I'm heaading to the Gulf of Mexico for some flats fishing and I'll be sleeping in my Runner and touring the beach. This means I'll also be driving on the beach. What tire pressure should I be running for the sand and how far can I drive on the street to get the air back in before I damage my tires with low pressure?

Thanks

 

excellent questions that i need the answers to as well -- heading to cape cod in a few weeks to do some sand driving myself.

 

Here is the definitive article on what pressure to run for sand.

http://www.4x4now.com/sfjun96.htm

Enjoy reading. Have some coffee first before attempting to get thru it this early in the morning.

G

 

Great link. Thanks Doc.

 

I don't usually air my tires down for anything. I think it is because I am lazy. I understand the benifits but I would rather not chance a bead being poped off. The ride is much softer with lower pressure. If you run high pressure be very careful that you stop in soft sand. I would not recomend going below 10psi.

 

Low tire pressure is a must for sand driving. Even with high flotation tires designed for sand. Weight is the enemy. I have been beach driving for 30 years and have has dropped the pressure to 8lbs at times when the sand was soft and deep and my rig was fully loaded. I have seen many times a yahoo who goes flying out on the beach with street pressure only to go a couple of hundred yards and sinking to the axle. I have walked over and helped them drop the pressure and away they go. One bozo thought I was crazy so I let him pay a tow service $90 bucks to drag him out. I saw him the next day drive right through the same spot with his tires dropped to 15lbs. Try it both ways and see. I usually start out with around 18lbs and adjust accordingly.

Have fun at the beach.

 

You're very welcome. Have fun at the Gulf!

G

 

Here's my writeup on sand wheeling

 

Both great reads, thanks guys. I'm glad to see some numbers behind it.

 

I only air down as a recovery tactic. Other than being lazy, I have a poor air supply. I drove all over Michigan Dunes at 32PSI last summer with no probs. The main reason though is that an aired up tire is like a fuse. It has less traction, so in a tough spot, the tire will slip and spin before a cv-joint or an axleshaft or something like that breaks. I think it is a great concept.

Lamm

 

People who don't air down their tires create big ruts in the roads on the beach.

 

I just got back from wilmington NC where I did a little beach riding. I wanted to try out my new MT/R's out in the sand. My old dunlop 285's actually worked better in the sand than my 305 goodyears. I guess the goodyears are heavyer and wider so the bog down. Never less it was still a lot of fun. The good years do climb hills better. They dig great witch is a good thing and some times a bad thing in the sand.

I ran 32psi the whole time. I never air down even though I always have a air compressor with me. Talk about lazy. ha ha

 

Lower pressure would prevent the bogging down. You could probably drop those tires to 10 psi for starters. Make a lot less work for the engine and give you a lot more flotation and traction.

 

Mud tires do worse on the sand than all terrain tires because they dig too much. Generally, worn tires do better than new ones too.

 

No M1911, poor driving and failure to adhere to the tread lightly creedo causes ruts. Wheelspin is the culprit, not PSI. Trust me, if I was tearing it up, I would change what I'm doing.

Lamm