I tried to find a camp ground that is close to the beach, like right in front of it. There is no camp ground like that. You always have to walk few steps to the beach.
When I drove back from my first trip to Galveston Island, I noticed there are quite few RV parked right on the public beach. Between Galveston and Freeport, there are many public accessible beach with very few people. For sure those RVs are smaller size RV, but I am wondering if I can drive the 40ft GV and boondock on the beach. In that case, the beach is right in front of you.
Of course I am concerned about the possibility of stuck in the sand and expensive bill to pull it out.
Has anyone done that before? Is it possible?
Yes you can park on beach. Why not save time. Just throw your keys into ocean. Salt water and rv are a horrible mix. You will never get the salt off your undercarriage.
ONCE!!
Comparison? Take a full swing at the back of your hand with a hammer. If you are smart you will only do it once. Learning is quick.
Not meeeee, it can get ugly when you are stuck to the axles and the tide comes in. Been there seen it in Daytona, poor guy watching the ocean come up on his RV.
I do.
Sure depends on the sand (hard or soft as well as your tolerance for risk and rust.
ME-- NEVER.
Some are lucky - some are not.
Totally depends on skill, moisture content of sand, tides, planning in advance on how to turn around....risky but rewarding. You're taking a chance of a run in, on Texas beaches, with one of the most feared predators of all, the dreaded Sand Shark. If you stick it on the National Seashore, and have to use one of the "federally approved concessionaires" for a tow the sky truly is the limit....think north of $10K. I see lots of coaches on Port Aransas beaches, as long as sand has some moisture and is packed, rarely a problem.
I made that mistake once with our 5th wheel... will not again.
We are currently in Oceano Elks lodge, Pismo Beach CA. ( alongside Dennis and Donnas U320 ). while the rest of the group is out on the sand with there toy haulers etc. Every year it's the same. Come out on the sand with us!!. You can let some air out of your tires and with our 4 wheel drives we can drag you if we need too! There is no way on Gods Green Earth you are getting me out in that sand. Drag me? Sounds like a hell of a way to flex the frame and pop a windshield out. Sand in the disc brakes? Sand in every bearing below the floor? No thanks, we will ride our electric bikes out to the site. A well maintained dirt road is a much offroading as the Starship is going to do. Don't be silly and romantic about life on the beach. If something goes sideways ( like your coach ). It's going to cost you a ton and maybe seriously screw up your rig. Like Clint Eastwood said in one of his Dirty Harry movies " mans got to know his limitations" . Same with our coaches.
Long beach near Tofino on Vancouver Island back in the day before they made it into a Park I have camped on the beach with a
Class C motor home but I wouldn't with my Foretravel. Since it has become a Federal Park you can't drive out onto the beach
any more.
We have stayed just off the beach, once. We now stay a little further from it. I found that the hassle of cleaning the coach was much worse than normal. The sand gets everywhere as well. I fall into the "just once" group.
Glen
Pismo Beach California, will do everything for you if you get stuck.....$500.00 to the black top
But I see DP's all the time on Pismo, blows my mind. But they are people who know how to do it, lower tire pressure ETC.
Depending on beach, I took out 33' class C, no problem. But that was in Washington on packed sand. There where even semi's on it!
Chris
Right now I am in an RV park called on the beach in Port Aransas Texas. Right in front of my coach are dunes and right on the other side is the beach. It's as close to the beach as I want to get. I'm here for almost 2 months and I think that might be a little too long with the salt air and sand but I would never, ever, take my foretravel on the beach and park it unless I had no other option. People do it but I rarely see and very expensive class A on the beach and the ones that I see that are on the beach a lot look beat. I'm not even sure why you would want to. While the sound of the Waves would be nice and I can almost hear him from here anyway, it takes me a minute to get on the beach put my chair down or walk down the beach as long as I want to. There was a guy stuck and very deep soft sand last week digging himself out and I looked at that spot he was in and I thought what were you thinking? I wouldn't even take my Jeep into that soft sand and he took a big class C there.
Yeah people do it all the time. people do a lot of things all the time.
For some reason I watched quite few videos of "RV stuck on the beach"
It is oddly satisfying.
But it is pretty clear now, it is not a good idea to drive the GV on the beach.
I wish there is product that can help. Like a big portable flat surface to stop sinking in the sand.
