Tire pressure on dirt roads

[travelingdan]

I blew out a tire recently (and I was only going 10-12 mph) on a dirt/loose rock road. I believe a pointed rock struck the tire's sidewall and the tire blew. I was running full inflate and was told that when driving on dirt/rocky roads I should deflate my tires. What would be a good psi to be running while driving on dirt/loose rock roads? Thanks.

 

[MarkBC]

That's a good question.
What is the weight of your vehicle-camper combo? As pointed out in this thread, there isn't one correct tire pressure that works for all rigs, so "weight" will affect the answer.

(but I'm no expert in this...)

 

[Jon&Sue_DeArman]

Believe it or not, you actually have to keep a sharp lookout for those pointed rocks. No tire or pressure combination will save you if the right rock, at the right angle is in your path. Slow speed & lower pressure can help, however, your eye is a big deterrent and usually you can pick them out as you drive along even at moderate speeds.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Jon and Sue are right! I've spent most of both my working and play life driving on gravel roads and in the back country and nothing you do can stop that sharp rock from causing a flat; however, 10 ply tires and common sense driving improve your chances of a flat free trip! I always had two spare tires and a good air pump and tire repair kit for those "part of the job" flat tires that can and do happen. About the only time I ever worried about tire pressure was in sand where what your TP is makes a difference. If I worried about it on gravel or rocky roads, I would have spent my time inflating and deflating instead of dong my job-or having fun out there in the boonies. There have been lot's of threads on this site talking about being prepared and knowing what to do when problems happen out there and this is just another one of them-be prepared and enjoy yourself because things happen!

Smoke

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

It happens to all of us. This is a 10 ply Cooper that got nailed on fresh shale last month. I had just said goodbye to Smoke down in Nevada, and was headed back into country that I have been traveling for years. Pick your path carefully. The puncture that caused the flat was through the tread. Because of the rough road, I didn't realize it had gone flat, hence the sidewall cuts.

 

[Smokecreek1]

as they say, "sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you", and that trip we both got ate by the bear-right Steve ?

Smoke

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

as they say, "sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you", and that trip we both got ate by the bear-right Steve ?

Smoke

Smoke, I think I got away with less expense than you. After proration, the tire was $131, but I suspect your new refrigerator was a bit more. That bear can be nasty!

 

[CraggyMan]

I had to use both my spares on roads similar to this one, Wandering Sagebrush. This was over near Leslie Gulch a number of years back. I figured the local tire repair/garage had a buddy on the road maintenence crew.

 

[MarkBC]

Back in the '90s when I drove a Toyota pickup I got many flats -- 3 times I got double-flats -- both tires on one side ran over the same sharp rock. And this was even though I was running E-range tires. Many of these flats were on my beloved Alvord Desert (east Steens) road, especially in the summer.
A guy I knew back then -- a big-time 4-wheeler guy -- recommended airing down as a possible remedy for flats on sharp rocks...but I never tried it because I didn't own a compressor at the time.

But the other angle on this, as others have said, is making sure to pay a lot of attention to the road surface in front of me -- staying on the lookout for pointed rocks pointing up! The ironic thing is that every time a gravelly road is "maintained" -- a grader smooths it out -- that's when the sharp rocks get lifted up from their reclining position and point up -- ready to puncture unsuspecting tires!

 

[craig333]

The one that did this would have happened aired down or not.


Paying more attention to the road? Quite possibly I could have avoided it.