Pismo Beach - Driving on sand, need advice.

Wish I could play on the dunes on our beach but it is Federally protected, no offroading. Have to stick with Fishing and Surfing to pass the time. You can get spacers for your dually so the tires don't rub when aired down.

Add to that list a good recovery strap and good d ring shackles.

Well made it back from my trip. I had an amazing time and can't wait to go back. I have an old FL250 Honda Odyssey that is just perfect for playing in the sand. A shame they don't make them anymore.

At any rate... When we got to the sand we aired down. Not remembering what was said on this thread, I asked someone else who looked like a regular and he suggested we air down to 30psi. We did so and then proceeded down to the campsites. When we got there, my buddy (also a 2WD pulling a 26ft trailer) turned in to head up towards the bathrooms. I followed behind and we both got stuck before we even made it up the small climb. Another regular offered to pull us out, my buddy declined (he was able to quickly dig out enough to get going) but I accepted the tow up the small climb. From there I drove parallel to the ocean till we were about 300 yards from the camper and parked it.

The next day we played in the dunes but when we got back, we were quite surprised to find that the wind was shifting the sand so much that it had caused the truck to settle and start listing! Rather than try to fix it with the wind, we improvised a temporary wind block to try to reduce the movement of the sand then went back out and played on the ATVs again.

That evening after the wind had died down we decided to tackle getting unburied. I started by deflating to 15psi while the other guys started to digging. When it was time to roll, I backed up a few feet to get started and then made a run at getting on top of the sand. Surprisingly enough, I made it out with no problem. I pulled forward maybe 50 feet and then parked it again. We then pulled my friend's trailer out with about equal amount of effort.

In the morning we packed up and I drove down to the hardpack sand with no issues. Since I have a dually and my sidewalls were touching, I elected to inflate right there. The rest of the trip proved to be uneventful.

A couple of notes...
1. Buy the automatic Airdowns from Amazon... http://a.co/d/eCi9kw1
2. Buy some Air Chucks to make it easier to inflate... http://a.co/d/hmGJDnt
3. Don't worry about getting stuck, there are so many people there willing to help you won't be stuck for long. Just prepare to offer a tip with cash or beer...
4. Have fun!

Going with a group that several have 4WD? Bring a tow strap and have some tow points added to the front of your vehicle if you do not have some. Do not arrive first or leave last. Bring a tide chart and arrive closer to low tide. Watch the tide forecast as there are periodic higher than normal tides if the sun and moon line up just right. I see people use cut 4x8 plywood to lean against the vehicle to block the wind a bit. I have never dragged my trailer out there but driven just the truck (4WD) and observed plenty. Quite normal to get stuck and dig a bit and get assisted out of a hole.

Dual tires are not an advantage in sand...bring a compressor so you can air back up.

More advice from having spent lots of time on the WA and OR coast were lots of people drive on the beach::::know and watch the tides. High tide has caused a great deal of grief to many.

Have a good trip.

Truck Camper Magazine has done several articles on beach camping. Here are two of them:

Beach Camping 101

How to Truck Camp on the Beach

One of the problems with dual wheels is that if you air them down too much, the outer sidewall of the inner tire and the inner sidewall of the outer tire can rub against each other. Not Good! One of these articles mentions that they put a 1 inch spacer between the wheels to alleviate this problem.

I am lucky that the dunes are in my backyard, with that said I do not drive my truck on the beach. I enjoy the beach by foot or in the passenger seat of a friend's rusted truck.

I see truck campers out there, and only a couple have been stuck. Like others have said, bring a strap, lots of locals that like to help. Do not blaze your own trail. Once on the beach, watch where heavier rigs are driving and follow their tracks. Stay on the hardpack. The creek is very passable this time of year. I would still air down a dually.

The Pismo/Oceano dunes have 2 entrances, if you are camping I would suggest entering the dunes at the southern entrance at Pier st. in Oceano, this will reduce the sand driving by about 3/4 of a mile. Camping begins past mile marker 2 which is past the creek. Until the end of September your camping spot will be between mile 2 and 6. Oceano dunes map

There are no quiet hours on the dunes. Expect to hear OHV's all night in addition to loud music. If that would bother you, North Beach state campground in Pismo Beach is a very nice campground near the dune entrance. You still need to trailer OHVs to the beach.

Hope you have a good trip.

Vids:

Good Drone footage of camping area on dunes from November 2017

Creek when it's high in winter. The best show all winter is to park next to the creek and watch people cross.

Be sure to park above the high tide line. Also, check how high the tides will be when you are there.

Make sure you have reservations. Summer months there won't be a creek to cross. Definitely air down, truck and trailer. Have a tow strap and a frame mounted hook on the front. Somebody in the group needs to be 4 wheel drive. A shovel for leveling and digging out is always nice.

We have one two wheel drive that camps on the beach with us and we have him disconnect from his trailer and then one 4 wheel drive pulls his trailer in and one pulls his truck in.

Keep in mind we typically camp on the top side. If you camp lower by the tide line you can usually get away with two wheel drive. Just make sure you are above the high tide line or camp will get wet. Lower also tends to be more cramped. Top side you can spread out a little.

And have fun. It is busy and can get a bit congested but still a great experience.

Air down to 15psi (if you can with the weight you have) and go from there. You want to float on top of the sand and this takes a deflated tire that is as wide as possible. Air the trailer down too.

Buy Salt Away at a boat supply store and spray everything you own with it and then after the trip stop by the first self serve car wash you can find and give everything a bath and then do it again.

If your going down to the South side cross the creek at Low Tide or soon there after. Do not attempt to cross if the water is deep or suffer the YouTube shame ;)

I've been there on forum rally years ago and even having 4WD F250 got stuck with light TT even before I reached soft sand.
But I did not want to air down my mud tires.
Than to get to nice spots you have to cross a creek. That depends on tide can be more or less challenging.
With your setup, rust issues aside, I would not go there without buddy driving good 4WD without camper and having good strap.
Lot of guys with compressor happy to air your tires back for few bucks, so no worry about this part.