airing down tires on ridge/loging roads?

[scottcrb]

i know a lot of us do a lot of driving on the less than desirable ridge roads and forest service roads in the area while scouting and hunting. do you air down your tires while on these roads? what psi? how long can you go on paved roads with tires at this psi before inflating them back to running pressure. just wondering the best route to go.

[sled]

  I Was Wondering The Same Thing.  I'll Be Towing My Camp Trailer Up The Hutchins Rd This Year.  Not Worried About The Truck Tires But Maybe The Trailer.

[KFhunter]

just get a 12v compressor




I usually have 50 psi in my truck tires, but when I'm on the logging roads I run about 3 psi......how you ask? 



I got 3psi in the ATV I offload when I get to the rough stuff
I still keep a really nice compressor in the truck, and one in the ATV too. 

I got a 10 dollar walmart special that's been bouncing around under the seat of the atv since 2005 - even been submerged half a dozen times I just can't seem to kill it.


My next goal is installing on board air in the pickup, just need a tank.

[baker5150]

Airing down a tire too low can cause serious damage to the sidewalls.  Call a reputable tire dealer and ask them what they think.  Every tire is different and can handle different amounts of pressure.  I learned this the hard way while at the Dunes.  I figure now its just not worth it unless I really need the traction.  Then I air them back up as soon as I can.  12volt compressors are a lot cheaper than 4 new tires IMHO.

[bobcat]

I think I'll drop my truck's tires down from 50 to 25 for deer season. Sure makes for a lot nicer ride on those bumpy roads.

25 pounds should be good for on and off-pavement, since I'm only hunting 10 miles from home.

[Jonathan_S]

Mods should we sticky this for road-hunting tips?   

 

[Special T]

Airpressure is determined by 3 factors. Weight, Speed, and Driving duration. Max PSI is pretty much a recomendation for running at near max Lb rating for the tire at Hwy Speeds for long distance. It also promotes the most fuel milage. If you dropp one or all 3 of these factors you can drop your air pressure. How much? depends on the 3 factors. Tire companies will only tell you so much due to liability.

Anyone remeber the Ford Explorer reacall? Those tires were THE SAME tires they replaced them with, ONE excption. max air pressure on the side wall. they said 27psi when the should have been at 32. I know people that ran them at 32 and never had a problem. MOST problems occured in the southwest where heat is an issue.

[Special T]

For off road equiptment tires manufactures actually prin out load/speed/PSI charts so that you get the best performance from the tires. Liability is why they do not for passenger tires. Iknow loggers that run thier tucks at 88PSI when the tire is rated at 105psi. they seem to have less issues with poping a tire on a sharp rock.

[Alchase]

The only time I found airing down an advantage, is on rock (as in rock crawling not driving FS roads) or sand. The wet sloppy snow, airing down can be a determent, and in mud I found no benefit either. This was consistent with both my Jeeps and all of my trucks so far.
Ensure you air back up before you hit the pavement.

[toyman2]

It will all depend on the truck and the tires. On my 3/4T chevy with a max psi of 80 ill drop to 30psi. On my jeep running 37s just for running around ill go down to 10psi but as low as 1psi in the deep snow, but 5-10 normal in the mtns.
Non of this would ever be recommended by any tire dealer, I have been wheeling for 25 plus years, I am use to it and understand my limits I also have OBA

[sled]

  Didn't Air Down At All. Truck Or Trailer.  IM Happy .

[coachcw]

45-50psi on a 70psi rated tire

[Heredoggydoggy]

Reducing air pressure was probably good for the old bias-ply tires, but probably no help to radials unless you run into soft sand.  I have radials on my two vehicles, and they already look low when at rest...

[Bofire]

I run the reccomended pressure all the time, rotate 5000, and they ck the balance then for free.
Carl

[jackmaster]

i air mine down if they are new logging roads, i have popped to many tires to not do it, mine are a max 55 psi so i take them down to 30psi and i can still drive down to town to put air in it, it also really helps in the snow. i dont road hunt and i still do it. its better than puncturing a tire, i also have a small air compressor that goes in under my seat that you can run off the cigarrete lighter, i also have a complete plug kit and fixaflat

[toyman2]

Airing down tires like what your talking about will be mostly for the ride. If you have big enough tires, airing them down will help float you in the snow. On a normal or slightly larger pickup tire, airing down will allow the tires to flex more for better grip and flex better going over rough terrain. Larger tires will allow for a bigger foot print and give less weight per sq in. If you take a tire to low, it could be easy to roll it off the bead. Going down the road with low air pressure can crate heat, heat in a tire is not your friend. Normally you don't go down a rough road or snowy road fast enough to create heat enough to hurt an aired down tire, however going down pavement, depending on how far and fast you drive, that will build heat. I have drove into town with 3psi on my 37x14.5R15. I wasn't going crazy fast but not stupid slow and all was fine. The larger the tire, normally the less pressure. So a normal pickup tire, stock sizeish, say max 60 psi on a normal pickup, I wouldn't really ever go less than 20-30psi. Mine are 80psi max, during hunting season I will go to about 30-35psi for  the whole season.