Stock Outer Banks on the Outer Banks Beaches

[prospectfour]

I bought my non-sasquatch OBX to continue my life-long tradition of Beach ORV use. As a child in the late 1950's, Sundays were spent on Nauset Beach on Cape Cod in whatever work truck we could let the air out of. In the 1960's and 1970s we graduated to International Scouts and when I moved away I returned with the family in the 1990's with Full-Size Broncos. Later, we moved near Delaware in the 2000s and ran those state beaches in an Excursion and then an F-150. Now, living in the Carolinas, it's back to the Beach in the new 2021 Bronco.

We started our trip on Bodie Island, the Northernmost ORV beach in the Outer Banks' Cape Hatteras National Seashore. (There are off-season permitted Town beaches to the North. And then, the Corolla Beach, with its ponys and quirky beach communities, is a full 12 miles long, all the way to the VA border.) We spent the day driving from the inlet to the top, trying the various GOAT Modes, Trail-Turn assist, and examining other air-up & down features, and the ability of the vehicle compared to my previous IH Scouts and Full Sized Broncos.

I've used various air-down proceedures over the years, starting with sticking a key in the valve and graduating to screw-on air down valves and a tire gauge. My 2016 F150 was my first car with a TPMS system, but there was a time lag when letting out air so the dash pressure was not accurate in real time, so I still needed a pressure gauge to check the air down valve. This trip was different. The STAHN air down valves my wife gave me for Christmas worked perfectly. Amazingly, the Bronco dash TPMS reported tire pressure in seconds, and I never used a tire pressure gauge the whole two day trip. The car told me tire pressure in immediate real time.

We went right into the Sand GOAT Mode. Since my OBX does have the rear locker, it automatically turned on the rear locker, off the traction control, and the screen coloring was a sand color. It seemed to work fine, although with beach speed limits at 15mph, it often stayed in a 3000 RPM until I used the shift switch to go into 3rd gear.

Curiously, the front camera won't stay on in Sand mode. The only mode that the front camera, or several cameras will stay on while off-road driving is "Mud & Ruts". That setting worked fine on the beach as well!

I also found that selecting 4H and setting the locker manually worked fine.
View attachment 283286
I had to try the trail turn assist on the beach. The feature can dig the car in pretty quick, so the trick is to not stop after the turn. Tip: sand drivers know that if almost stuck, backing up, straight, is a great way to go forward. Also, that rear locker is the cats pajamas! I've never had one. No more getting stuck with Spinning Tires.

While lacking the spaciousness of my previous F150, this is a great beach trip car for 2 or 3. The open rear gate stayed open against 20mph winds. The equipment all fit in the back, including my jack planks, full-size, Area51 shovel, extraction bag, small cooler, etc. In summer, I have a Beach gear rack that mounts on my Kuat Pivot Rack. Can't wait to return when its warm in May!

Airing back up, i have a basic pump that clips to the battery and the valve screws onto the tires valve. Using the car TPMS system, each tire went from 17 to 35lbs in 2.25 minutes. No tire gauge needed. I do have ARB system ready to install, but this method works well.

Incidentally, many beach drivers know that the further North you go, the narrower the drivable beach between the fore-dune and the fore-shore, and the steeper the fore-shore, the the coarser (deeper) the sand. Recommended air pressure, by National Park Service, etc: Cape Cod, 12-15 lbs; Delaware, 16-18 lbs; Outer Banks, 18-20 lbs.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the Non-sasquatch OBX on the beach. To me, airing down, and the rear locker are more important than the 35" tires for MY USE. That gives me a more comfortable road car, with better mileage, than a Sasquatch vehicle. My overall road mpg from Charleston To Nags Head was 22mpg. Two days on the beach in Corolla and Bodie Island, and OBX road travel dropped it to 17mpg.

That's my report! This is a great beach car and road car. Next time, it'll be warm enough to take the roof off!

Great writeup! Especially appreciate the PSI recommendations by location.

It's great to see someone enjoy their OBX the way I know I will one day soon. I opted for the rear locker over the sas pkg for all the same reasons as you.

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[lakesinai]

Are they real busy during spring break? I’ll have to swing by with my OBX. Looks like a great time! We need a bronco get together when it’s warmer!

Its been blowing a steady 20 knots for 2 days, colder, thats kept most people away. I come here March to May, Non-weekend only. Lower hotel prices. The Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Nags Head are both on the beach, reasonable rates. But some attractions, don't open for the season until mid-March (eg, Curricut Light House in Corolla).

 

[SeaVee]

My favorite?
Probably the whole enchilada. Hatteras Island is like another planet compared to the rest of Dare County. Great places to off road south of Avon all the way to the ferry in Hatteras. Hop the ferry and visit Ocracoke miles of empty beach to set up shop for the day. As far as the northern OBX, the paved road stops in Corolla and it’s about 15-18 miles of beach all the way to the VA line. That’s where all the horses are. Lots of rentals up there, no roads just sand paths to get to the houses. If you want to rent a beach house and be able to exercise your Bronco both ends of the OBX would work. Stay away from Corolla to South Nags Head in the summer. Crowded and no place to off road.