'' you can let air out of your tires"
If you weigh 40,000 pounds with correct tire pressure, you still weigh 40,000 with deflated tires.
This old man does not have an off road coach.
This is one of the reasons I am looking at an expedition style coach. They can go off road but beach sand is very different animal and changes. I have had no issues with my wranglers on the sand but driving along you hit stuff that brings you almost to a standstill. 10lb of air and lockers are needed to get thru it. I would never take a regular coach on the sand. These expedition coaches have beadlocks and tire inflation standard.
In 1906 the Stanley Brothers with Fred Marriot at the wheel set a world land speed record on Ormond Beach. The tide was out, the sand was damp and well packed. But the tide does tend to come back in.
https://www.ormondbeach.org/DocumentCenter/View/205/Land-Speed-Record-Centennial-Press-Kit?bidId=
I have some younger motorcycle friends, who after much consultation purchased a Thor Ventura and have finished up their first 3 months "on the road." I tried to talk them into a less expensive Foretravel but they shied away from a road leviathan. The still own the Thor, but are looking for something built on a UniMog.
Even parking a Class A on someone's lawn can turn disastrous if there is rain involved. Beach sand? Conditions change on an hourly basis. NO thanks.
Check the beach for other big coaches. We've parked our old SOB right next to the water just south of Mūlege where the sand is hard. Baja Beach RV Snowbird Paradise - Bahía Concepción - Manzanillo Sun. No tide, no waves, warm crystal clear water and the best fishing in the world. Where to Stop in Bahía Concepción (https://www.discoverbaja.com/2017/03/14/where-to-stop-in-bahia-concepcion/)
Pierce
And the Daytona stock car race started off with half the oval on the beach.
Stayed there. Bahia Coyote. Found out after a week there is a fresh water bath coming out of the cliff at the far end.
I can firsthand tell you thst that big wreckers are expensive and big wreckers with beach capability are more expensive..much more
Amazing how far they will travel inland. Earlier this week across the street there was a truck stuck in the sandy road. They were backing up to dump appliances in the desert. Kept a eye on them and shortly there was another truck out there pulling them out. About two hours latter I drove out there on the Honda ST90 to let them know how to get them self's out. They asked me to pull them out, and I declined. Explained to let some air out of their 3/4 Ton truck 80 psi tires and don't spin the tires in low range. 20 minutes later they were both out. Next day I took the backhoe out and repaired the road and desert as best I could. Picked up appliances they dumped and ran them to the city dump. Haven't had rain in 220 days. As soon as the crust is broken it turns into a simple math problem. Too much weight, not enough square inches of tire floatation.
Another example of my Foretravel work distractions
Scott
Can you drive it ON to the beach, probably.
Can you drive it back OFF the beach, not so much.
It's the first thing that we noticed about the Texas (3rd) coast. Lots more RVs on the beach than you would ever see on the Oregon coast. Mostly because of the tides I believe, since the west coast tide can change up to 4ft and Texas maybe 4". All guesstimates but it's a huge difference. You can park 30 ft from the water and in the morning still be 25' from water. West coast 30' from the water will put you in the water in the am. People even do tents closer to the ocean than I'd do.
Having said that, I heard the it's also one of the most corrosive beaches. They ( Corpus Christi ) have under body car washes in lots of places to get things rinsed off. Little small for coaches though. What we did was bought some salt treatment for rinsing the bottom of the coach,, we didn't park on the beach but about 100 yards from it. Port Aransas is an amazing place to visit but.. I have mixed emotions about traveling there because of the corrosion.
I'll be blunt.
Of course one can drive onto a beach. It's the driving off the beach that can be tricky and uber costly.
In my estimation. It's just not worth the cost to brag to friends on social media about ones escapades of camping in a bus on the beach. But if you have money to burn on towing and future corrosion issues. Go for it. There is nearly nothing within the law that one can't do. It's a matter of "should" you. I say no.
I was watching a video about a Prevost stuck on the beach. A Cat D6 is called to pull the bus out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmSnHiJugqY
Wondering how big that bill is?
If your going to be dumb you have to be tough. I'm sure they still laugh about it
Scott
In Baja, it was almost impossible to get stuck no matter how large and heavy your RV was. Many access roads were easy off, easy on and if you did mange to somehow get stuck, it would be an occasion for the Mexicans to come over, BBQ some fish, drink a few beers and then daisy chain their cars and PUs to pull you out. All with a smile and a wave.
