Beach buggy tips and tricks, making life easier

[ledhead36]

What are some of the things you guys have done to make your trucks more beach friendly? I want to start making more trips to parks like IBSP and ones at Montauk. I would like to hear about things you have done to make your life on the road and sand easier. Thanks.

[clamchucker]

The best thing to think about is how you will be making your trips to the beach. By that I mean will you be bringing your family or girlfriend, or will you be going alone. I don't know about you, but the standards of cleaniness are a bit more laz when I am down there by myself.

Some key things to think about are where you will store your cooler, the bait, your food, any fish you catch, your rods, and your gear. As you get more sophisticated with campers you will have separate food storing options, but in the beginning it's convenient to keep everything in a cooler in a rack, which is usually mounted to the front of your SUV. Buy a quality kit for that cooler rack if you are a do it yourselfer. Saving dollars here will hurt you in the long run as the hardware in those cheaper products tends to deteriorate in the short run. If you can, get someone to fabricate a rack for you based on your needs.

Also think about your rods and reels. Height is a big deal if you travel from an urban area with lower bridges. We never used to worry about security years ago. Now things disappear if left unattended. Be aware of that if any of your equipment is high end.

If you are handy, you can build a system in the back of your SUV to hold your plugs and terminal tackle. All you need is a few 2x4s and some decent plywood. Make sure the center of gravity is low enough that it will not spill over during a hard turn.

I hope this was helpful. good luck.

[Monty]

Recently fished Island Beach from my "Beach Buggy" for first time in 15 years. Was able to use the same front rack I used 15-20 years ago.
Bought a 2009 Honda Pilot over the past winter and she handled great on the beach. Lowered the tire pressure to 15 lbs. did not have any issues at all.
Was a lot of fun, beach almost empty, drive, find a cut in the bar, wade out on a bar, fishing a rip or point. Was great fishing like this again.

http://www.rocksimpson.com/images/2012_5_29_H_F_SB.jpg

http://www.rocksimpson.com/images/2012_5_29_H1.jpg

[porgy75]

Nice set up monty. Where did you get that rod and cooler rack, and if you don't mind my asking how much did you pay for it?

[Monty]

Nice set up monty. Where did you get that rod and cooler rack, and if you don't mind my asking how much did you pay for it?
Thanks, my brother-in law made it for like 20 years ago. He had some "extra" stainless pipe while on a job and he welded it up. Did a great job, was a gift to me. So this spring I put a front trailer hitch on the Honda and had bracket made and attached it to the rack. Comes off and on with a pin removal.
http://www.rocksimpson.com/images/2012_4_8_Rack2.jpg

[porgy75]

Sweet! From beach mobile to pilot urban navigator in less than 2 minutes.

[buckethead]

Awesome rig Monty.:dribble:
No problems with the pilot bottoming out at all?

[Monty]

Awesome rig Monty.:dribble:
No problems with the pilot bottoming out at all?
Thanks, scraped a little on some deep ruts but that was expected and was no problem. Drove the beach 4 days and could not have been happier with it. Left it in all wheel drive (it has a true 4 wheel lock mode but never came close to needing it).

[clamchucker]

Very nice buggy, monty.

[Monty]

Got rid of the Honda in December this past year and bought a Mitsubishi Outlander SE.
Better gas mileage than the Pilot. The Outlander actually has more ground clearance than the Pilot did (8.5" to 8").
I had been looking at the Outlander for a few months and then met some guy while airing up at Demo last fall and we were talking about vehicles with better gas mileage for the beach. He said his girlfriend had the Outlander and it was great on the beach, make sure its not the smaller Outlander.
First trip on the sand with it today, dropped the pressure to 14 PSI and put it in the lock mode and it handled the soft sand and ruts great. Not a single issue.
Was good getting that first trip on the sand out of the way....especially with it doing so well.

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2016_4_24_Outlander_2.jpg?w=850

http://i2.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2016_4_24_Outlander_1.jpg?w=850

[lostatsea]

Nice!

[VSdreams]

I would have never thought you could get on the beach with something so modern. Thanks for sharing.