teotwaki
Excelsior!
Wondering if the airplane tires are just big and fat and provide a large contact patch without the need to air down?
Speaking of strange things out there:
Giant C.R.A.B.S.
Towing off-road trailer in SAND
- Thread starter XJINTX
- Start date
Wondering if the airplane tires are just big and fat and provide a large contact patch without the need to air down?
Speaking of strange things out there:
Giant C.R.A.B.S.
adventureduo
Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
Don't think i have any or else i would have posted it.
I will still stand behind my post of not-deflating. Our trailer is 1400 lbs dry and it's not heavy enough to matter. Of course, huge trailers like the ones pictured above get aired down. Not arguing that point, heck those trailers weigh as much as our tow vehicles
For our trailer weight it doesn't make a big difference airing it down other than it's ride characteristics and absorbing vibration. It's being pulled, not motored. It doesn't care if it's deflated or aired up, i use less resistance by not deflating.There's many schools of thought and to each their own. Do what works for you and what makes you comfortable in the situation you're in. Like i said also, i do air down the trailer on every trip. Not for traction but to lessen the vibration and abuse on the suspension. Or if we're headed through rocky conditions where we need the footprint. Same as you would for the tow rig.
candyapple
New member
I go to N. Padre Island all the time. Have a great time and bring a buddy or two...
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teotwaki
Excelsior!
Don't think i have any or else i would have posted it.
I will still stand behind my post of not-deflating. Our trailer is 1400 lbs dry and it's not heavy enough to matter. Of course, huge trailers like the ones pictured above get aired down. Not arguing that point, heck those trailers weigh as much as our tow vehicles
There's many schools of thought and to each their own. Do what works for you and what makes you comfortable in the situation you're in. Like i said also, i do air down the trailer on every trip. Not for traction but to lessen the vibration and abuse on the suspension. Or if we're headed through rocky conditions where we need the footprint. Same as you would for the tow rig.
Okay, based on what I have seen with my own trailer in deep soft sand the tires did not cut through the sand. They tended to build a "bow wave" of sorts that to me indicated that the tires were sinking down and not easily able to climb over the sand that piled up while being towed. This was observed when I got out to look over things so no pictures. LOL... self-skewered!:sombrero:
I have no problem with there being different schools of thought because those thoughts are triggered by a very valid but specific personal experience with a particular trailer. Mario also had a trailer that weighed in at 1400 pounds and detailed how he had to air his trailer down. So what is going on? I don't want to try to say Mario is right and you are not.
I feel that looking at the details would be educational. Dammit, I'm an engineer and not one of the sand people Dave! Ha-Ha :arabia:
I want to pick things into pieces and understand how they work. So I'd submit that to truly understand we have to consider that the trailer's total weight, weight ratio front and rear of its axle, tongue weight, track width compared to the tow vehicle, tire size, tow vehicle wheelbase/weight/tire type/horsepower, sand granularity and moisture content, % grade and so on are all variables. Almost too danged complex so each person should pay attention to what their trailer does and air up or down as needed.
Isn't that what we should all do for every instance? Experimentation is the best way to figure it out for there are always too many real world variables to take too much advice from the internet...
I've always laughed when people ask "what pressure should I run my truck on the rocks/sand/mud/etc....." Figure out what works best for you and your setup.
teotwaki
Excelsior!
I'd bet that you'd agree that good background knowledge is very useful to guide the experiment and judge the results. To your point, lacking such knowledge should not cause one to forgo the experiement, right? So rather than laugh at someone who asks you for a fish, take a little time to show them how to fish.
Yes, of course, I didn't say I never helped them.
What is laughable is when someone wants to know the exact pressure one would use for their tires (regardless of known or unknown variables). I've always acquired a general knoweldge via readings or inquiry and then experimented to get results that I need/want which is respectable for anyone.
I do not regularly pull a trailer, but I have, pull a trailer in sand... and my experience is that lowering tire pressure on the trailer tires helps in the sand environment. I never use a certain (specific) tire pressure for different environments, but adjust them according to the terrain. Start high then go lower (usually at pee/snack breaks). Note though, that I've never gone so low as that I needed to increase air pressure while on the trail.
Roger, don't get too hung up on the details, just have fun and enjoy the beach... and like any good explorer, figure it out as you go.
