What are your thoughts on using a 2008 Honda CRV AWD on the beaches in NC . I have experience driving on the beach and plan to air down the tires to 19psi. In the past I have rented a 4WD. How do think the car will handle on the sand.
Much of that answer may lie in the tires.
After all, dune buggys are two wheel drive.
Hard sand surfaces on some beaches may be OK. If the sand is deep, this practice is very hard on an awd system and should be avoided. The exception are those awd systems that have a locking lever. Your CRV may not. IMO, you will definitely age the transmission if it does not lock in the same way as a part time system. In general,a CRV should not be driven off road or anywhere you would not drive an ordinary fwd car…
There is NO WAY you can fit tires that float enough on an awd car like a CRV to aid traction in deep sand. Lowering the pressure on ordinary all season tires will do little to help you in deep sand.
If this is salt water. Leave it in the parking lot and rent a 4X4. Salt water and cars don’t mix. I once got a Jeep for parts that was drove on the beach in Fl. Only had around 20,000 on it. Look like 500,000 of salt road miles. The salt was even eating the cast iron transfer case.
How many Beaches can you actually drive on? You would be hard pressed to find a modern tire with the correct profile for sand running,wouldnt recommend a CRV for sand travel,you need something with light weight and low ground pressure and enough power to overcome the friction of the sand without straining a dune buggy had the added advantage of little weight on the front end with a lot less rolling resistance for the drive wheels to overcome before traction became an issue,you would be amazed at how much power even “cutting in” an inch eats up-Kevin