Tire psi for beach

[wmarosits]

I will be going down to Outter Banks NC for Thanksgiving, I have to drive around 5 miles in the sand to get to the house.

What is the lowest safe tire psi?

Thank You

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

When I go to the sand dunes I run 18 in the front and 15 in the back - empty in the back in those instances.

 

[oneshotkyle]

i have ran 10-15 psi on all tires empty at the dunes with no problems.

 

[pservano]

I will be going down to Outter Banks NC for Thanksgiving, I have to drive around 5 miles in the sand to get to the house.

What is the lowest safe tire psi?

Thank You

I live in Moyock, NC about 35 minutes from Nags Head OBX. I always deflate my tires to 20 PSI front and back. I also carry a small 8 amps generator to power my small portable air compressor to re-inflate my tires. The 12VDC tire inflator I have overheats quickly when I tried using it. You have to slow down when you drive on deep sand dune to avoid your tire from going flat. If this happens, you have to jack up your truck before pumping air to the tire. Don't ask me how I found out...

 

[daytripper63]

Bring a strip of cheap carpet about a foot or two wide and four feet long and if you get stuck it will get you the traction you need to get out everytime

 

[TheBigSgt]

i have ran 10-15 psi on all tires empty at the dunes with no problems.

Remember not to make any sharp turns if you go this low. It will work good for you giving you a bigger foot print, but you don't want to force the tire to break the bead seal. :--)

 

[Bob4x4]

We just gotback from Glamis,with the toyos being as stiff as they are 15-20 in the front is capable of some pretty good speed with out any issues. I was running a whooped out section in the sand drags @ 70 plus mph. Out running buggys and bikes,and the towed the trailer home Oo.



Bob

 

[JWChessell]

When I had my '58 International 3/4 ton 4X4, I went on the beaches in so. Calif/Huntington Bch. VERY soft/DEEP sand. The truck was a 6 cyl gas, 4-spd standard trans, 4. 10 differentials & I had 12 X 16. 5 X10-ply mud/snow tires.



I couldn't tell from your sig whether you have an auto or a stick. On the beach I let the tire pressure down to between 10-15 lbs. 1st gear was so low I never used it; I'd start off in 2nd gear. But, when the speed reached about 20 MPH and I tried to shift into 3rd, I couldn't shift fast enough. The truck would always sink into the soft sand during the shift and just "die... " So, I always stayed in 2nd gear on the beach, and top speed was limited to about 15-20 MPH.



However, on one occasion I happened to drive a new (about 1967 or 68) Chevy 4X4 pickup with a full-sized camper on the back; V-8, auto trans. We drove out on to the same beach -- without deflating the tires from hwy pressure -- where I had been limited to 20 MPH, and the Chevy with the automatic transmission accelerated smoothy up to around 40 MPH with NO hesitation.



If you have a standard trans, then low tire pressure is the key. If you have an automatic transmission, the tire pressure isn't so important.

 

[Bob4x4]

The sand is plenty of fun and air pressure is important with any type trans. The more power the better... ... ... . this is my manual trans out playing in the sand



#ad








Bob

 

[Sandyneck]

At my beach, the regulations call for airing down to 18psi for all vehicle with single rear wheels. The regulations for duallys is a safe reduced pressure so the rear tires on a dual rear wheel do not touch each other. I have never had any traction problems at 18-20 psi and you can still drive on the pavement for short distances to the store, etc... if you do not take any sharp turns at speed. Have fun!

 

[olznut]

PSI Is Everything On Sand

Here's a pic of me at Pismo Beach last month, I aired all 8 tires down to 12 psi and managed to drag me and my trailer through the beach sand without a prob #ad
#ad
Here's what happened to a 4x4 DM pulling an empty trailer about 100' away when he DIDN'T air down, the look on his face was priceless when I told him mine was a 2wd!! #ad
I NEVER got stuck on that trip! Honestly, I was pretty suprised when I made it up to the campsite.

 

[JLibert]

It really depends on what tire and wheel combo you have. At pismo with my stock wheels and tires, I went to 18 in the front and 15 in the back which worked great. Pulling in a trailer, I would probably go 18 the whole way around. With the 325 60 18's at sand mountain, I went 12psi the whole way around with a trailer. I used to have a toyota tacoma with 33's and I would drop to 4psi. It's all about how the tire squats on the vehicle. Just remember, If you get off the highway and air down your pressure will drop a little more as the air outside, and the air inside the tire cools. Take turns nice and slow.

 

[Nate]

When I ran on the sand, I had 6-8 psi in my tires. On the Jeep though.



The truck, I would have probably run 10-12 psi.