tire pressure in sand

[Vicreo A Legarreta]

I got a question about how much pressure is safe to use in sand, this pass sunday I wend to the dunes and I drop the psi to 20, but got stuck so drop to 15 psi and run ok but how far can I go on psi to be safe.
thanks

 

[JumpinFord]

depends on the tire size, the vehicle, the speed and style of driving, and even the type of sand. The rule of thumb is if you got stuck, you didn't go far enough. If you pulled a tire off the bead, you went to far. I used to run my 33's on my 79 Bronco at about 13. the 38s on my dads 75 F-250 would run 10-12 in the front and 8 in the rear. I think my brothers ranger with stock 235ish tires on it we would take down to about 15.

 

[Vicreo A Legarreta]

well I forgot to mention what type tires I am running, they are 31 in 89 ford ranger, and is loose sand, and I am worry to pulled the tire of the bead.

 

[TwoTrack]

I run 31x10.5 BFG's on a 15x8 rim and do considerable amounts of sand driving. I air all corners down to 8 PSI. I've been doing this for almost 2 years now and never had a problem. I've been stuck once but it was because the vehicle in front of me got stuck on an uphill climb and i had to stop as well. Wasn't much fun but I don't blame the tires.

 

[Hilldweller]

http://www.overlandtraining.com/research/downloads/OT_TechPaper1.pdf

 

[1stDeuce]

^^ That is a good read!
The ONLY answer to this question is "It depends". The answer is obtained by reading the above, using common sense, and possibly a little learning.
I routinely run the 285/16's on my TJ at 4.5psi (yes, four and a half) in really soft and dry sand. I don't do donuts, but I do run it pretty hard, and I've not lost a bead. At pressures that low though, the tire will tend to slip on the rim a little, which makes the balance go out.
On my 2500 GMC, I'm running 235/80R17's, and I haven't taken the fronts below 20. (They look SQUASHED at 20, so I think going lower is not really in my best interest...) The rears look about the same at 13-14psi.

You're on the right track... 15psi for a 31 on a little truck is still much higher than I'd run. You should be safe to 8psi without worry, particularly if they're on the stock 7" wheels. The wider the wheel, the easier it can be to roll the bead off if you're driving a little too boldly. (IE, turning sharp and hard and fast, donuts, jumps, etc.)
Have fun!!
Chris

 

[Vicreo A Legarreta]

hey guy's thank to all for the good information on tire psi, yesterday went with my wife for a long hike in the dunes, and we drove 10 kilometer into the dune left the truck park in the dune, and did a 15 plus kilometer hike, 13 psi in the front and 10 psi on the back, well it was fun, nothing fancy, going up and down in the dune, the tires handled real asom, now the problem I have to get a real good air compressor, I got one from slime Piece of crap, here is pic.

goin back to the truck



relaxing the moonlight 11:00 p.m



sorry for my bad english :sombrero:

 

[Hilldweller]

hey guy's thank to all for the good information on tire psi, yesterday went with my wife for a long hike in the dunes, and we drove 10 kilometer into the dune left the truck park in the dune, and did a 15 plus kilometer hike, 13 psi in the front and 10 psi on the back, well it was fun, nothing fancy, going up and down in the dune, the tires handled real asom, now the problem I have to get a real good air compressor, I got one from slime Piece of crap, here is pic.

goin back to the truck



relaxing the moonlight 11:00 p.m



sorry for my bad english :sombrero:

Looks like fun!
And your English is fine.... ....just don't say "kilometer" to Americans. It makes our brains turn off for 10 minutes while we try to convert it in our heads.

 

[Allof75]

I don't have a ton of sand driving under my belt, but when I have, I drop my 245s (~9.5in) to 22 psi and have superb traction.

 

[wallaceg]

Most of my off-road driving is in deep, very soft dune sand on Cape Cod. I reduce my tire pressure to 10 psi and have never gotten stuck in the sand with 225/65-17 all-season tires. "Low and slow" is the motto on the beach. Reduce your tire pressure and drive with a very light foot and you'll go just about anywhere.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Straight to the heart--good info-

Most of my off-road driving is in deep, very soft dune sand on Cape Cod. I reduce my tire pressure to 10 psi and have never gotten stuck in the sand with 225/65-17 all-season tires. "Low and slow" is the motto on the beach. Reduce your tire pressure and drive with a very light foot and you'll go just about anywhere.

Now Dune climbers/racers have a much different setup, but thats another story-

Another addition that really helps in sand, regardless of the sand consistency, is fat tread tires/lockers and very low geared diffs, (high numerical)

Because of that I don't airdown unless it snows

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[Gooseberry]

Use a psi number now but was in the school of using the 1/3 rule. I would measure the high of the side wall and drop it 1/4 to 1/3 of that. My current vehicle gets 30 to 35 psi in the sand.

 

[wallaceg]

If you drive slowly with gentle steering/throttle/brake inputs (all of which prevent getting stuck and are safer for yourself, other people nearby, and the environment), you really don't need to worry about a tire coming off the rim or slipping at 10 psi. By using the "low and slow" technique I've driven my RAV4 (AWD with stock tires and modest ground clearance) through plenty of sand that has snagged trucks with big tires at street pressure.

 

[Erik N]

If I run the Beach Suburban through more than about 25 miles round trip of soft sand, I will air down to 18F/21R. Otherwise I don't bother. Also I try to drive at low tide on the hard sandpack.

The old POS Xploder got 17F/19R. It rode on 30" tires.

 

[SoCalMonty]

I generally don't drive off pavement at anything over 28psi anyhow. I don't like replacing my fillings after each outing.

It depends on the composition of the sand, the weight of your truck, and the tires you're on...but, I'd say the range could be anywhere from 15 to 30psi in general. The lighter the truck, and the larger the tires, the better you're going to "float" over the sand. If you find you're sinking in too much, let out 5psi and try again. Season to taste.

My XJ danced above it, whereas my Montero sinks into it (difference in weight between the two trucks is about 1,500 lbs as driven on the trail).