Pismo Beach - Driving on sand, need advice.
I'm looking at going to Pismo Beach for the first time with some guys from my local church. Nothing big, just a weekend trip to camp and ride some ATVs. Looking at some YouTube videos it looks like it...
Forum Discussion
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!
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!
