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Honda CRV on Delaware beaches


Russ498

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 I am aching to get back fishing. I have bad knees and broke my back twice so I can’t walk in the sand very well. I’ve never done any surf fishing but it looks like fun. I have a Honda CRV. I have a place in Ocean City Maryland  right at the Delaware line.  I am  thinking about trying to get a beach permit when they go back on sale in November.   Will my Honda get me through the sand? If so, what pressure should I run in the tires?

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3 hours ago, Russ498 said:

 I am aching to get back fishing. I have bad knees and broke my back twice so I can’t walk in the sand very well. I’ve never done any surf fishing but it looks like fun. I have a Honda CRV. I have a place in Ocean City Maryland  right at the Delaware line.  I am  thinking about trying to get a beach permit when they go back on sale in November.   Will my Honda get me through the sand? If so, what pressure should I run in the tires?

Hi Russ,welcome aboard. What year is your CRV, most are front wheel drive,many are AWD but are based on and biased to FWD having a viscous clutch that engages the rear tires only after sensing slippage from front tires. Ok for snow but not so much for driving on sand.

 

. There were two model years 2010-2011 that came with full time 4wd,they sit @ 3 inches higher than the other models.You can tell them apart by height and by logo on rear hatch.4wd models will have a 4wd badge,all others will have AWD badge. No badge is FWD.

 

The 4wd models were all high end optioned. My girl has one of these and it is very capable in fairly deep snow,good on slick surfaces and tracks better than AWD,FWD models in rain,has been on the beach a couple times just to see how it would go,did well but deep sand could be a problem.

She wants to trade it in as it's got some miles on it,i'm resisting that as its been well maintained and a newer model would not have 4wd. I remind her of this every winter we have measurable snow that stops a lot of cars and she's still able to get where she needs to go.

Edited by modelcitizen
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I just bought a new CRV- EXL w/AWD. I told the salesman I liked the Subaru for a sandy beach. Of course he told me the new CRV w/AWD would be OK on a sandy beach. I would not take that car on a sandy beach.

 

However, I do like that CRV. It's a very good auto and a good bang for your buck.

 

Edited by J Wagen
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4 hours ago, Russ498 said:

 I am aching to get back fishing. I have bad knees and broke my back twice so I can’t walk in the sand very well. I’ve never done any surf fishing but it looks like fun. I have a Honda CRV. I have a place in Ocean City Maryland  right at the Delaware line.  I am  thinking about trying to get a beach permit when they go back on sale in November.   Will my Honda get me through the sand? If so, what pressure should I run in the tires?

Great to see you showing interest.  Here’s to you feeling your best.  The ocean is therapeutic and healing.  

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4 hours ago, J Wagen said:

I just bought a new CRV- EXL w/AWD. I told the salesman I liked the Subaru for a sandy beach. Of course he told me the new CRV w/AWD would be OK on a sandy beach. I would not take that car on a sandy beach.

 

However, I do like that CRV. It's a very good auto and a good bang for your buck.

 

Salesman's just trying to sell you a car,they'll say anything to do so...

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5 hours ago, modelcitizen said:

Hi Russ,welcome aboard. What year is your CRV, most are front wheel drive,many are AWD but are based on and biased to FWD having a viscous clutch that engages the rear tires only after sensing slippage from front tires. Ok for snow but not so much for driving on sand.

 

. There were two model years 2010-2011 that came with full time 4wd,they sit @ 3 inches higher than the other models.You can tell them apart by height and by logo on rear hatch.4wd models will have a 4wd badge,all others will have AWD badge. No badge is FWD.

 

The 4wd models were all high end optioned. My girl has one of these and it is very capable in fairly deep snow,good on slick surfaces and tracks better than AWD,FWD models in rain,has been on the beach a couple times just to see how it would go,did well but deep sand could be a problem.

She wants to trade it in as it's got some miles on it,i'm resisting that as its been well maintained and a newer model would not have 4wd. I remind her of this every winter we have measurable snow that stops a lot of cars and she's still able to get where she needs to go.

Mine is a 2018 with AWD.  I gotta give it a shot.  Like they say, dance with who you brung!  What about tire pressure.  It call for. 33 front and 30 rear.

 

 

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15-16 psi all around is about right. Delaware beaches drive on ramps are very chewed up this time of year due to all the summer day trippers that don't bother with airing down. This can be the most difficult place to navigate as deep ruts become an issue on vehicles without a lot of ground clearance.

I haven't fished Delaware beaches in about 12 years because of the numbers of vehicles/people in somewhat small area,most there to recreate and not "actively"engaged in fishing. This is noticeably better before Memorial day and after Labor day.

 

In the time i fished there,i helped quite a few people get unstuck,often in the area where the ramps open up to the beach. At that time it was a chokepoint as ramps were not very wide and a stuck vehicle impeded traffic either way. Some were 4wd trucks that dug themselves in to the frame from not airing down and then spinning the tires,others some type of 4wd failure that could be towed off. The framed vehicles needed to be dug out,tire pressures lowered and sometimes two full size trucks to hook up and pull them out. Picture this scenario,no one is getting on or off the beach til these vehicles are extracted.

