DMV Rivian Owners

So next week I will be in Corolla, NC for annual beach week. Am contemplating taking the R1T out on the sand. have also seen pics / heard horror stories of R1Ts digging themselves into the beach and having to be towed. Any experience in this group? Any suggestions or tips?

Don't get into super soft sand, air down, and take some recovery boards with you.

My brother lives in NC and had an old crappy Jeep for riding on the beach. He never had a problem, honestly.
If there's already a path (places where you can see others were driving), it's probably safe to drive there. If not, just take it easy. Also, if you do start to get stuck, don't think applying speed will help--you'll start to dig. At the first sign of struggle, try reversing and working your front tires back and forth. If you start to dig, air down a bit more, and get our your recovery boards.

It always helps to take a friend with kinetic recovery straps, soo.

Pretty much everything above.... and when he says air down, air DOWN. Like to 20 PSI or lower. Honestly, it is harder to get stuck than people would have you think unless you don't drop the psi and you are really racking the vehicle around in deep, soft sand. Stay away from the water of course because you could get stuck and all that salt on the car, ugh, and use sand mode. After, make sure you air back up as the handling and tires on the road at low PSI would be rough. Also recommend going to a self car wash and giving it a rinse. Make sure to pay attention to the wheels. Sometimes moist sand will get in the wheels and then when it sits overnight it will dry and acts like a giant wheel weight and throws the whole truth out of balance (I had a bad experience where I parked my explorer overnight years ago after beach driving and then spent 30 minutes at the sonic on the mainland digging hardened sand out of the wheels with a spoon/straw)

Thank you, this is very helpful! - I have done offroading more than a few times and never had an issue, but then I was with friends and also just have a higher experience / comfort level with that versus sand. I do have recovery boards and an air down valve.

I was out there in July. The R1S had no issues on the beach or back in the 4x4 home area with the twisty trails. Standard sand driving guidance applies (air down, no sudden stops, starts, or hard direction changes). Ended up pulling out an F-150. I watched a couple YouTube videos on how to drive on the sand and it never felt like I was pushing the R1S’s limits. You’ll be fine. Lower the windows and enjoy the ocean sounds!

Just wanted to give a follow up - Went out this week and it was easy as pie! (Though, if you’ve ever made a pie, thats not so easy.)

Aired down to about 22 psi, dropped it in sand mode off I went. On the ocean side of the dunes I found sand mode really restrictive as other vehicles swept past me due to the 20 mph limit in sand mode. So I moved it into rally and that was great for the firmer sand. Then we went back into the neighborhoods and woods with the large (and honestly really soft) dunes and for that I hit it back into sand mode. Again, worked like a charm. Cruised right over the dunes, never dug in or had any other issues.

Cruised around for about an hour but failed to find the horses =(

Thanks for your help and encouragement. I am wanting to “do all the things” that the truck can do but being a newbie at off-roading things, the extra support from this forum is a huge help!

DMV Rivian Owners

DMV Rivian Owners

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