I got a good question in my e-mail and thought I'd throw it out for discussion. All you "boat-people" can sit back and relax on this one. Don't need your Lorans or outriggers for this one. The Question was posed to me as to recommendation of a good four wheel drive vehicle. Now, I don't know about y'all, but we have some pretty nasty sand down at Hatteras. Why, I've seen Wagoneers literally buried at The Point. And that's not just a joke either. I mean it! So we take our beach buggies pretty seriously down here. Now the locals down there drive out on the beach in anything that runs. They'll take 2Xs out there with the tires down to 10# and get around as good as most of us tourons in 4Xs. But us tourons have some other demands of our beach buggies. First and foremost, they got to get us there and back and preferably in one piece! So I responded to him as follows: * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ha! Ask 10 different people and you'll get 10 different answers. How much money you got? How many people does it have to hold? What other functions does it have to perform? How many "creature comforts does it have to have? In terms of straight beach-buggy issues, there are 3: It has to get you there and back in one piece reliably; it has to hold all your gear easily and logically; it has to be able to get you around on the beach and reliably get you out of - keep you out of trouble! Other insundry issues are things like bang-for-the-buck. What is "best value?" How many people does it have to hold? A family? More than 3? Less than 4? Before I bought my beach buggy I was lucky. I had the chance to drive a bunch of different vehicles on the beach. I got to see how a lot of people set theirs up. For my money, factors were distance from the beach plus all the others (my family, etc.). Four years ago, I got a "late-model" - low-mileage used Trooper ('90) that still had its undercoat intact (important - meant it had never been off-road before I got it). I love it! I then built my own roof-mount rod-rack (for the distance haul), and purchased a "ready-made" cooler rack for the front (holds 6 rods & a 96 qt. cooler). It bolts on and off easily for street or beach. I put a plastic gun rack in one of the back windows to hold light and ultra-light rods and terminal tackle. So with family and family gear, I'm able to easily carry 2 large tackle boxes, cast-net, waders, chairs, toys, plus 10-14 rods. Now-a-days? Bang-for-buck wise, I'd have to recommend the Ford Explorer as a "best-value." Get a 5-speed. Don't go for all the "lights-&-bells-&-whistles." * * * * * * * * * * * * * Okay, y'all. Now it's your turn. What makes a good beach buggy, and why? Carl Dolmetsch / Newport News, VA NCBBA #7125