Question on Lowering Tire pressure

[Wallowa]

May never need to but what tire pressure for short stretches is safe for a Tundra/Hawk [at GVW] with Cooper AT3s / E rated? Deep sand, snow, mud...

My guess is 25 psi...currently run 60+ psi..."safe" is the key word; no loss of tire.

Thanks..Phil

 

[Mthomas]

Off road at, low speed, pretty much as low as you want. At some point you will unseat the bead. I would star at 40% lower and go from there. More air out if you need more traction. With an e rated tire and depending on tire size, sidewall height, etc, you are not going to get the super giant contact patch a rockcrawler will, but you are in a truck with a camper attached to it.

 

[JHanson]

Correct (and safe) pressure varies with the situation and the substrate. In deep sand you could go all the way down to one bar (14.7 psi) with your combination, although 18-20 will float you across most sand. For general driving on trails, to increase comfort and traction and decrease stress on the vehicle, try around 40-45 if 60 is your pavement pressure. Same or a little lower for mud and snow. There's more detailed information here.

 

[Wallowa]

Correct (and safe) pressure varies with the situation and the substrate. In deep sand you could go all the way down to one bar (14.7 psi) with your combination, although 18-20 will float you across most sand. For general driving on trails, to increase comfort and traction and decrease stress on the vehicle, try around 40-45 if 60 is your pavement pressure. Same or a little lower for mud and snow. There's more detailed information here.

All good advice...and understood...I never thought of "stress on vehicle" with higher pressures off road; excellent point, broken metal is tough to fix on the road..my "higher pressures off road" comes from off road motorcycle riding to prevent pinch flats and punctures....but on the bikes my speed is much higher than in Tundra...

Non sequitur .... but Tundra has Firestone air bags, rear Heli sway bar and tires are LT 285/85 R16 [E rated]..Warn winch with receivers fore and aft.

Calls to WRT rangers and they keep coming back to carrying 2 sets of tire chains...not going to happen for me...if we encounter anything that could be a "stop right there" and would necessitate chains, we turn around or sit there and wait out drying of mud or melting of snow if those are the issues..sand out near South Coyote/White Pocket might need lower tire pressure but that is about it...I also do not drive on wet clay, have in past lifetime had tires gumboed up with clay and zero traction....

Anyway...thanks so much for the input you folks have offered...it is appreciated..

Phil

 

[pvstoy]

...sand out near South Coyote/White Pocket might need lower tire pressure but that is about it......

Phil

Yea you will need lower there for White Pocket just to make it enjoyable. It depends on the season too. Wet then the sand compacts. Hot and dry sink in further. Not to mention all the other people driving habits making pot holes and churning it up.

 

[Wallowa]

Yea you will need lower there for White Pocket just to make it enjoyable. It depends on the season too. Wet then the sand compacts. Hot and dry sink in further. Not to mention all the other people driving habits making pot holes and churning it up.

We are at S. Coyote and White Pocket 3-10,11 and 12...doubt if it will be "hot and dry"......thanks for heads up..

Phil

 

[Adventurer]

Yep, 25 would work well. 20 would too, but 25 will make you feel more comfortable about not losing a bead.

 

[Zoomad]

I'll drop to 20psi pretty quickly on any trail. If it's more rocky I might go 15-18 psi. That's loaded out to 6,400 pounds on load range E 315/75-16 tires. Not come close to popping a bead, but I won't go below 15 ever.

 

[Wallowa]

Hey everyone...thanks for the input...must confess that after decades of backroads and trails [not much real rock crawling Jeep stuff] I have never lowered pressure; pick my paths and take it slow...BUT will keep that option open and appreciate the advice....trial and error, but definitely will error on conservative side and keep speed down and pressure near 25 psi....if I lower it.

Now if weather will only hold.......

Thanks,
Phil

 

[AWG_Pics]

Phil

I have been watching this thread as you get some back & forth advice. Like you, I have been doing the backcountry in 4WD rigs for most of my life and have never aired down either. Maybe I will give it a try on our trip to Death Valley later this week. I am curious about what you decide to do.

Have a great trip.

Tony

 

[Lighthawk]

We drop our Tundra/Hawk combo to 25 front and 35 rear for driving comfort and increased traction, especially on multi day trips.

Sometimes the opposite question comes up.
How far and at what speed can we safely travel without airing up? We carry a small compressor, but sometimes the gas station is only 20 miles down the road. I won't drive freeway speeds, but have driven on soft tires a ways, while watching corners with caution.

 

[Wallowa]

AWG...will do; you enjoy your trip to DV, that and White Mountains are on our short list for next year or even this Fall... we will let you know how we handled tire pressure when we get back; early April...my compressor that I carry is: VIAIR 450P Automatic Function Portable Compressor....

If I get into a situation where I am losing traction I will air down....otherwise, notwithstanding the factor I missed, that of jarring the Tundra/Hawk on hard tires, I will simply slow down on any road that could deliver a real shock...unfortunately, unexpected, unseen, road condition can whoop the truck before I can slow down...always a compromise...but tires are part of the suspension system.

