The USGS figure, which the State Climatology Office repeats. Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 3,534. The low point is the Atlantic Ocean at sea level
The Enoree trail states the width outright, and all four systems refuse Jeeps, Hummers and other four-wheel drive vehicles
of refuge road open to vehicles at Carolina Sandhills 28
140 mi
Earthen and gravel, plus a paved Visitors Drive, all of it open to traffic unless marked otherwise
acres leased into the wildlife management area programme 50
1.1M
Paid for out of WMA permit sales, and mostly private ground the public is allowed onto
tropical cyclones have come ashore here since 1851 52
44
Four of them as major hurricanes. Storms that land on the Gulf coast often cross the Midlands and Upstate as well
Fabrication for clay, sand and salt
Three surfaces, three problems. Piedmont clay is slick wet and sets like concrete dry, so anything that traps mud will carry it for a week. Coastal plain sand loads suspension and brakes with grit. Salt air on the Lowcountry and the Intracoastal does the rest.
That points at drainage and coating rather than armour. There is no rock here to punch a hole in a tank. What kills fabrication in South Carolina is a weld seam that holds water, an unsealed box section, and bare steel a hundred miles from the ocean in August.
When a catalog part does not exist for your vehicle, does not fit with what you already have, or is not strong enough for what you do, a fabricator builds it. Steel or aluminum, welded, finished, and mounted so the load goes into structure rather than sheet metal.
They also fix what breaks: cracked mounts, bent sliders, torn brackets and the frame damage that ends trips.
Common work
01Bumpers with winch mounts and rated recovery points
02Rock sliders and skid plates
03Roof racks, bed racks and ladders
04Swing-outs for tires, fuel and water
05Mounts for tanks, compressors and batteries
06Frame and bracket repair
How to choose a fabricator
Metalwork is easy to judge if you know where to look.
01Look at the welds, then at how the part mounts. Recovery points and sliders should tie into the frame.
02Ask whether they design in CAD or build to the vehicle, and whether you get drawings.
03Ask about material and finish. Raw, painted and powder coated parts age very differently.
04Ask if they have built for your platform before. Templates and fixtures save you money.
05Ask how a front bumper affects airbag sensors and crush zones. A shop that has done it properly will have an answer.
What to have ready before you ask for a quote
Photographs do most of the talking.
01Clear photos of the vehicle and the area the part mounts to
02What is already mounted there: winch model, lights, tire size
03What the part has to carry, and how much it weighs
04Steel or aluminum, and the finish you want
05A budget range and your timing
Questions people ask
Custom or off the shelf?
If a well-made part exists for your vehicle, it is usually cheaper and faster than custom, and a good fabricator will tell you so. Custom earns its cost when nothing fits, when parts from different makers have to work together, or when you need it stronger or lighter than the catalog offers.
Steel or aluminum?
Steel is stronger for the money, easier to repair in the field and heavier. Aluminum saves real weight on racks, skid plates and boxes, but costs more and needs a welder who works with it regularly. Many builds use both: steel where it hits rocks, aluminum where it just carries things.
Can a fabricator repair a cracked frame or mount?
Often, yes. Send clear photos with your request. A good shop will tell you whether it can be repaired properly or needs replacing.
How high is South Carolina?
From McClellanville at 8 feet to Sassafras Mountain at 3,560.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
PickensTwelve miles from Table Rock and fifteen from Keowee-Toxaway on SC 111,108 ft
WalhallaThe way in to the Andrew Pickens district by SC 28 and SC 1071,028 ft
GreenvilleFull services in the Upstate, and the road up to Jones Gap and Caesars Head980 ft
SenecaOconee County services between Lake Hartwell and Lake Keowee953 ft
UnionEnoree district country on the Broad and Tyger rivers640 ft
AbbevilleLong Cane country, five miles from the Parsons Mountain OHV trailhead595 ft
McCormickThurmond Lake shoreline and the middle of the Savannah River byway537 ft
EdgefieldLong Cane ranger district office, on the piedmont side of the forest529 ft
AikenThe southern Savannah River corridor, twenty miles south of Edgefield516 ft
WhitmireThe Enoree OHV trail and Brick House campground are minutes out of town436 ft
ColumbiaForest supervisor’s office, the state capital and the road to Congaree298 ft
CherawChesterfield County town on the Pee Dee side of the sandhills refuge156 ft
SanteeLake Marion, five miles south of the Santee refuge headquarters137 ft
Moncks CornerBerkeley County services on the western edge of the Francis Marion55 ft
CharlestonCoastal services, the Ashley River Road and the south end of the Francis Marion10 ft
McClellanvilleBuck Hall landing, the Wambaw country and the way to Cape Romain8 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Sassafras MountainThe state high point, in Pickens County. The USGS figure, which the State Climatology Office repeats. Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 3,5343,560 ft
Pinnacle MountainOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, above Table Rock State Park in Pickens County3,425 ft
Caesars HeadThe figure the Department of Natural Resources publishes for the overlook in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness and Recreation Area, on US 276 above Greenville3,266 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
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