Driving on beaches?

yabsquatch

Anyone taken out their Sport onto beaches? How did it hold it? Assuming it would be able to deal with compacted sand, but what about loose stuff or driving through deeper ruts?

I go to OBX a lot. I’ve seen all kinds of vehicles on the sand. I have a grand Cherokee I have taken out there as well and it does completely fine. Just air down to at least 18psi and you’ll be good to go. Grab some recovery boards off Amazon as well, totally worth it just in case. You can get them for $100 or less (got a Mazda CX-9 out of some deep sand with mine once). They didn’t air down or have any clue how to drive in sand.

Depends on the sand. Where in the world is the sand you want to drive on. Sand size varies dramatically from one area to another. The softer and fluffier the sand, the more likely you are to have troubles.

thgdfathr

I go to OBX a lot. I’ve seen all kinds of vehicles on the sand. I have a grand Cherokee I have taken out there as well and it does completely fine. Just air down to at least 18psi and you’ll be good to go. Grab some recovery boards off Amazon as well, totally worth it just in case. You can get them for $100 or less (got a Mazda CX-9 out of some deep sand with mine once). They didn’t air down or have any clue how to drive in sand.

Awesome - yeah I'll be in OBX this summer and might be driving a Sport. Would love to take a trip up to Corolla.

And good call on the recovery boards. I'll look into picking up some before the trip.

as mentioned, you'll get HUGE benefit from dropping the air pressure in your tires to about 18psi - so make sure you have a way to air them back up when you're done. traction boards are helpful as also mentioned. While you're out driving, pay attention to how many other people are around - don't get yourself into a situation where you might get stuck and there's nobody else to ask for help. Most offroad enthusiasts are happy to help someone else if they get stuck, so just make sure they're always within line of sight :) have fun!

I think it would be OK on hard packed sand. Loose sand might be an issue just because of clearance. And always air down. You will leave less deep ruts for others.

yabsquatch

Awesome - yeah I'll be in OBX this summer and might be driving a Sport. Would love to take a trip up to Corolla.

And good call on the recovery boards. I'll look into picking up some before the trip.

Good thing about OBX is there are usually always others around. Limited locations where you’re allowed to drive on the beaches. You’ll have to buy a permit, which can be done online (usually like $50 for the season I think). There are some air refill stations off a few of the ramps, but I’d suggest just getting a small on board air pump. I got one from
Harbor freight that I hook to my battery that works great and isn’t too pricey. Don’t spend $400 on max traxx boards unless you’re doing hardcore off roading. I got the $75 ones and they work great. Also, drive in the path of other tires for the best traction since it will be packed down better. You’ll know pretty quick when you pop out of the ruts and are driving in loose stuff. Have fun and take some photos!

for reference…found this car in the background of one of my trips out there. This was on the Point in Buxton. If that car with street tires can make it, your bronco sport will do just fine.

thgdfathr

Good thing about OBX is there are usually always others around. Limited locations where you’re allowed to drive on the beaches. You’ll have to buy a permit, which can be done online (usually like $50 for the season I think). There are some air refill stations off a few of the ramps, but I’d suggest just getting a small on board air pump. I got one from
Harbor freight that I hook to my battery that works great and isn’t too pricey. Don’t spend $400 on max traxx boards unless you’re doing hardcore off roading. I got the $75 ones and they work great. Also, drive in the path of other tires for the best traction since it will be packed down better. You’ll know pretty quick when you pop out of the ruts and are driving in loose stuff. Have fun and take some photos!

Excellent advice - thank you!!

Turn off traction control in the sand. It will cut power due to the loose traction and cause you to more easily bog. If there is a "sand" mode, it usually cuts traction control, so use sand-mode if you have it.

AcesandEights

Turn off traction control in the sand. It will cut power due to the loose traction and cause you to more easily bog. If there is a "sand" mode, it usually cuts traction control, so use sand-mode if you have it.

And it will burn up your brakes since it will think you are skidding and will start using ABS. Good advice with that as well. Definitely turn that off.