About the shovel. Forget the small folding camp shovels, they will take you 3 hours to dig anything out. Bring along a full sized shovel, a short handled one is fine, as it fits into all size vehicles. As Paul stated, lowering tire pressure will keep you from getting stuck, the shovel can be lent to someone who does get stuck. Check the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association web site for beach driving tips that will also aid you if you are new to driving on the sand. Good Luck. <'((((><