My experience in the sand, I was towing my trailer up Afton Canyon on the Mojave Trail a few weeks back. My truck tires were aired down, trailer tires were not, I bogged down and got stuck. I aired down my trailer tires, let the trans cool and made it to our camp site with no more problem. So for me, airing down my trailer tires in the sand worked.
Being the tow vehicle myself on several occasions with my kayak on various tires in soft sand.
First attempt to pull my fully loaded fishing kayak 2 miles north up the Oregon coast to launch into ocean in an area not easily reached any other way was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My tires on my 120+ lb loaded kayak were just your typical hand truck tires. These tires drug in the sand so bad I had to keep repositioning the cart under the kayak as it would slide rearward as I pulled the kayak.
Second attempt to pull the same kayak, similarly loaded less than 3 weeks later over the same stretch of soft sand with low pressure sand tires was a HUGE relief!!! :Wow1:
I could literally get the kayak to coast over the softest sand it was ridiculous!
I would challenge anyone with the notion that slicing through the sand is less effort than floating over the surface to try this.
Pull a two wheel cart of any weight by yourself with your own legs once with the sand slicers, and once with the floaters and then try to keep your opinion from changing.
Aired down (floatation) tires on a trailer over sand is less work on your tow vehicle than the sand slicing tires are.
First attempt to pull my fully loaded fishing kayak 2 miles north up the Oregon coast to launch into ocean in an area not easily reached any other way was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My tires on my 120+ lb loaded kayak were just your typical hand truck tires. These tires drug in the sand so bad I had to keep repositioning the cart under the kayak as it would slide rearward as I pulled the kayak.
Second attempt to pull the same kayak, similarly loaded less than 3 weeks later over the same stretch of soft sand with low pressure sand tires was a HUGE relief!!! :Wow1:
I could literally get the kayak to coast over the softest sand it was ridiculous!
I would challenge anyone with the notion that slicing through the sand is less effort than floating over the surface to try this.
Pull a two wheel cart of any weight by yourself with your own legs once with the sand slicers, and once with the floaters and then try to keep your opinion from changing.
Aired down (floatation) tires on a trailer over sand is less work on your tow vehicle than the sand slicing tires are.
theicecreampeople
Adventurer
ok roger ,,,its a test now ...lol..look what you started ....tomorrow we will decide who does what ,air up air down ..we will do it different ..and report what results we get ...im thinking air up myself thinking less drag ....so you air down ..cant wait to see you guys tomorrow ...and will be a great tip ...j
theicecreampeople
Adventurer
ohh but your in a jeep ...so i may have the advantage being in a toyota ...lol...ha ha ha ha
teotwaki
Excelsior!
Never thought of that test! Nice one.
njtacoma
Explorer
Slicing bad... floating good
This is not nearly as scientific as INSAYN's test. But I have a pop up trailer I pull down on to the beach at Lake Mcconnaughy in Nebreaska. The first year I had 5.30 - 12 tires and it sliced into the sand and was like trying to pull an anchor across the beach. Upgraded to 175/80-13 (hugh I know, but 2 to 3 times wider) and it pulled much nicer across the sand. Granted not the same beach, but I could feel the difference.
Perhaps some of the difference we are talking about is the lighter big tired offroad trailers don't need to air down because they already have such low footprint pressure it doesn't matter, but in more conventional tired trailers it is more important.
This is not nearly as scientific as INSAYN's test. But I have a pop up trailer I pull down on to the beach at Lake Mcconnaughy in Nebreaska. The first year I had 5.30 - 12 tires and it sliced into the sand and was like trying to pull an anchor across the beach. Upgraded to 175/80-13 (hugh I know, but 2 to 3 times wider) and it pulled much nicer across the sand. Granted not the same beach, but I could feel the difference.
Perhaps some of the difference we are talking about is the lighter big tired offroad trailers don't need to air down because they already have such low footprint pressure it doesn't matter, but in more conventional tired trailers it is more important.
shortbus4x4
Expedition Leader
A lot depends on the sand too on whether or not you need to air down. Talk to any desert dweller and they will tell you there are different types of sand.
teotwaki
Excelsior!
Yes! Where I went to White Pocket (Ariz) that sand was soft, dry and very deep.