 

[Mtns2Climb]

I bought my non-sasquatch OBX to continue my life-long tradition of Beach ORV use. As a child in the late 1950's, Sundays were spent on Nauset Beach on Cape Cod in whatever work truck we could let the air out of. In the 1960's and 1970s we graduated to International Scouts and when I moved away I returned with the family in the 1990's with Full-Size Broncos. Later, we moved near Delaware in the 2000s and ran those state beaches in an Excursion and then an F-150. Now, living in the Carolinas, it's back to the Beach in the new 2021 Bronco.

We started our trip on Bodie Island, the Northernmost ORV beach in the Outer Banks' Cape Hatteras National Seashore. (There are off-season permitted Town beaches to the North. And then, the Corolla Beach, with its ponys and quirky beach communities, is a full 12 miles long, all the way to the VA border.) We spent the day driving from the inlet to the top, trying the various GOAT Modes, Trail-Turn assist, and examining other air-up & down features, and the ability of the vehicle compared to my previous IH Scouts and Full Sized Broncos.

I've used various air-down proceedures over the years, starting with sticking a key in the valve and graduating to screw-on air down valves and a tire gauge. My 2016 F150 was my first car with a TPMS system, but there was a time lag when letting out air so the dash pressure was not accurate in real time, so I still needed a pressure gauge to check the air down valve. This trip was different. The STAHN air down valves my wife gave me for Christmas worked perfectly. Amazingly, the Bronco dash TPMS reported tire pressure in seconds, and I never used a tire pressure gauge the whole two day trip. The car told me tire pressure in immediate real time.

We went right into the Sand GOAT Mode. Since my OBX does have the rear locker, it automatically turned on the rear locker, off the traction control, and the screen coloring was a sand color. It seemed to work fine, although with beach speed limits at 15mph, it often stayed in a 3000 RPM until I used the shift switch to go into 3rd gear.

Curiously, the front camera won't stay on in Sand mode. The only mode that the front camera, or several cameras will stay on while off-road driving is "Mud & Ruts". That setting worked fine on the beach as well!

I also found that selecting 4H and setting the locker manually worked fine.

I had to try the trail turn assist on the beach. The feature can dig the car in pretty quick, so the trick is to not stop after the turn. Tip: sand drivers know that if almost stuck, backing up, straight, is a great way to go forward. Also, that rear locker is the cats pajamas! I've never had one. No more getting stuck with Spinning Tires.

While lacking the spaciousness of my previous F150, this is a great beach trip car for 2 or 3. The open rear gate stayed open against 20mph winds. The equipment all fit in the back, including my jack planks, full-size, Area51 shovel, extraction bag, small cooler, etc. In summer, I have a Beach gear rack that mounts on my Kuat Pivot Rack. Can't wait to return when its warm in May!

Airing back up, i have a basic pump that clips to the battery and the valve screws onto the tires valve. Using the car TPMS system, each tire went from 17 to 35lbs in 2.25 minutes. No tire gauge needed. I do have ARB system ready to install, but this method works well.

Incidentally, many beach drivers know that the further North you go, the narrower the drivable beach between the fore-dune and the fore-shore, and the steeper the fore-shore, the the coarser (deeper) the sand. Recommended air pressure, by National Park Service, etc: Cape Cod, 12-15 lbs; Delaware, 16-18 lbs; Outer Banks, 20 lbs.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the Non-sasquatch OBX on the beach. To me, airing down, and the rear locker are more important than the 35" tires for MY USE. That gives me a more comfortable road car, with better mileage, than a Sasquatch vehicle. My overall road mpg from Charleston To Nags Head was 22mpg. Two days on the beach in Corolla and Bodie Island, and OBX road travel dropped it to 17mpg.

That's my report! This is a great beach car and road car. Next time, it'll be warm enough to take the roof off!

Wow, awesome pics and nice detailed report! Thanks so much for sharing. I'm hoping to make it down there sometime this year, really does look awesome.

 

[TheShark]

Great write up, we'll be in the OBX in late May, we're meeting up with several other Bronco's at Carvoa Beach in Corolla and driving up to the VA border. Here is a link to the event if anyone wants to join https://thebronconation.com/event/broncos-on-the-beach-carova-beach-nc/

 

[BroncoAZ]

my 2 door WT is on its way to me, cant wait to take it to the cape and go out in the national seashore (cape cod).
i wanted to get a Nauset season pass but non-resident passes are almost $400 now so Provincetown /truro it is

That's what happened to me when I moved off-Cape in the 1980s and returned as a non-resident in the 1990's. Second class citizen! So it was off to Provincelands Visitors Center and the Cape Cod National Seashore! Delaware Seashore was a fine replacement in the 2000s, but the lower parts of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore remind me most of Cape Cod. But I dont visit either place in the Summer! Have fun with that Wildtrack. Sweet Car! I miss Race Point!

