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Just sold my Nissan Frontier with crew cab, long bed with cap to a "everyday" fisherman. I really liked it and no problems. Wife did not like driving(when she had to) it in town because it was tooo long and made it difficult for her to park and see out of due to camper cap. She never did get the hang of docking our 38' shrimp/sink net boat either. Any ways Got to looking and bought a Nissan XTERRA which my wife loves to drive. At 67 works for me too and only took a short time to rig it out like I wanted to make it a fishing machine. So, good in the city,country(at the farm hunting etc.),on the road, and on the beach. Like they use to say, "you can't beat that with a ugly stick".
 
Did over a years worth of research before buying the Xterra.. Its an animal on the Beach.. Short Wheel Base, Rear Lockers (Stock) Plenty of Clearance.. Ride is AWESOME.. I stop in the red sugar sand all the time with it and there is NO worries.. JAM
Love my X too, the thing is a freaking tank on the beach. Lot of time I just lock the rears and drive 2wd at fort fisher, with no problems.
 
All 4 wheel drive vehicles with good ground clearance are fine on the beach when properly aired down ... After living in Frisco for four years and driving the beach just about everyday whether it was fishing, shell hunting, beach scrounging or walking the dog .... These are IMO, the three biggest reasons people get stuck .... #3. Driving to close to the water, running thru water .... I seen very experienced fisherman total their vehicle due to suspended sand. #2. NOT AIRING DOWN PROPERLY .... Witnessed it many times ! Number One ! ALCOHOL, it will cause you to do # 2 & 3, trust me on this one .... I never got stuck but due to #1, getting hipmotized by the setting sun and driving to fast on the high side of the hard sand, I have wiped out on some mighty fine Sand Castle's ..... River
 
In my honest opinion, any Subaru would not last a week on Hatteras beaches, unless it rains everyday. Check out toyota's site, think it was there new tacoma, they have a video of one buried up to the axles in sand, and shows it creeping right out of it. Pretty cool, probably has a hidden tow strap.......
 
I vote the square body Suburbans. My 1986 was a beast on Padre Island. I have been running up and down PINS for close to 30 years, have had 2 international Scouts, Jeeps of various years, several Samurais, Broncos', Blazers, a Dakota with 5.2 liter, probably 1 or 2 other 4x4's I forget about. Currently running a 13' F-250 Crew Cab gasser, while I really like the room and capacity, the Burb was superior in the sand hands down. So much so, I am trolling Craigslist to find another to make a dedicated beach fishing truck
 
Wow this is the kind of stuff I daydream about, & I come up with new theoretical insane ideas all the time... M35 trucks with rear converted into mobile patio for the family, Toyota Landcruisers with diesel swap, Camel Trophy style Range Rover Sport, etc. Late model diesels are fun although they're really expensive unless you're using one for other stuff.

I think at the end of the day the square Suburban is hard to beat. The best mix of durability, not too expensive, & not too insane to use for other stuff between trips. For the ultimate, it would have 350 SBC, coated shorty headers, good dual plane intake, & 4bbl. TH400 trans with trans cooler & floor mounted shifter for control. A good wheel & tire package, something like CRagar Soft 8 steelies with a little extra width to run a little wider tire, & spacers to make it work that's about it! Air down & roll. The good thing about 400 trans (besides being tough & cheap to rebuild) is that when they do fail, they often give warning (first gear slipping, loss of reverse, etc). Enough to at least get off the beach.

That reminds me, has anyone had any experience with the 3/4 ton 6.2L diesel milsurp blazers? They look like tempting projects but I'm sure the ones on the market have been wrung out several times by Uncle Sam.
 
This is my opinion and it is worth exactly what you paid for it. The type of vehicle doesn't matter as much as the type and size of tire you run. Skinny mud tires will get you stuck in soft sand. Fully aired up tires are basically more narrow and hard than when you air them down. When they are wide and soft, you are spreading the weight over a larger area and also giving a larger footprint on the sand. I have a newer jeep Rubicon with the skinny mud tires and they suck on the sand. I air them down to about 7 pounds on the beach just to make it easier to drive and they still suck. I'm not worried about getting stuck but my last Jeep had 40" tall by 13.5" wide tires and I never aired down or even used 4 wheel drive on the sand. Just my opinion of course.
 
i do just fine with 255/75 bfg mud terrains aired down to 18psi. even yanked out a newer v8 4runner and assisted with a stuck expedition that weighs double my wrangler.

i will say that the ESC and traction control on the JKs is terrible on sand and you have to completely disable it. (hold button down for a few seconds not just press it, the steering wheel dance to turn it off or make a switch to override it)
 
Old thread but I have to say my ol' 75 Ford Bronco, 3 spd on column with 302. Never drove lower OBX only up Duck way, Carolina Bch and Ft. Fisher. Knock on wood, never aired down, used 4w low and 2nd gear, when trimmed out or on harder sand shifted into 3rd gear. Sure do miss it, those things are like gold now.
 
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