Tire Pressures in sand
 

I go out to the dunes often at pismo beach about 15min west of me. Typically my rig does fine and gets around everywhere, but I could use more power. I am usually too lazy to air back up so I don't even drop pressure, and I run em at the full 35psi.

Last night I got to talking to a guy with a tacoma who goes a lot, he gave some advice and said drop the pressure WAY down. I'd expect that from anyone, but I usually hear 15-20psi. He waid with SERIOUS confidence like if he had some secret that nobody knows...to drop it down to 6 PSI!! He said unless I'm doing hard donuts or roostertails, the bead shouldn't break. He said 20psi was a joke and if thats all you drop to, not to bother dropping at all. He emphasized 6, not 7, but 6psi as the magic number.

Heres some pics of the last ride

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/PICT1136.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/PICT1135.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/PICT1110.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/PICT1111.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/PICT1106.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/PICT1626.jpg

Sweet pics....in the sand I generally run between 10-12 psi

whenever we got to nc, and have to drive to the house thru 8 miles of sand i beleive we air down to like 18psi. ive seen far to many ppl sitting out there in the sand with the bead popped off thier tire for me to take my buddys dads titan any lower then that. as with my own yota.now granted thier prolly driving like idiots, but i would rather be sitting in front of the ocean drinking a beer, then sitting in front of the ocean diggin my way out and replacing a tire

It'll depend on the truck. 4runner's are heavier than tacomas so I'd say you don't need to run quite as low. However, 6psi is still in the ballpark.

I run about 10-12 psi also. If you really get into the soft stuff and are stuck, going lower will most likely get you out.

I usually run 10 PSI in my 4runner. One time I went down to 6 to help extract a stuck truck. As long as you're careful going down that low you should be fine.

Man I can't wait to get back out to Pismo...have to wait till July :(. But I usually run anywhere from 10-15psi. Usually does the trick.

I ran 20psi on my turbo sube when i was there a few weeks ago, worked fine for me, on the truck i run 10psi

I live in the 8 mile stretch of nc beach 91TPU is refering to(carova beach), every time i hit the beach in my tacoma w/ 33's, 8 psi. Makes all the difference in the world. I cut donuts on ocation, have yet to loose a bead b/c of donuts. But sand will somtimes find its way in the bead and creat slow leaks, so may not want to cut those donuts.

I've ran 6 psi and no problems, but i have to drive 15miles of pavement to get gas/ stuff. so i just keep it Around 8.

U will have no problems with power at 8 psi with your bf's. Will probably never have to lock in 4x4 either.

Have fun, and try to keep'er on all fours!

I run 8-10 at pismo. did you make it out for Surf N Turf last weekend? There was a line of toyota's about 3,400 ft. long and about 180 strong w/ more vehicle still in camp that didn't get in line.

dude that has gotta be one the nicest, greatest places i have ever been, with the exception of the horrible storms i heard u guys get, it was beautiful, we saw wild horses, swam with dolphins, or porposises whatever they were they were awesome.

funny story tho, we were driving down the beach, cruising pretty good on some flat sand, then out of nowhere whoopdedooo's like nobodys buisness. i think we came off the ground like 3 or 4 times in the titan, lol, but that things a beast, and it was all good.

ideally really low. but there isnt any sand here to wheel on really, if you go on the beach you can get arrested now. because im mostly in dirt and some small patches of sand i go down to 15. they do fine

I run 5 PSI in sand if i have something to air back up within a reasonable distance. Otherwise ill put 15psi.

Back when I still had my 22re 4runner with 33x12.5s I would air down to 10psi, if Im having problems (stuck or going 2wd) I air down to 5psi.

With my 01 Tacoma (supercharged v6) we air the front down to 17 and the rear to 14psi, (most of the time we're in 2wd with the rear locked).

My 04 Tacoma (v6 no supercharger) I air down to 14psi all around (cant go as fast, suspension limits).

I think it really depends on your horsepower, weight, and driving style. Try different air pressures, but definitely air down!

15 to 20psi
works every time and if you have to drive to get air it won't hurt your tire like the lower pressure will
of course if you have on board air, even better

nah gotta go below 10psi. I've done this ever since (usually run 8) and the truck is a friggin caddillac, lots easier on the engine too.

I've done pretty much everything in Pismo with a 2WD open differential toyota truck with 33 12.50 and stock 4.10 gears at 8-10 psi. My lady's parents live in Arroyo Grande and I go to Pismo quite often. When I get into undesirable situations my magic number is 4 psi.

I think that it also depends on how wide of a tire your are running on certain width rims. For example, if you are running a 12.5 on a 10" rim or even a 10.5 on a stock 7" rim, running a really low air pressure isn't to dangerous. If you are running a 10.5 on a 10" rim then you may want to keep your pressure up around 20psi due to the fact that the bead could pop off a little easier. Just my 2 cents.

I found 1-2 psi worked best for my Swampers in the sand:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/PismoBeach/index.shtml

What about sugar sand. I went through some of that and kept getting stuck, the momentum just wasnt there. i didnt air down though

See the tips on my page:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/PismoBea...#DrivingInSand

# Air down, way down, then air down some more.
* If your engine overheats, air down.
* If your tires dig in, air down.
* If you get stuck, air down.
* After running for a while, check the air pressure.
o Aired-down tires tend to heat up and raise the internal pressure, if this happens, air down.
* If your tire looses a bead, you've aired down just a bit too much :-)
* Harry Lewellyn's article on "Tire Pressures for 4-Wheeling" is an excellent primer on the subject.
* Niel Winnemore's article on "Ritual Tire Bleeding" is also excellent reading.
* Point of reference:
o In my first sand trip, I started out at 10psi in 33x15.50 Swampers on my 4Runner (~4000 lbs). Before I was happy with the situation, I was down in the 2psi range and probably could have gone lower.
* I found my 4Air tire deflation system was very useful for getting all 4 tires to an equal pressure, as 1 or 2 psi made a huge difference.