I live in Harwich year round and am a second class citizen for Orleans and Chatham. I pay the non resident rate for Nauset, and although my family has had a mooring in Chatham for 40 years I can’t park anywhere reasonable to use my boat without a town resident sticker. The increase to $386 non resident for the Nauset sticker is robbery, but as long as people keep buying them they will keep raising the price. I only use the truck on the beach when my boat isn’t in the water, so November to May. This current period I’ve only used it once, on New Year’s Day, so I could see skipping it for 2022. My surfer buddy’s go out to Nauset 2-4 times per week November to April (when it’s not too sharky), but they live in Chatham or Orleans and pay the locals rate.

 

[KnoxGnater]

Thanks for this OP! My wife and I will be Tourons in May, first time in that area. Can't wait to hit the beach topless.

 

[PaBronco]

We rented a home on the 4WD access only area a few years ago. I really do not like beach vacations, but that one was great. My entertainment was watching tow trucks pull out brand new 4wd vehicles stuck in the sand while their owners murmured in disbelief that a vehicle with 4WD got stuck in sand. Two actually broke axles.

 

[JohnnyBronco]

Will be there this summer.....for about the 30th time. Least expensive to buy and build is in the off road section but you have to plan plan plan. No running down the street for Duck Donuts every morning, pizza delivery by Amazon drone (lol) and you don't want to run out of petrol when nobody is around, but the beaches are better and away from the crowds.

We almost bought oceanfront in KDH, 45 years ago, that place and the Beach with it are no longer there. Sit upstairs at the Black Pelican with is on west side of Beach road and you can almost spit into the ocean

 

[lakesinai]

Great write up, we'll be in the OBX in late May, we're meeting up with several other Bronco's at Carvoa Beach in Corolla and driving up to the VA border. Here is a link to the event if anyone wants to join https://thebronconation.com/event/broncos-on-the-beach-carova-beach-nc/

Wonderful idea. Right now the air down parking lot is half taken over with construction vehicles for a housing complex they're building right on that parking lot. Hopefully they'll be gone by then. And I like the date isn't that the weekend before paid permits are required?

 

[lakesinai]

I live in Harwich year round and am a second class citizen for Orleans and Chatham. I pay the non resident rate for Nauset, and although my family has had a mooring in Chatham for 40 years I can’t park anywhere reasonable to use my boat without a town resident sticker. The increase to $386 non resident for the Nauset sticker is robbery, but as long as people keep buying them they will keep raising the price. I only use the truck on the beach when my boat isn’t in the water, so November to May. This current period I’ve only used it once, on New Year’s Day, so I could see skipping it for 2022. My surfer buddy’s go out to Nauset 2-4 times per week November to April (when it’s not too shark), but they live in Chatham or Orleans and pay the locals rate.

I hear you! And the four-wheel-drive fad is getting worse. Delaware State Park which comprises the entire ocean coast of the state of Delaware is already sold out of surf fishing permits would allow you to drive on the beach I had one for the whole 13 years I lived in Philly. I think it's only going to get worse as more people buy Jeeps and Broncos. Nowadays, I don't go to beach communities between Memorial Day the Labor Day but I like going in the offseason like right now I'm doing in the Outer Banks. When I lived in the cape, we actually stayed off nauset beach in the summer and use boats to get to Sandy spits on inlets.

 

[cecrc881]

I ordered mine with the rear lockers as well. I should have mine sometime this summer, if builds don’t get pushed back much. I am looking forward to running mine up and down the beaches of Florida and sharing some of my pics as well. Congratulations on your Bronco! Awesome pictures and write up.

 

[Wamland]

Love it! Sweet looking car! I've not driven that beach yet, only Delaware!

Where in Delaware? I have not been up there yet. Thx

 

[LARELL]

I live in Harwich year round and am a second class citizen for Orleans and Chatham. I pay the non resident rate for Nauset, and although my family has had a mooring in Chatham for 40 years I can’t park anywhere reasonable to use my boat without a town resident sticker. The increase to $386 non resident for the Nauset sticker is robbery, but as long as people keep buying them they will keep raising the price. I only use the truck on the beach when my boat isn’t in the water, so November to May. This current period I’ve only used it once, on New Year’s Day, so I could see skipping it for 2022. My surfer buddy’s go out to Nauset 2-4 times per week November to April (when it’s not too sharky), but they live in Chatham or Orleans and pay the locals rate.

I was hoping to be able to get the Nauset resident sticker from chatham because my parents live full-time there but the way I was reading the applications online the vehicle seemed to have to be registered in the same name as the resident of the town at least that's how I interpreted it, if I were wrong that would be fantastic lol

 

[Roger123]

Great write up, we'll be in the OBX in late May, we're meeting up with several other Bronco's at Carvoa Beach in Corolla and driving up to the VA border. Here is a link to the event if anyone wants to join https://thebronconation.com/event/broncos-on-the-beach-carova-beach-nc/

Crap, I'm going to be in SC for a MC ride that weekend!

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