Phil

 

[Adventurer]

If for no other reason than ride quality.

 

[pvstoy]

For your trip out to White Pocket when you come in from South or North on House Rock Road. Drop your air pressure early on and refill before pavement. Put a extra 7 to 10 psi in and then in the morning you just need to let air out to adjust instead of pulling out the air compressor.

Dropping early you wont have to do it later and it will give you a smother ride. Early March you may run into some sections that are slick or mucked up and dried. Softer ride makes it better. Check with BLM and call a local guides to see what the road conditions are.

If North is bad then consider coming in on the South. There are some muddy sections getting to White Pocket turn off but not as much coming in from the North.

Going into White Pocket there are stretches of sand and areas of rock outcroppings. So you go slow on the rocks and keep momentum on the sand.

That time of year expect rain and snow, cloudy days and clear days. Seasonal changes.

Take half or a little more air out. You can always take more if needed. I have been there 4 times and three times towing a Casita trailer with my Toyota 4 Runner. 16 psi Runner and 23 psi trailer. I always got the look and question... how did you get that in here?? I respond. "It's OK it is just a drag"
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[pvstoy]

Just what awaits you.
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[Wallowa]

Thanks...

Just what awaits you.
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PatrickPevey_Sandstone castle_Landscapes.jpg

Thanks..photo looks like WP...you said "North", I assume you referred to N. Coyote? Yes, on entry and exit on House Rock Rd.. We have a permit for S. Coyote only, on 3-11. Plan to spend night at Cottonwood Cove TH 3-10 and then late in day drive over to WP and camp the night of 3-11 there....gives my Bride, who has been there before [but I haven't] the opportunity for photography in morning and evening at both locations....then on to Tuweep CG on the Rim!

 

[Vic Harder]

I'd like more details on the south vs north approach. Plan on being in there in April too.

 

[pvstoy]

Looks like you are coming in North on House Rock and when done going out the South. You can always try for a walk in permit for the Wave when you drive through Kanab.

Cottonwood Cove is nice and at the trail head you can camp as the permit area is behind the parking area. At the parking area the evening before head from the parking area North East to a cluster of rocks and explore. It is outside the permit area.

The road between the airstrip and White Pocket is always thrashed, watch your speed as hitting pot holes in the sand will rearrange the contents of the camper.

I have found going to Cottonwood cove using the road from the south BM 1066 is best than heading up hill from House Rock to Paw hole.. After White Pocket use BM ??? this map does not give it. But better and that is where I took the trailer 3 times and came out last year with the camper.
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[Wallowa]

Looks like you are coming in North on House Rock and when done going out the South. You can always try for a walk in permit for the Wave when you drive through Kanab.

Cottonwood Cove is nice and at the trail head you can camp as the permit area is behind the parking area. At the parking area the evening before head from the parking area North East to a cluster of rocks and explore. It is outside the permit area.

The road between the airstrip and White Pocket is always thrashed, watch your speed as hitting pot holes in the sand will rearrange the contents of the camper.

I have found going to Cottonwood cove using the road from the south BM 1066 is best than heading up hill from House Rock to Paw hole.. After White Pocket use BM ??? this map does not give it. But better and that is where I took the trailer 3 times and came out last year with the camper.
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image001.jpg

Thanks for tip on BLM 1066...I think since we are coming off 89 from Page, South on House Rock that I put in the route North of 1066 past Paw Hole; will go down to 1066, few more miles but might avoid a tiger trap...we go through Kanab after stopping at SCB and WP in route to Tuweep CG.. [then on to Smoky Mt Rd North].

Just for me, but this may well be the last and only time I ever plan a trip to a location that requires using a lottery system or reserving on-line at one minute after midnight to try for a very limited number of reservations the instant 4 months in advance that site come up for reservations [did this for 5 nights for White Rim camp sites; oh, don't forget time zones!]. Complicating all that is that each agency and district seems to have a unique set of rules about how and when to submit an "application" for a reservation...hence the "Wave" is out the air-lock for me; no interest in this grist mill created by mobs of visitation and the complicating agency mandates. Too many people, I dig it, but I will seek out more BFE locations and leave these other locations to the 'surge'. Prefer HITR type options.

Thanks again...appreciate this type of first-hand information.

Phil

 

[ntsqd]

Like Zoomad my normal low pressure is 20 PSI for the lighter rigs (Bronc-up, Blanc-Oh!, 4rnnr, yota pick-up). I've never had a situation where I felt like I needed to go lower.

On the heavier rigs like our CTD/pop-top and both Suburbans 40 PSI is my first stop. I've never felt the need to go lower with them either, but I keep the option open.

I know a guy with a Samurai on Super Swampers whose low pressure is to take the valve stem cores out and put them in the glove box. When the tires stop whistling he puts the caps back on loosely to keep dirt out of the insides of the tires.