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Dean Osborne
Oregon Sand Dunes
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By Pat Harrison
Anyone who is into off-road vehicles and adventures has heard about the Oregon sand dunes. Like many of you this beachfront Mecca for motorized vehicles was on my bucket list so when Brad Peden, our new B.C. AEV dealer, told me he had an invite to join a group of Hemi powered JK’s and an empty right seat, I jumped at the offer. Although February seemed like a strange time to be hitting the stormy Oregon coast it turned out to be the perfect time for this particular run.
On the last Monday of the month our group grew in numbers as we headed south out of Seattle jacked up on caffeine and running the opposite direction of the seemingly endless six lane wide parade of lights crawling into the Emerald city. Five hours later we were checking out the town of Florence and getting our rooms for the next few days squared away.
The object of the 11-jeep gathering was to take part in some training seminars on the subjects of sand wheeling techniques, winching, vehicle recovery and safety, expertly demonstrated by certified off-road instructor Chris Wood of AEV. An added bonus for the participants would be the opportunity to be featured in a photo and video shoot by the company while taking in one of the coolest parks that allows motorized vehicles today. Chris came to the dunes as a teenager with his family and has been wheeling it ever since, so you couldn't ask for a better coach and instructor to lead the way. Park preservation and an appreciation for the area are at top of his list and it shows when you look around the pristine 7-mile long and 3 mile wide swath of undulating dunes and see no sign of other users except for their tracks. And there were plenty of tracks.
A list of things to make a trip to the dunes a successful one includes: an approved flag and up to date permit (mandatory and both obtainable in the town of Florence), leather gloves, appropriate footwear, and a shovel. For vehicle recovery, chassis mounted tow points front and rear, 17,000-lb.+ snatch strap and two 10,000 lb D-shackles. To handle a flat, a properly sized and inflated spare, a tire gauge, functioning jack, tools and a one square foot section of 3/4" plywood to keep the jack on the surface. We all aired our 35" tires down to 10 psi to spread the footprint out nicely. Sunglasses may be more important than ever as is a functioning horn and seatbelts. Finally a CB radio to keep the group in touch and help avoid close calls. Keep your gear well secured with cargo straps so it won't fly up and remind you that steel is probably harder than your head.
As fun and intoxicating as the wide-open terrain can be there is definitely an element of danger involved. Users are well advised to keep their attention level high and know their vehicles abilities before pushing it too far on the slopes and drops that present themselves over and over again. Going with a group, preferably one with experience, and sticking together is a good plan because winching is almost inevitable. And winch we did. Out of holes, up hills, multiple Jeep pulls and use of the pull-pal were all explored with great success during our three days of laying tracks across the entire area. It sure didn't hurt having Hemi powered, automatic transmission equipped JK’s as we ripped it up. I'm not so sure how well I would have done in my own mere mortal rig with a manual transmission.
As I mentioned earlier the timing was right for this run. It was an awesome group of AEV owners that came together, the weather cooperated (for the most part), the sand was still firm and we had the entire park almost to ourselves. I kept thinking how cool it would be to live so close to such a fun recreational area. Then Brad reminded me that I do... its called British Columbia. Keep the Oregon sand dunes on that bucket list though; it's well worth the drive. The state is recreation friendly and so are the people. Just don't try to pump your own gas like we did, its full serve from state line to state line.