LR4 On The Beach Advice

[vivaldi1]

Hey Folks,

Gonna take my LR4 to the beach soon and they let you drive on the beach (Corolla, NC). The beach is probably 80-100 yards at low tide from water to dunes. Towards the water it's packed sand but it can get very soft and deep (12 inch+ tire grooves) towards the dunes. You can also go over the dunes as there are wild horses (and some dirt roads).

When I asked at the dealer if I needed to let air out of the tires with the LR4 to drive on the beach, they said no. But a quick search on Google shows that most 4x4 folks recommend it.

Anyways, just curious if anybody has had any LR4 experience/tips for driving on beach sand (and if any special equipment required if I get stuck).

Thanks!

 

[DennisL]

My advice, HAVE FUN!
We were there a few years ago with our RX330. If you happen to see the front plastic strip for the undercarriage. Please let us know. I'll try to find its current owner. Needless to say we got stuck & let our air pressure down. After being towed out. Alot of the rental companies have air stations for their customers use. So look into that.

My feeling is if you drive smart (stay out of the deep sand & use easy foot on the gas), you'll be fine. It's something I have thought about since getting the LR4.

My wife says NO on any possibility of return. We were about 1 mile from VA border.

There is usually a tow truck @ the entrance - have your cell phone & get his number. Let us know how it does!

Hope this helps,

Dennis

 

[ndrenfro]

I am going to the Outer Banks as well soon, later in September. I cant wait to get the LR4 on the beach. We are gonna drive down Cape Hatteras and camp on the beach. My plan for driving is to deflate tire pressure down to 20psi or so. I have a portable compressor from VIAIR that i will use to reflate. Im also thinking about getting one of the ARB X-Jacks, which is an airjack you connect to your exhaust to lift the car. Just in case i get stuck. A shovel may not be a bad idea to have as well. Here is a link to a similar discussion over on the LR3 board, if you havent already seen it.

http://forums.landroverworld.org/showthread.php?t=19067

Let us know how the trip goes...an any tips you have for me!

 

[vivaldi1]

Thanks for the tips!

Just bought a portable shovel, tow rope, compressor, and exhaust jack - just in case.

ndrenfro, and actually, by soon, I meant October We spend 2 weeks there in October every year. Great time to go.

So you'll be there before me. So please be letting me know how it goes for you!

I did the Jeep rentals there in the past, but I went when high tide was coming in and tried to get to the VA border from Corolla and it got very hairy and scary as the water crept far up the beach and it was mostly pure soft irregular sand. I had my mother and Fiance in the car and I swear they were crying while I was madly excited. Never got stuck, but the Jeep we were driving had fat tires at ultra low inflation, higher clearance, and probably weighed 60% of what the LR4 does. None of the fancy 4x4 LR4 goodies, but it did the job amazingly. It was almost like a roller coaster ride thru parts of the journey.

I'm not looking to repeat that experience though since the LR4 is mine. I'll be more conservative.

The most hilarious thing I think I've seen on that beach though is an old stock Cutlass Supreme cruising down the beach like it was butter. No special tires or suspension as far as I could tell.

If that thing didn't get stuck and my LR4 does, I'll be humiliated.

 

[ndrenfro]

vivaldi1 - I just got back from the Outer Banks and wanted to let you know that the LR4 performed perfectly on the beach. We traveled all the way north to where the road ends in Carolla. I lowered tire pressures to 20 psi, put it in sand mode, raised it up, and drove in 2nd gear with no problems at all. Some of the sand was hard, some very soft and thick. We drove all the way up to the VA border and then drove over some dunes into the area with homes looking for the wild horses, which we found. Going over the dunes i just kept the momentum all the way through and the LR4 just plowed through no problem. There were a lot of 4wd vehicles up there. It didnt look like most of them lowered their tire pressures so i doubt that it is necessary but i just wanted to be safe. The only thing i took was my pump to reflate the tires, no shovel, tracks, or anything. And i had the car loaded down with lots of stuff in the trunk and 4 passengers. Was a lot of fun. Highly recommend you go for it and enjoy it!

 

[vivaldi1]

Thanks Ndenfro!

I'm going this Saturday for 2 weeks. Can't wait. I play to spend at least half that time driving on the beach. But during low tide mostly

Were you in low or high range? And did you ever feel like the LR was about to get stuck? Some of those entrances behind the dunes are hairy. Do you remember which milepost you entered for the dunes?

Thanks so much for the tips. You should post some pics if you have any!

 

[ndrenfro]

Here are a couple of pics on the beach. And here's a video of me plowing through one of the dunes to get back to the beach YouTube - MVI_5254.MOV

I was in high range the whole time. I just shifted between 2nd and 3rd gear. Never felt like it was going to get stuck. I went through some soft deep sand where i tried to stay in the ruts. But other times i just had to go through the deep stuff and it handled the sand fine. We drove all the way up to the VA border, and i exited the beach at the 3rd dune from the VA border, and then came back on the beach on another one further down, not sure where.

 

[ndrenfro]

Sorry, here are the pics.

One of me airing down, and another driving down the beach.

 

[OffRoving]

When we drive in the sand:

• low range [so you have the power you need before you get stuck]
• air down 10lbs
• sand mode [spin only when you need to]
• 2-3 gear but Drive works fine for 90% of the time
• slow starts with "aggressively gradual" acceleration
• keep momentum at all costs [especially when going uphill]

 

[vivaldi1]

Offroving,

You seriously go down to 10 pounds? I also thought low range in sand will strain the vehicle more than you need to and is unnecessary.

Are you driving in 'super sand' ? Sahara desert stuff?

Ndrefro,

Awesome pics! Thanks for posting. Glad you found the horses.

Looks like the weather won't be as nice when I'm there, oh well. More fun