Pierce
My 36 foot GV, RV gets bogged on flat hard packed gravel roads, Mine weighs twelve TONS
Take it on a sandy road or beach, Not a chance,
The question to ask your self, Is how much is a very large truck, Tow truck going to charge to drag you out,
And Drag is the key word, You wont be driving it out,
I've been driving my bus conversion and U300 on beaches forever and never had them get close to stuck. Never dropped tire pressure either.
Here is an example of a bigger and heavier RV than ours on a Baja beach. Probably at least 5K heavier and the toad may be 5 thousand pounds. Since there is almost no tide when you get as far south as Múlege, many beaches are hard enough to put a wheel in the water without getting stuck. No tide and waves also means little blowing sand so the beach is very hard.
Yes You Can RV Baja, California Mexico In A Big Rig (https://www.crazyfamilyadventure.com/is-baja-mexico-possible-in-a-big-rig/)
Here in the West, big RVs travel on dirt and gravel roads all the time without getting stuck. Expect most of it has to do with the experience of the operator.
Pierce
As said before, beach composition is not the same everywhere. Ranges from powder that won't support a person without burying their shoes to close to rock hard.
Said another way, depends on the beach. If you see deep tire tracks, don't even think about it. If you see heavy vehicle parked there with little or no tire tracks-- completely different matter.
I've traveled the Baja Peninsula since I was a kid in every mode of transportation possible. From motorcycles, fast cars, 4x4s, to Foretravels, been stuck in everyone. Have helped countless others get free from the clutches of sand from San Felipe to Cabo San Lucas.... Pacific side/Sea of Cortez side. Don't have to get off the BEATEN PATH very far and you'll find yourself stuck in the sand. It's part of the adventure in Baja just come prepared.
Here is a good example of beaches with easy access and impossible to scrape the belly or get stuck in the sand. I first discovered Mulegé right after the paved road was completed from TJ to Cabo back in October of 1973. Bahia de Conceptión is just several minutes south of town with lots of campgrounds close to the highway and for $5 to $10/night. Hotel Serinidad is famous for the pig roasts on the weekend and on New Years. We've made it here twice to bring in the New Year. They have a few spots for RVs and a good airstrip next to the ranch style hotel.
Visiting the first time, we went up to the old prison, closed but it still had one crazy guy on a long chain. He would growl and leap at you but was harmless. When the prison was in operation, the guards would blow on a conch shell at 4:30 for the inmates to return from working in town.
The water is crystal clear much of the year with fish everywhere. Lots of rays but they see you coming and move out of the way. Great for fishing, ATVs to abandon missions, kayaking, etc.
Here is an example of beach camping in a car to the longest RV. Most are close to the road but some are a couple of miles so checking with a toad is recommended. Lots of YouTube videos on Baja so if you like beach camping, great food and the ocean, this is the place. This video shows the easy access and all the sites from a drone. I even spotted some Formosa built sailboats. Best drone footage is toward the end after he stops talking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqZCkdsvbdg
Pierce
Yup, drove the Baja right after it was paved.
Due to Government/Pemex mis-planning, gas stations were not open yet. Line over 2 miles long. They were pumping fuel from 55 gallon drums on the back of a flat bed.
BUT, I was driving a Peugeot 505 diesel. Bought fuel off the shrimp boats.
Remember harvesting shell fish using the tire iron near Mulegé.
Seem like a LONG time ago-- wait, that WAS a long time ago.
Yes, no tanker in Mulege so we waited in line for the fuel to arrive. We had a VW PU with a fold down side and an 8 foot pram. Sailed across the Bahia de Conceptión to the far side. A PBY Catalina flying boat went over the top and then the wind came up when we were half way back. Exciting and a little scary. Camped at Coyote or the one in the video. Can't remember.
The tin church that Eiffel built in Paris is worth seeing in Santa Rosalia and Loreto is a nice city on the ocean with an International Airport.
With climate change, quite a few hurricanes hit Baa so you have to check road conditions as there may be detours where bridges are being repaired.
No vehicle permit or tourist permit needed for all of Baja and only liability insurance for your driver's license or vehicle needed.
Pierce
Pierce