which helps the tires get more bite on the sand. I didn't do this on the Outback, as the sidewall height of the tire is pretty low compared to the Trooper.

Also, the comment about power is well taken. It does take a decent amount of power to get out of tricky spots. Consider how difficult it can be to walk in soft sand and you get the idea.

I did have the Trooper back in the dunes a few times, and didn't have any problems with getting stuck. However, beware the nasty scrub oak trees, which can do a real number on your car's paint (trust me on this! :-)

I once watched somebody driving a BMW SUV go driving straight onto the beach off one of the access ramps you mentioned. He got stuck within 50 feet. Slow and steady on the gas, with deliberate steering movements, is the way to go.

Sand varies widely. If it's damp, there usually isn't any problem, BUT: If it's very wet you may find pockets of "quicksand" (not like in the "B" movies, but same general idea) that will stop you cold. Watch out for it, especially in low spots. Some dry sand will pack enuf to support a vehicle, some won't, and it's often difficult to tell without testing it. Best to let the "big boys" do the testing for you; if they don't appear to be having too much trouble, your AWD Soobie probably won't either. I have seen very fine wind-blown sand actually form an inch or so of crust firm enough to walk on w/o leaving a mark, but below that it was bottomless, flour-fine and slippery feeling. I can envision some hapless soul nonchalantly driving out onto this surface for some distance before the crust gave way. My-oh-my would that be one stuck individual. Also note that sand is abrasive; tough on suspension pivots, brakes, wheel bearings, etc. not to mention the corrosive effects of ocean salt. Your best bet is to stay away from sand, but if you do go, travel in pairs, bring tools to extricate yourselves, and if you play by the ocean, get thee to thy car wash, pronto, after thou'rt done :-)

ByeBye! S. Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101