Who drives their full size w/camper on sand

[dirtnadvil]

I do a fair amount of camping in Baja and the deserts here in California. My setup is a 2003 chevy 3/4 crew 4x4, outfitter apex 8, 285/75/16, G80 locker. Sandy roads aren't a problem. I have been reluctant to drive this beast onto a beach after getting stuck a few times. I haven't tried airing down and I know that is a must for flotation but honestly this looks like the spruce goose to me.

 

[Regcabguy]

I've never driven mine on the beach either. Sandy roads can be a problem with mine unless aired down. When my 285's wear down,35's will be next.
Airing down is helpful offroad for lessening flats,softening the ride and adding flotation.
A 100% cycle Viair portable pump makes short work of reinflating tires.

 

[pappawheely]

One of the reasons I went with a 37x12.5-17 Falken Wildpeak. The big rubber gives me a large footprint. I have only aired down once and that was due to driver error. I forgot to unlock my hubs the day before; it was dark out and I actually unlocked before heading into a sand wash. I drove a ways before getting stuck. After airing down, I was still having trouble so I checked the hubs and discovered my problem. I aim for the sand all the time; sometimes in 2wd because it gives a smoother ride. I also try to keep the weight of my truck equally distributed. Too heavy in front or rear will cause traction problems in the loose stuff.

 

[IdaSHO]

Ive done a bit in the sand. I always air down a bit. Onboard air is a blessing.

Ill also say that the weight distribution on soft stuff when weighing so much must have a good deal to do with it as well.

I managed to get mine split fairly well.

Loaded and wet, we sit at about 4800 on the front axle, and 5400 on the rear.

The thing handles remarkably well and is pretty well balanced.

 

[drewactual]

I run on beach... The access to the beach is the tricky part, after that it's all good... Airing down is required, not just better, required. So long as you keep moving in the deep you'll be fine.

I put on on-board air for just this reason.

Now I run 37 20's, again, but moved to 18's 37's for the beach.. the sidewall can't be over emphasized- more=better. I haven't been on the sand with the stt pro's, yet, but geolander st/s were awesome- D ply but still load index 123, the sidewalls being weaker was actually a great benefit.

If you do head out alone, make sure and have a real shovel with you.. and a spare wheel/tire.. a sand anchor works nicely to winch out with.

 

[dirtnadvil]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not running a winch at this time so I get out the old fashioned way.💪🏻. How are the 35 and 37" tires as far as drivability. I would need a lift and I thought raising my center of gravity might make the truck not handle like I want. I took my truck to Deaver springs and they added leafs and re-arced the originals. The truck is now a 1 1/2 ton rear suspension. Empty it is a buckboard, with a camper it's perfect. Totally level. I don't use the airbags any more. I have a 54 gallon fuel tank and 45-50 gal h2o, four adults, and a ton of extra gear.

 

[dirtnadvil]

What psi are you airing down to? I have a smittybuilt compressor to air up. I also have a scba bottle that I can adapt to refilling tired but it weighs more and takes up more space

 

[drewactual]

the D ply max at 50psi, i think it is.. they are 18" tires, so I can let a lot go and not worry about slapping rims, but they aren't bead locked, so I can't go down where it would be most advantageous- I can drop to mid-twenties. If they were bead locked, I'd drop to around 12~15, and because there is still a considerable volume of air in those carcasses! the 20" 37's, I don't think it will be smart to go much below 35psi... and even if I did, those sidewall are silly tough, and it likely wouldn't be healthy for them to wiggle ways they aren't 'sposed to wiggle.. so... it's going to be tire dependent, i reckon is the short answer..

I have a stack of SCOTT 45 minute SCBA bottles I'm just waiting to write off as trash- they are carbon fiber and rated at 4kpsi, which I'd have to bring them in to the Bauer station to fill them to that amount, but they are light, don't take up much room, and they are pretty dang sturdy... I can get them to 300psi at home, which is usually enough anyway. If you can find somewhere to fill the bottle you have to near it's rating, you should be fine with just that.. a dive shop, maybe? a fire station, for sure...

