| truck11 |
Planing a trip to Carolina Beach (NC) and driving on the beach. I have done it before in my Dakota pick-up with stock tires with no problems - any inputs on if the Pilot with stock set up will handle the soft sand?
-- VTM4 on of course
-- 15-20lbs of air in the tires
-- no sharp turns
-- no sudden starts or stops
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Julian |
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| StarBlazer |
| I was in Corolla, NC two weeks ago. We trailered down a Jeep. I was quite suprised to see quite a few Pilot's on the beach. There were CRV's as well. In fact, I say that "normal" street SUV's far outnumbered the specialty 4x4's. There were a few vehicles stuck one day we went (it was clear these people were driving across the "lanes") That night there was a heavy rain. The next day when we went out, there was no one stuck. We did not air down the tires either day. Crossing the ruts should be your biggest concern. |
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| spikeitaudi |
Took my pilot 4wd with Michelin Cross Terrains out on the beach above Corolla where the main road ends and goes into the beach area. There were many many SUV's stuck in the sand where it is deep and soft. I drove closer to the waterline where it was packed and where I couldn't drive by the water I stayed in the tracks of others and kept a consistant speed. Never stopped unless it was on the packed side near the water. Didn't even deflate. Pilot was good, but not as good as my old Treg.
Funny thing is my brother that had an 06 MDX with the same tires but in 17's and got stuck. Had to get somebody to pull him out. I had no problems with my 16's.
Again keep the speed consistant and only stop on sure footing. |
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| spikeitaudi |
This is what I mean by staying near the water on the beach.
Pic of the Pilot on the beach in OBX.
Again stay near the water. |
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| spikeitaudi |
| One more suggestion if driving on the beach. When you get back to your rental or home or wherever you are staying its problay a good idea to just rinse off the bottom of your Pilot. Salt Water + Sand isn't a great thing for the undercarriage of the car. :) |
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| truck11 |
Thanks guys.
I am not worried about the hard pack stuff, more worried about the soft rutted stuff - like the access onto the beach and up closerto the dunes (from past experience)
Seems like my plans are changing by the minute - now the wifey want to go to the Outter Banks. WHere can you drive on the beach there? I have only been once before about 7 years ago - don't remember anything about where to get on the beach. We wanted to drive on the beach and stop somewhere and go swimming etc for the day. |
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| spikeitaudi |
| Take 158 (Wrigth Memorial Bridge) to Rt 12 and just take it to the end. It will go into the North Beach access road. And you are on the beach. That is where my pics are from. |
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| StarBlazer |
We went North of Corolla just like spikeitaudi. In fact you can rent homes North ofCorollla that are 4x4 access only. Driving near the water line has the most pack sand, but it might not be pratical. Depending on the time of day, most people park just off the waterline and fish or sit out on the waterline. I'm not so comfortable driving around the pedestrians. They could be confused with the line you take and make an unexpected move one way or the other. Also there are children. I'd rather deal with the ruts than the people. Keeping a constant speed and constant line is the best advice. There are going to be times that you weill have to cross the ruts. Like when people are stopped looking at the wild horses or traffic coming right at you from the other direction.
There are other beaches down toward Hatteras that are 4x4 beaches but I did not go on these, just drove past the access points on the way to the lighthouse. |
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| truck11 |
Got any good places to look at to rent? It's only the wifey and my 2yo son going down for about 4 nights mid September???
Was ultimatly just going to trailer the small Coleman pop-up and go camping down the southern end (near Hatteras i think) |
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| spikeitaudi |
quote:
Originally posted by truck11
Got any good places to look at to rent? It's only the wifey and my 2yo son going down for about 4 nights mid September???
Was ultimatly just going to trailer the small Coleman pop-up and go camping down the southern end (near Hatteras i think)
This is who I use:
http://www.corollaclassicvacations.com/
But they are mostly weekly rentals. |
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| StarBlazer |
| we use Twiddy. |
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| sagaliba |
quote:
Originally posted by spikeitaudi
Funny thing is my brother that had an 06 MDX with the same tires but in 17's and got stuck. Had to get somebody to pull him out. I had no problems with my 16's.
There is a reason why real SUVs stay away from those low profile tires! :)
Due to the fact that those tires have less sidewalls, they are not as flexible as /70 or /75 profile tires. The characteristics that make them better at high-speed cornering also make them worse at off-roads. |
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| spikeitaudi |
quote:
Originally posted by sagaliba
There is a reason why real SUVs stay away from those low profile tires! :)
Due to the fact that those tires have less sidewalls, they are not as flexible as /70 or /75 profile tires. The characteristics that make them better at high-speed cornering also make them worse at off-roads.
Never had a problem in the sand with my 04 V8 Touareg with 18's and Nokian WRs. |
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| sagaliba |
Of course there are a lot of other factors involved (e.g., different tires/tire pressures, circumstances, etc.). Assuming everything else being equal, what makes low-profile tires better in high-speed cornering (i.e., less side wall sway) makes them less desirable off-roads (i.e., less side wall flex).
Lower tire pressure can always help, but you would need to lower a bit more in high-profile tires to achieve the same flex. Besides, there is a limit on how much you can lower (e.g., you cannot lower it to zero). |
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| jon316 |
I was on the Outer Banks in July. I drove on deep, loose, rutted sand the entire time.
I lowered the Goodyear Integrity tire pressure to 20#. I could stop and go as I pleased. I could cross ruts, turn, stop, start and I never got on the sand packed by the surf. I stayed in VTM-4 lock most of the time.
In the 20 years I've been going to the Outer Banks, I've tried both methods: Normal tire pressure, and lowered pressure. The lowered pressure works better. There's a reason why the signs at the access suggest lowering your tire pressure, fewer people get stuck. I've never been stuck either way, but driving on the soft tires is much easier.
Upon returning to pavement, I would just take it easy until I got to a filling station; sometimes driving six or seven miles. Some accesses have filling stations. Many of the older tackle and bait shops have a filling station, too. I make a point to trade at the places providing this convenience. They've really been hurt by the NPS beach closure.
I tried using the little compressors but it takes too long in the hot sun to fill four tires.
And, there'd been no rain for some time, so all the sand was sugar sand. Driving on hard sand is like driving on dirty pavement; where's the fun in that?
Beach access, on the other hand, is getting scarce. Here's a link so you can see what's open and what's closed.
http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvis...gleearthmap.htm
Enjoy. The Pilot does very well on the sand. |
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| phunternj |
The Pilot runs fine at Island Beach State Park, NJ. The sand here looks to be a little softer and deeper than the NC pictures that have been posted.
The kids and the dog had a great time and the weather in the north east was outstanding Sunday and Labor Day. |
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| iam1ru12 |
Here's a shot of us driving on Hatteras Island a few weeks ago. We were staying North of Duck in the Pine Island area and also got a chance to drive on 4x4 Only section North of Corolla. Even without airing down the tires, I was able to cross the ruts, start, stop, etc.
-Mike |
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