Driving over sand

[BigBirdsnest]

I want to drive on the beach. I have a Chev Trailblazer with 4WD. I do not have a locking differential. I want to drive in soft sand like at the point in Buxton. Since the Trailblazer has a very short ground clearance I am concerned. Does anyone have experience with a Trailblazer of Envoy? 2002 or newer. I had a 93 Blazer S10 that was very satisfactory but had a couple of more inches clearance. Just aired down to 18 and drove slow.
Mike

[NJ Guy]

ground clearance can be a problem but generally speaking unless you intend in driving in "soft spots" there is usually a good path on the beach all though i would reccomend going down to atleast 15 psi on the tires 18 psi can still cause you to bog down especially in sugar sand and with such little ground clearance bogging down even a little is not a great thing


if you have anymore questions just give me a shout and ill help you out

[ped579]

Welcome Aboard BigBirdsnest,

Experience is your best bet.  We all have gotten stuck and that is how we learn.  Check with the manufacturer as to what your tires min is.  As the pressure on tires can vary quite a bit from manufacture to manufacture.  I had Michelin's on in 2000 on my Expedition and the pressures were 3 times as high as the tires I have on now Goodyears.  Before that I had a Bronco and the pressure normally was 35psi.  I run 15 psi now as a min and have not been stuck for quite a while.

The idea is to run slow over the sand that is one reason for the 10 mph out on IBSP.  Yes there are others but the slower you go the better.  If you are worried about running on the deep ruts it is simple stick to the beach between the normal deep running tracks to the ones closer to the water.  You should be okay and if you run into trouble just look for a vehicle that has a NJ Beach Buggie plate on it and ask for help.  We are always there to add assistance to some one that is new to the sand.

Happy Catching

Paul