Where is Eric's rig and how'd he get it on the beach?

Scruffy and Tater wrote:It certainly looks very inviting. I like how the sand is piled up in front of the tires - in place of chocks.

My only experience with driving on a beach was at Daytona Beach, FL. It's been a long time since I've been there. My mom and dad lived there for quite some time after they retired. The sand there was packed down and cars could drive and park on it. There were occasionally some small trailers parked on the beach, but I think they were just for the day - they had to get out before high tide blocked the driving lanes. Vendors parked their trailers on the beach on busy days. This was all prior to 1990. I don't know if they allow cars on the beach anymore. They were charging a fee in the late '80's, I believe.

I, too, would like to know how they keep the sand out of the trailer.



Tater

moo2613 wrote:Very cool, Eric, how do you keep the sand out of the Cat?

racerx179 wrote:My hats off to you eric. I am impressed. That does look awesome to be right on the beach.

Eric wrote:

Scruffy and Tater wrote:It certainly looks very inviting. I like how the sand is piled up in front of the tires - in place of chocks.

My only experience with driving on a beach was at Daytona Beach, FL. It's been a long time since I've been there. My mom and dad lived there for quite some time after they retired. The sand there was packed down and cars could drive and park on it. There were occasionally some small trailers parked on the beach, but I think they were just for the day - they had to get out before high tide blocked the driving lanes. Vendors parked their trailers on the beach on busy days. This was all prior to 1990. I don't know if they allow cars on the beach anymore. They were charging a fee in the late '80's, I believe.

I, too, would like to know how they keep the sand out of the trailer.


Thank you to everyone for the inquire. I live on Long Island, New York so as you could imagine I am surrounded by water. My family and I do alot of dry camping on the beach. There are actually several beaches to camp on here.We mainly camp at Montauk point, that is where the picture was taken. Sometimes it is pretty nerve racking towing the cat through the sand. You basically have to air down the truck and camper tires down to 18 lbs. Believe it or not most of the time you just glide along. The sand is not hard packed at all. You rarely see someone getting stuck and when you do it's because they did not air down enough. The hardest part is backing up. You have to by rules have the head of the camper facing the water. Depending on the time of year and storms, you could have more or less beach to play with. The front of the camper is usually only 30 yards from the water. When you back up on sand the camper just slides. So when your not used to it it's not fun. It takes quite a bit of practice to get it right. You don't want to get to close to the water with your truck because you will sink. You have to back up and straighten out quit a few times because there is not enough room to make a wide swing. I have camped at a bunch of spots over the years and camping on the beach is the best. Next season I will post pictures of the whole beach with all the campers on it. Quite a site to see. The fishing is awsome also as you could imagine. Surf casting right in front of your camper catching blues, fluke, and stipped bass. The kids love it also, waking up and being right on the beach. If you go to my picture gallery you could see some pictures we took of a storm that roled over, what a site that was. I don't know if the pics really do it justice. I have 6 6 volt batteries in my camper so we don't run out of juice. This year I wlll invest in Noels package from rv solarelectric.com so we want have to worry about dead batteries. With Noels package I will be able to run everything but the ac. Fresh water is the only problem. We are always running out . I have 4 kids and my wife so when wher out for a couple of days you run out fast. When you'r at the beach you need a shower everyday. I picked up a 55 gallan drum that I keep in the truck and fill up and use a 12 volt utility pump to fill the camper with. It is funny what we take for granted in life. I lived here my whole life and thought that camping on the beach was just part of summer life. A fun part about hanging out at the beach is watching all the campers come on. Sometimes you just grab a beer and a chair and watch people backing up. The beach at Montauk fits about 150 campers, they all must be fully contained. There are no hook ups at all so you have to try and conserve. This summer I had eleven of us in the Cat at the beach for the weekend. Four adults and seven kids, alot of fun. With me everybody is welcome. Belive it or not all you have to do is use 4 high on your transfer case. I never had to use 4 low, yet. Sorry to all of you who can't experience it. I could go on for hours so if anyone has any specific questions I will be glad to answer. Thanks again, Eric

Tater

Eric wrote:

Scruffy and Tater wrote:It certainly looks very inviting. I like how the sand is piled up in front of the tires - in place of chocks.

My only experience with driving on a beach was at Daytona Beach, FL. It's been a long time since I've been there. My mom and dad lived there for quite some time after they retired. The sand there was packed down and cars could drive and park on it. There were occasionally some small trailers parked on the beach, but I think they were just for the day - they had to get out before high tide blocked the driving lanes. Vendors parked their trailers on the beach on busy days. This was all prior to 1990. I don't know if they allow cars on the beach anymore. They were charging a fee in the late '80's, I believe.

I, too, would like to know how they keep the sand out of the trailer.



Tater

scottz wrote:What I want to know is, how did you get it out there without getting stuck?

Admin wrote:The Sand doesn't scare me. I've driven on the beach sand a good bit here on the east coast. Not pulling a camper but just driving on the beach with a car. 1 wheel drive....

The part that scares me is having to cross all the toll bridges to get over to Long Island. When I used to drive over the road big rigs, I'd have to unload in the bronx and every time I'd have to go on over to long island. I would spend all my cash getting across the toll bridges and have to get a cash advance on the credit card to get going again. I think it was free going back the other way ? I can't remember.

How does the Tide affect you ? There must be a very small change in the tide not to come up very far. ? HOw quick does the campers frame Rust out on the salty beach sand ?

Living and driving on Long Island is very nerve racking sometimes. There is basically one road in and out, the Long Island Expressway, the largest parking lot on the east coast. I live about 1 hour from NYC with no traffic, but there is never no traffic. Most of my work is in the city and it usually takes me about 1.5 hours to get into the city leaving my home at 5 am and between 2.5 and 3 hours getting home. NOT FUN. The tolls are a killer also. Every bridge and tunnel they get you. When I go over the Throgs Neck Bridge it costs me 21 dollars with my pickup and camper each way. The George Washington Bridge is 24 dollars. It's hard living here on LI sometimes. Average property taxes for a quarter acre is about $8,000 a year. Back to beach talk. You can't drive a car on any LI beach without getting stuck. You need 4 wheel drive. They charge $ 14 a night at Montauk, not bad.



Tater : You can still drive on the beach in Daytona, St augustine, New Smyrna beaches. And yea they charge now.
I've seen motorhomes on the beach at daytona but just for the day.

moo2613 wrote:Also, how does the sand affect brakes and such?