 

[dirtnadvil]

Drew
Do you think it is bad to run 25 psi on a e rated tire when on sand 200 yards or so. Truck and camper are around 10k lbs when fully loaded. I have a fill station at work for scba bottles that will fill to 4500 psi. P.s. Are you willing to part with a scba bottle? We use them for pcp air rifles.

 

[IdaSHO]

Ive been down to 30PSI or so on occasion on a Load E


What tires and size are you specifically running?

Size makes a big difference. A wider tire will naturally have a higher load rating at a given PSI,
so airing down on a wider tire is technically easier on the tire than a narrow tire.

 

[1stDeuce]

I ended up in a REALLY soft sand wash in Moab a few years ago with the camper on my truck. I was running 235/85R17's at 70psi all around, and it sunk like a rock. In low range, I could spin the tires slowly, but went down faster than forward or backward... I dropped the pressure to 35psi all around and drove out like it was paved!

I think many of you are SEVERELY underestimating how much of a difference airing down makes, and how "low" you can safely go... Sure, you can run HUGE tires, and lots of lift to clear them (We're talking about a Chevy, not a Dodge...) and then power through when you have to, but even on normal size tires, if you air down, you'd be surprised at how well your truck will do in soft sand. I have beat an empty 3/4 ton Chevy on 265/18's pretty hard at 15psi, and never lost a bead. If you're driving even reasonably smart, 10psi is possible. I ran 4.5psi in my Jeep on the dunes, no beadlocks, no problem. (286/75R16's)

Regardless of what vehicle I'm in, or how it's loaded, if the sand gets soft, I let out some air. Makes life easier for the truck too, since it takes a LOT less throttle to move across sand with lower tire pressure. I carry a decent (not great) 12v compressor so I can air them back up to 45psi or so before I roll far down pavement. That's enough that I can run 55mph or so until I get to a station with a real compressor. I plan to invest in a better (faster) compressor for our Baja trip this spring, but bigger tires are not on the list.

Try airing down! 285's should get you anywhere you need to go at 30psi, but if you really get screwed, you should be able to get them down to 15 without issue, and even lower for short term "emergency" situations. You'll be completely surprised how much better your truck does with proper pressure for the surface. And you're not going to hurt the tires at all at lower speeds. Just don't do 80 down the highway like that for hours in 100F heat...

Airing down also has the added benefit of greatly improving the ride over washboard roads! Actually, to go a step farther, the military did experiments and found that washboard is generally the result of vehicles running too high a tire pressure for the road surface. Running a convoy over a washboarded road with proper (lower) tire pressure actually HEALED the washboard road!! So you're doing good to air down some even for gravel roads!!

I keep saying that I need to invest some time into making a rear axle only CTIS system for our trucks... It would make life so much easier, and because they're all full floating axles, it wouldn't be that difficult...
Good luck!
Chris

 

[dirtnadvil]

Thanks Chris. I'm getting the truck ready for an insertion mission into Baja in Feb

 

[1stDeuce]

I think we're targeting early to mid-April. Hoping for warmer weather, and warm-ish water on the west coast of Baja... Should be a little better whale watching too. I think we'll probably only make it down to Concepcion bay...

 

[underdrive]

Got a possibly stupid question in regards to driving on sand - why is it that some places do not allow DRW trucks? A dually already has twice the flotation on the rear axle as compared to a SRW truck so it's less likely to sink in (and this is also why DRWs generally suck in snow, or even on wet grass). Our duallies have never bogged down to the point of having to dig them out or go for the winch. We do air the front tires down some, but not the rears, never had a problem if we take it nice and easy and just idle the torque monster up and let it do its thing in low gears. So I don't think it's a functionality issue, then what is it?

 

[Mrknowitall]

There could be a few reasons.
1. You can't air DRWs as far as singles, because the sidewalls will touch. That causes all sorts of bad friction.
2. They're susceptible to puncture from rocks getting wedged in between.
3. Possibly because of the wider track, they might not fit on established trails w/o running off the edge or causing environmental damage. A high capacity single is usually preferred when possible.