4 x 4 sand tire recommendations

I was told that Oregon inlet is part of Hwy 12, and if you got stuck AAA would come get you. I heard that from a tow truck driver on labor day as he was getting my buddy's piece o crap SUKsuki samari out. He liked to see how far he could get without 4x4. He got 5 yards off the dune and started digging in.He locked it up, and nothing worked in 4x4. Then nothing worked in 2x4. The tow guy had a hummer that would get it to the asphalt. then we got it to my buds house in KDH.
the guy might just have been rubbing it in.

 

Haha. The same subaru guy "upgraded" to a samurai and we still had to go through the same process when he took it to the sand.

 

Ha! I doubt you'd even be able to get away with something like that these days. Now they've got that elaborate and expensive ORV permitting process with minimum equipment requirements (shovel, jack, watch a stupid video, etc) that is quite strictly enforced from what I hear. Probabaly wouldn't let a 2WD vehicle out there anymore.

 

As far as the Subaru/Suzuki nonsense, a few years back while working at the Dodge dealer they dragged in a Jeep Compass covered in mud and stuff with a burnt up transaxle/transfer case. The Compass is the Jeep version of a Dodge Caliber that they made AWD. We told the customer it's abuse and not covered under warranty. The customer got with the factory and said "Hey, you've got commercials showing this thing fording streams and doing other off-road shizz". They ended up covering the repair.

 

Here's what not to do. Actual picture from Oregon Inlet.

Ya that was the old days. I remember when you were allowed to get on the beach at the south side of the Rodanthe Pier and drive under it going north.

 

if you run a wider tire and drop your pressure you will be fine. i took my truck out in the sand on Long Island countless times and never had an issue. the tread pattern on a baja claw is alot like a paddle tire on a quad. just my $.02

 

So, I guess this guy didn't air down?

Seriously, who the frig even remotely thinks something like this is a good idea? It is jackholes like this that lead to all the stifling restrictions and regulations that the rest of us must suffer. If it wasn't for the enviromental considerations, I'd say the best thing would be to just let the ocean take it all and maybe the owner/operator too.

For the record, my parents once found themselves in a similar predicament on their honeymoon back in 1957. There weren't as many paved roads on the islands then just some of those mesh metal mats. Somehow got off track trying to find the ferry back to Hatteras from Okracoke and wound up on the beach with a rising tide. Some guy with a tractor or bulldozer happened by and pulled their car out.

 

In the real old days before Highway 12 existed, the Midgett brothers ran a bus service connecting the villages of Hatteras Island with Manteo. There were two routes, the beach road and the back road (soundside). The beach road was much quicker but of course subject to the whims of the ocean. No 4x4, no special tires but sometimes the passengers had to get out and help push...

 

I drive on the beach sometimes 2x a week or more....either fishin or surfing and you should see some of the stuff out there. Gonna have to dig some pics up . A crotch rocket decided to go out at the entrance...stupid...tourists not reading the Orv and decide to head out in a caddie...stupid...saw a hummer driving 60 mph behind the dune line all over the place, called the national park service on that idiot...stupid. Saw a helicopter land right on the beach, pulled out some chairs and hung out...now that was cool.

Like others have said, Get some wider tires with less tread...but the most important thing to do is air down. Not only does it not keep you from getting stuck...also, not airing down can cause your truck some harm too, but it's also considerate of others driving on the beach. My beach, all the traffic drives up and down in the same spot, along the fence line...if they don't air down, it creates ripples in the sand...I have lost fillings in my teeth because people drive down a 12 mile stretch of beach and not air down. I get so pissed off with the relentless rattle and I often just try to avoid the main path.

 

Found one of the pics..this is an off road vehicle

 

It's a shame that they've locked down Hatteras Island so much lately. It's just not the same place without the freedom to drive on the beach like you once could. The piping plover bull-**** is one thing, but I'm convinced that long jetty they built at Oregon Inlet totally screwed up the coastline. After they built that jetty the erosion just went up dramatically to the south. It used to be a long walk to the beach at S-turns and all down Pea Island was super high dunes. That jetty was built and within a short time the entire area was getting washed over.

 

I have BFG ATs 12.5" 35"s on my jeep and it's great. I keep air pressure around 22-25 all the time and really don't need to air down, but do especially when loaded up with people, fishing gear, etc. It's pretty light compared to a truck though. Airing down will save lots of wear and tear on your tranny and drive train.
If you air down, it doesn't make much of a difference what you use, but an AT is a great choice. I also had a set of Kumho (haha love that name) road venture AT's and they were a superb tire. They had 45K on them and had at least another 15-20K left. I sold them so I could upgrade from 33's to 35's. Anyway, the Kumhos are a great choice if looking to save some cash.
Also, there is a company called treadright, that sells retreaded tires. On all the jeep forums there were plenty of guys that claimed they were very good for a great price.