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Discrimination against Subarus on the beach

23K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  GeoJosh 
#1 · (Edited)
Subarus on the beach

I was told by two cops on the beaches of Brigantine NJ that you are not allowed to have AWD and drive on the beach. It handled the sand with ease.
 
#6 ·
Proving them wrong...

We are in North Carolina at the Outer Banks and made a trip to Carova Beach. This is rough terrain and pretty rough to navigate. About a mile out from the ramp to the beach, the signs saying "4x4" only start and suggest that you need a Jeep or lifted pickup. Being a smart Subie owner, I did my reading, brought along an air compressor, shovel and recovery straps, and knew what I was capable of BEFORE embarrassing myself or putting my family at risk. I have owned a Jeep and a Dodge pickup, but this is our first car-based SUV.

so here's the 30-second review: We saw only one other Subaru out there, an Outback, and was the only vehicle with bright yellow New York plates. The rest of our family paid for a wild horse tour, but I can't live with myself leaving our Fozzie in a parking lot. The guide made a joke that I would get my car dirty, but I was right on his tail the whole time (he was in a Hummer H1). The locals with the lifted trucks looked stunned and were routing for us to get stuck, but the Fozzie not only kept up with the crowd, it blew past a few trucks and a Chevy Equinox that was a good 2 feet under the sand.

In the end, our purchase was worth every penny and we got the official nod of approval from the locals.
 
#10 ·
Over a decade ago I bought a Forester because I wanted something I could afford to drive to the Outer Banks multiple times a year and could handle the beach while there. With literally hundred of miles of beach driving through the years I've seen MANY 4x4 pickups and SUVs stuck...BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN ME!!!
1. Beach to the Va. border
2. Border 2009.
3. Border 2010.
4. Border 2011.
5. Pole road south of Hatteras Village.
6.Hatteras Inlet. As far south as you can go without taking the ferry to Ocracoke.
 
#16 ·
Man, I used to drive in sand all the time back in NM, and never deflated my tires, nor did I ever get stuck. And I was running 45 PSI in my BFGoodrich All Terrains too!

Drove on a beach once and never for a second considered I would ever get stuck. I will say that I see full size trucks (especially the heavy diesels) buried in sand all the time back when I lived in NM. They're just too heavy.
 
#17 ·
Airing down does make it easier to “float” across the soft sand and your Foz wont work as hard. Also, at least on the southern beaches of OBX, airing down is also considered a courtesy to others since tires at pressure tend to dig deeper washboard ruts that that make travel more difficult and unpleasant for those that come after. If you do get bogged and need some help many of the seasoned beach driving fishermen that may have offered assistance will drive away when they realize you didn’t air down.
 
#18 ·
Giving advice to a Jeep owner?

After the baptism of our Fozzie on its first beach trip, I stopped in a shopping center parking lot in Corolla to fill up the tires. A guy with a Jeep Commander saw me with my air compressor and asked if I just came from the beach. He said he and his friends wanted to head out to explore and pointed to his truck, then asked about tire pressure. He did make the mistake of saying, "I have all wheel...I mean four wheel drive" and looked a little unsure. I knew he was going to try it no matter what, so I spent the time with him and gave some tips to keep him safe (saw he had kids with him). I also reminded him that I have experience, so don't get a false sense of hope in thinking "well he had a station wagon and I have a truck".

Not sure how his trip went, but when so-called SUV drivers come and ask me for advice, I find another reason that I love this car.
 
#21 ·
In 2007, I drove in the Sahara Moroccan desert from Zagora to Tata, played 2 hours in the big sand dunes and arrived at 6.30 pm, slept a night in the only riad of the town. At 10.00 pm, 2 Land Rovers an a Land Cruiser arrived for the night...The next morning, they asked me how I got there with my SUV, I told them the same way as they did but they couldn't believe me so I showed them some pictures, they were amazed and last but not least, I also told them that I played 2 hours in the sand dunes an arrived 3.30 hours before them !
 
#22 ·
Awesome. People completely underestimate their ability in the sand. I was impressed. This is my first Subaru..

I aired down to 20psi. The car didn't struggle at all. My wife was impressed. At first she was skeptical but I was telling her about how good their AWD system was. We've driven Jeeps/Xterras before.

The police acted surprised I made it as far as I did. I didn't even bother to tell them that it did it with such ease. I was never in a position where I felt like it was going to get stuck.

I guess due to many of the other lower quality FWD based AWD systems, they are lumping Subaru in with them and that's unfortunate. I'll be going elsewhere.
 
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