Tire pressures on long trips on/offroad

[jblam]

Hey all,
I have a hunt coming up where I spend hours on the freeway then ~2 hours on dirt. I typically inflate tires to ~35psi for my daily driving (f150) on the highway. I’ll be towing a ranger on a trailer out to the hunting grounds, and the road is bumpy and rocky. Is it a good idea to drop the psi 5-10 for the dirt portion to help avoid flats?? Double flatted on a similar road a few years back without dropping air, but don’t know if that was because of the higher pressure, or just because I told my wife it was an easy hunt to get to . Thanks!!

 

[Nick Muche]

I'd just be sure I have good D/E Rated tires and not mess with anything, ever.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Depending on conditions. Where I hunt sometimes has real soft sandy roads in areas but harder DG in others so I will run around 20 PSI. That seems to be a good pressure for most off roads. On the few occasion where It's real sandy on all the roads, I might go down to 15 PSI. I live in the SW US so a lot of hunting is on softer roads/trails.

 

[Mtnboy]

I'd just be sure I have good D/E Rated tires and not mess with anything, ever.

This is my method as well.

 

[Braaap]

Airing down will help avoid flats and make the ride much more comfortable. Make sure you have good tires like others mentioned. With a good compressor airing back up is fast. I run 20psi if I’ll be on dirt roads for awhile.

 

[bdan68]

I have a 2007 Chevy Silverado 3/4 ton that I've been dropping the air pressure to around 20 to 25 whenever I go off the pavement. Not to avoid flat tires but just for a much smoother ride. I normally run the tires at 65 PSI because I'm often pulling a camp trailer. But at that pressure it's a rough ride on rocky, rough roads. And the tires are load range E, Toyo Open Country All Terrains. I have tire deflators that make the process much quicker and easier.

 

[dtrkyman]

I drop my psi when I am running mountain roads for several days i drop mine down to mid 20s just to smooth out the ride, have not had any issue with flats either way. But the ride is nicer at lower psi!

 

[Vandy321]

I'd say yes, I drive hwy at35 PSI w/37s 10ply...deflate to 15-25 depending on the road. High PSI and pointy rocks are a bad combo.

Look at a DIY inflate/deflate kit...I built mine for $150, for 2 tires at once. Air down/up in about 5 mins...Small 10-15# CO2 tank mounted on wheel well in the bed

Smoother ride, less abuse on suspension parts, less chance of a flat (knock on wood)

 

[jblam]

I’ve got ridge grapplers, E rated, so good there. Going down in pressure with a car key is tiring at best, but changing a tire is worse!

 

[Dos Perros]

OP, is that your daily drive, or just once?

A friend just had a newer set of tires chewed up pretty good by driving many hours on gravel roads. He keeps pressure pretty high for heavy towing and didn't air down till later in the trip. It was noticeable the improvement in ride comfort.

If you have the time, I think it makes sense to air down. Agree it gets annoying going down and up every day or multiple times a day, just realize the trade off is wear/tear and risk of a flat.

 

[gelton]

I’ve got ridge grapplers, E rated, so good there. Going down in pressure with a car key is tiring at best, but changing a tire is worse!

I usually deflate for all the reasons mentioned above...grab one of these and forget the car key -

Amazon.com: ARB ARB505 E-Z Deflator Kit 10-60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge Rapid Air Down Offroad Kit (PSI),blue: Automotive

Buy ARB ARB505 E-Z Deflator Kit 10-60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge Rapid Air Down Offroad Kit (PSI), blue: Tire Repair Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Also, picked one of these up as well but haven't put this one through its paces yet:

Amazon.com: VIAIR - 40045 400P-Automatic Function Portable Compressor , Silver: Automotive

Buy VIAIR - 40045 400P-Automatic Function Portable Compressor, Silver: Air Compressors & Inflators - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Vandy321]

I’ve got ridge grapplers, E rated, so good there. Going down in pressure with a car key is tiring at best, but changing a tire is worse!

You can buy a faster air down dealio (not a complete system) for pretty dang cheap online

 

[Mtnboy]

I gotta admit, I never knew that airing down your tires on rough/rocky roads was a "thing". It does make sense now that I think about it.

I leave my tires around 65psi always because I tow pretty frequently.

Am I seriously blowing $$$ and wearing out my tires faster by not taking 5 minutes to do this? I usually need to stop and piss anyway.....

 

[ozyclint]

5psi rule.
5psi difference between hot and cold tyres is the ideal pressure. The cold inflation pressure will change with load and speed.
If the difference between hot and cold is less than 5psi then the cold pressure was too high and vice versa.

this is a general rule for touring. for slow offroading then lower pressures may be needed for traction.

 

[bdan68]

These are the deflators I have:

Amazon.com: Staun Automatic Tire Deflators (Standard Duty 6-30 PSI): Automotive

Buy Staun Automatic Tire Deflators (Standard Duty 6-30 PSI): Air Compressors & Inflators - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

amzn.to

 

[cmahoney]

I always air down on the long dirt roads, a lot of them have rocks here and the ride is awful with full tires. I carry a compressor and one of these deflators

ARB ARB505 E-Z Deflator Kit 10-60 PSI Tire Pressure Gauge Rapid Air Down Offroad Kit (PSI),blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LQCDO...abc_XBBXS1TCJ5M0HXBGKZ16?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cuerro viejo]

I run 45 up front 40 rear on hwy, I’ll roll down to 35/30 on rough trails

35/12.5/18 Toyo RT on F250

 

[jblam]

Thanks for all the great input guys. For my daily I’m at that 35, and no problems there. Fairly nice on this hunt that I’ll only have to deflate and inflate once, so I think I’ll drop the pressure to 25-30, I’m not sure there is any disadvantage to that!

 

[cnelk]

I leave my tires at 50 psi all the time for towing and better tread wear - per my tire shop.

 

[easilyamused]

The only disadvantage to airing down offroad is the time it takes. You get better flat resistance, more traction, a smoother ride, and less wear on suspension and steering parts. If you go to the one far extreme like I do in my big offroad rig and run between 1-5 psi offroad then any rock smaller than a softball just disapears and potholes arent any issue at all!