There are always those in cars and two wheel drive trucks venturing out on beach and this is the area where they tend to get stuck.

The above,cost of beach tag for out of state resident and lack of structure at that time prompted me to fish elsewhere.

 

Russ,i would pull in and park at the entrance and walk out onto beach ramp and check condition of crossover-i realize you can't do this. Stop in at tackle shops local to the area,Old Inlet is one and inquire about current conditions of beach crossovers and what you intend to do. They will have most current intel on that and what is being caught at that time and what you'll need to catch.

 

A couple thoughts on your CRV,i don't know exactly what mandatory equipment to drive on the beach there is these days. Usually a shovel,some type of jackboard and towrope,you can inquire about equipment either before or when purchasing tag.

Another consideration,to the best of my knowledge,there are no attachment points on the vehicle to hook a towrope or chains. We had installed a class III hitch on back of my girl's CRV for a bikerack and to tow a small 4'x8' trailer. I purchased an adapter for the hitch to allow a clevis to be attached for a place to hook towrope.

 

If you get stuck...spinning the tires-doesn't take much-will heat up and burn up the viscous clutch that engages AWD in short order. This is not an inexpensive repair,and may not be covered under warranty.You will still be able to drive in FWD mode on pavement as normal with a damaged viscous clutch,just won't have functioning AWD.

 Wish you the best,hope this works out for you.mc

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5 hours ago, modelcitizen said:

15-16 psi all around is about right. Delaware beaches drive on ramps are very chewed up this time of year due to all the summer day trippers that don't bother with airing down. This can be the most difficult place to navigate as deep ruts become an issue on vehicles without a lot of ground clearance.

I haven't fished Delaware beaches in about 12 years because of the numbers of vehicles/people in somewhat small area,most there to recreate and not "actively"engaged in fishing. This is noticeably better before Memorial day and after Labor day.

 

In the time i fished there,i helped quite a few people get unstuck,often in the area where the ramps open up to the beach. At that time it was a chokepoint as ramps were not very wide and a stuck vehicle impeded traffic either way. Some were 4wd trucks that dug themselves in to the frame from not airing down and then spinning the tires,others some type of 4wd failure that could be towed off. The framed vehicles needed to be dug out,tire pressures lowered and sometimes two full size trucks to hook up and pull them out. Picture this scenario,no one is getting on or off the beach til these vehicles are extracted.

There are always those in cars and two wheel drive trucks venturing out on beach and this is the area where they tend to get stuck.

The above,cost of beach tag for out of state resident and lack of structure at that time prompted me to fish elsewhere.

 

Russ,i would pull in and park at the entrance and walk out onto beach ramp and check condition of crossover-i realize you can't do this. Stop in at tackle shops local to the area,Old Inlet is one and inquire about current conditions of beach crossovers and what you intend to do. They will have most current intel on that and what is being caught at that time and what you'll need to catch.

 

A couple thoughts on your CRV,i don't know exactly what mandatory equipment to drive on the beach there is these days. Usually a shovel,some type of jackboard and towrope,you can inquire about equipment either before or when purchasing tag.

Another consideration,to the best of my knowledge,there are no attachment points on the vehicle to hook a towrope or chains. We had installed a class III hitch on back of my girl's CRV for a bikerack and to tow a small 4'x8' trailer. I purchased an adapter for the hitch to allow a clevis to be attached for a place to hook towrope.

 

If you get stuck...spinning the tires-doesn't take much-will heat up and burn up the viscous clutch that engages AWD in short order. This is not an inexpensive repair,and may not be covered under warranty.You will still be able to drive in FWD mode on pavement as normal with a damaged viscous clutch,just won't have functioning AWD.

 Wish you the best,hope this works out for you.mc

What about the traction control?  Should it be left on or disabled?

 

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Turn it off. TC system sensing differential wheel speeds will override gas pedal input and put engine in limited power mode to stop wheel spinning.

 May also partially apply brake via ABS system to slow the wheel it senses is “spinning”.

Software is oriented to pavement driving in dry weather/rain/snow/ice.

It doesn’t know vehicle is driving on sand.

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As someone who has taken an older CRV (1998) and a newer CRV 2012) on the beach (Nauset), I would say "definitely not" with the 2012 and newer, and "It should work OK..." with the 1998.  Our 2008 Pilot was pretty good if you aired down to 15 psi or so.

 

Many of the vehicles that were billed as AWD in the period 1996-2005 or so had a reasonably functionable AWD system, with a minimally-intrusive TCS "nannie".  By 2012, the CRV was a joke (AWD shutting off/overheating and a very intrusive TC/ABS system). I was lucky to get it back to the lot and never took it offroad again.

 

As a subsequent poster noted: as if a weak and fussy drive train wasn't enough, the ground clearance is terrible on the 2012 - you can hear the sand forcing its way above the underside cladding as you run in the track.  The clearance was much better on the '98.

Edited by tbyrne
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