what should we bring there? we got flags, shovel, ramps, tow strap, BOOMing stereo, alcohol and food. is there something more? Oh and will 4 wheel drive be required towing a 26ft funrunner?

 

Not as long as you got a buddy with a rope & 4wd.

 

okay sounds good. then we will probably end up being towed out!

 

I'm not sure what Karyn told ya, but one idea is get pulled onto the soft stuff from the hard pack. Cause diggin SUCKS! I've done it. You can also pay to get towed by Angelo's and I think one other company. Just be prepared to pay. They also do reservations for towing. Otherwise it's like $300 or some insane amount. Looks like you have most of the stuff covered.

Keep the speed up as best you can. Know where you want to go and shoot for it. Stay on the hard packed wet sand if you can. PLEASE leave the "lanes" open for other people when you set up camp. Zig-zagging around is a PITA for late arrivals. I've also heard a good trick to get unstuck is old or remnant carpet pieces. Never tried that though. Wood blocks just get barried out there and suck for traction.

Oh yeah, also time your arrival/departure with the low tides. Makes it much easier. Here's the tide tables. It makes it so much easier.

Here's a neat little trick I learned from Karyn: if you have ramps that have close rungs and runners (almost like a mesh) put them under you trailer entrance. Works better than matts (they just get covered in sand anyways). Just stomp your feet on em.

About Heaven (a.k.a. Hollister Hills SVRA) The "campground" on the hill (Radio Ridge/Hill/whatever it is) is actually Day Use Only. You can only camp in (from entrance to back) Walnut (free showers and bike wash racks), Lodge (Park Store), Bee (when they get rid of the porta-potties there is like one decent spot for a toy hauler) and Madrone. Madrone is really nice for multi-trailer groups. You can squeeze several in groups there. But it only has a pit toilet. The rest have REAL restrooms with flush toilets. Hollister really is the best ride in CA. (Some people don't like to get muddy/dirty/etc. They have Sand-Only toys. So they stick to the beach. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] )

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Woohooo.. we're headed to Pismo tomorrow!!! Here's the info I sent to the others who posted on this topic...

Pismo is not a really large riding area... but it's dunes on the beach.. how much better does it get than that.. haha.. Dunes aren't really big... if you want big, go to Dumont!!!! I drive an 04 GMC Sierra 2500HD and haul my 24ft toy hauler out there with no problem. A friend of mine tows his 18ft toy hauler with his Durango...it just depends on the sand condition. Most likely in May it will be dry and very soft. Just make sure you air down your tires. I bought these cool auto airdown thingys from Oasis Offroad.. just pop em on the tire when you hit the sand, by the time you reach the creek crossing, you're aired down. There is NO riding before pole #2. All the ATV rentals start at pole 2 so make sure you don't ride prior to those or they will fine you. They've closed off the end of the beach for the Snowy Plover seasonal shutdown so that is at pole 6, i believe... so you've got to camp between pole 2 and 6. Bigger rigs tend to stay closer to the beach line where the sand is more hardpacked. We prefer to be back closer to the dunes, less chance of having someone camp right next to you. Bring "caution" tape and stakes and stake off an area around you.. This will prevent yahoo's from riding through your camp en route to the dunes....Carry a shovel or 2 and a tow strap, in case you get stuck. If you do, there are usually plenty of people willing to pull u out. It's an ego thing out there.. hahaha.. but hey, as long as they get you unstuck, who cares.. hahahah! We've also used our ramps and put them in front of the back tires to get ourselves unstuck... works pretty good! Sand Highway is the easiest route to the back of the dunes. We have kids in our group and they ride that.. so it's a great place for beginners. Make sure ya have a flag on each bike or they'll fine you. Stores are right off the beach, atv and grocery in case you break or forget something.....There are a few pit toilets.. no running water, nothing else on the beach... bring whatever you need with you....Cell phones do work there... carry one with you, we've used them to call for help before! There is a "creek" that you will need to cross. The size of the creek can be anything from "dried up" to "a swift moving deep creek".. so watch your tide tables. I tend to watch where the trucks in front of me are taking the creek and following their route.. or if you tend to stay closer to the water line, the edges on the creek are not so sharp.. just time it between waves.. haha!

Whew, well... I guess that will get your started... Check out our site at http://groups.msn.com/ClubATVWest.
Not sure if the link at the bottom of this works or not.If you want to know any more about Pismo, let me know!!

Carnegie and Hollister are dirt tracks. Carnegie is close to Livermore or Tracy, depending on which end of the park you come in on. The park is not that large and the majority of the park ground level was an old riverbed so it is very rocky. They have tracks for quads, dirtbikes and age specific/bike size specific tracks also. Trails are all 2 way. The trails are pretty well marked. If it rains, they tend to shut down some of the trails. They do have a small store that carries food and some accessories/parts. They have a campground that has probably 20 sites, first come, first serve. 4x4 trucks, jeeps are allowed in the same area as the bikes.. you will mostly see them playing in the river beds. All in all, not bad riding, it happens to be just 20 min from my house, so we ride it often.

Hollister is a great place too! Hollister is much larger than Carnegie. All trails are 1-way trails, however, you still need to be on the lookout. We've seen "wrong way' drivers before.... so watch out. They have several campgrounds and restrooms with showers. They also have tracks for the specific bikes. They do have an area for 4x4 trucks and jeeps, etc. but that is a seperate entrance and not near the dirtbike/quad areas. If you check out our website, you'll see pictures of all the above places. If you want more info, just let me know!

 

Black and Red Warrior (Patrick).. you referrin to me when you say "Hollister really is the best ride in CA. (Some people don't like to get muddy/dirty/etc. They have Sand-Only toys. So they stick to the beach. "?????

<----SandQueen!

 

I can't believe May is still a month and a half away. See ya all then.

 

Once you get off the hardpack your not going to make it far without FWD pulling a trailer like that. Also check the tides prior to arriving. Try to time your arrival around low tide. This will give you a lot more shore line to manuever on. May want to leave the BOOMin stereo at home. At least turn it down at night.

 

dont worry the stereo will be kept down at night, we aint those annoying drunks who stay up till 5 in the morning. Because we will be riding at night.

 

here's a tip don't take a duelly they blow in the sand, and if you have room for them bring a couple 2"x12"x10' wood planks they come in handy if you do get stuck, last time i was at pismo a guy in a hummer H1 was towing trucks and trailers up into the softer dryer sand and at the end of the weekend he would come and tow you out not a bad idea if you want to get clear of the high tide we didn't and had a late night visitor 3" of water covered our camp, can someone let us know how hard they are getting on the red sticker enforcement i haven't been out since last year but am planning on may or june