Driving on the Beach

[HDRider]

and very loose sand. OK - I got stuck. I didn't listen.

I was told to lower my tire pressure to 20#. Knowing that most tires are at 32#, 20# makes sense. Dropping the pressure about 30%

My tires are 80# in the back, 70# in the front.

Should I go to 50# & 45# or should I go all the way down to 20#?

Thanks

 

[dun]

20 or as low as you can go and the tires still maintain a grip on the rim so you don;t spin the tire inside the wheel

 

[HDRider]

20 or as low as you can go and the tires still maintain a grip on the rim so you don;t spin the tire inside the wheel

Thanks.

That is exactly what I was worried about.

You think the tires will stay on that low at 20?

 

[skyhightree1]

20 or as low as you can go and the tires still maintain a grip on the rim so you don;t spin the tire inside the wheel

Thanks.

That is exactly what I was worried about.

You think the tires will stay on that low at 20?

I think 20# is pretty darn low and tire may come off the rim. I never did that but knowing what a truck tire looks like at 20# makes me think that.

 

[dun]

That's why I threw in the caveat about stopping lowering it while the tires will still bite the rims

 

[dun]

Years ago a bunch of us got togehter and bought a volvo, one of them that looks like a 49 Ford. We drove it down on the beach at low tide so we could imbibe wihtout being disturbed. Those volvos were sure built tight. As the tide came in it started floating away. Opened the door and windows and left it sit on the beach while the tide came in. I found it amazing at how much sand can get inside of an engine

 

[M5farm]

it all depends on the type of tire and sidewall and weight of vehicle. On my jeep cj I can get tire pressure down to 10 psi.

 

[skyhightree1]

That's why I threw in the caveat about stopping lowering it while the tires will still bite the rims

Good point :tiphat:

 

[saltbranch]

and very loose sand. OK - I got stuck. I didn't listen.

I was told to lower my tire pressure to 20#. Knowing that most tires are at 32#, 20# makes sense. Dropping the pressure about 30%

My tires are 80# in the back, 70# in the front.

Should I go to 50# & 45# or should I go all the way down to 20#?

Thanks

What beach are you on?
If you have mud grips, it wont matter if you air down or not. Once they start digging in the sand, its over. Might as well stop and wait for a someone to pull you out. If you have 2wd only, just air the back ones down to 15-20 to create a bigger foot print, assuming you do not have wide rims and narrow tires. Take a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel to help dig out and dump water around the tires to help firm the sand up. Short lengths of hurricane fencing will do wonders to help getting unstuck. Get the fencing under the tires and make a run for it :cowboy: Two other musts....a very good tow strap and cash
Another thing I have found that sometimes helps with a 2wd and no posi- track...slowly engage the E brake...alot of times applying the brake to the tire spinning it will make the the other tire spin/help get traction. Stay away from any seaweed that has wash up/stacked up, it rots from the bottom up and can be deceiving. I have seen alot of people get stuck cuz they headed to seaweed when in loose sand. They hit the rotting seaweed and sink. I have been running up and down Padre Island National Seashore for 20 plus yrs, been stuck my share of times. I was down there week before last and conditions for driving were horrible. Had to lock in 4wd with in first mile of getting on the beach, drove about 8-10 miles and headed back out.

 

[HDRider]

and very loose sand. OK - I got stuck. I didn't listen.

I was told to lower my tire pressure to 20#. Knowing that most tires are at 32#, 20# makes sense. Dropping the pressure about 30%

My tires are 80# in the back, 70# in the front.

Should I go to 50# & 45# or should I go all the way down to 20#?

Thanks

What beach are you on?
If you have mud grips, it wont matter if you air down or not. Once they start digging in the sand, its over. Might as well stop and wait for a someone to pull you out. If you have 2wd only, just air the back ones down to 15-20 to create a bigger foot print, assuming you do not have wide rims and narrow tires. Take a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel to help dig out and dump water around the tires to help firm the sand up. Short lengths of hurricane fencing will do wonders to help getting unstuck. Get the fencing under the tires and make a run for it :cowboy: Two other musts....a very good tow strap and cash
Another thing I have found that sometimes helps with a 2wd and no posi- track...slowly engage the E brake...alot of times applying the brake to the tire spinning it will make the the other tire spin/help get traction. Stay away from any seaweed that has wash up/stacked up, it rots from the bottom up and can be deceiving. I have seen alot of people get stuck cuz they headed to seaweed when in loose sand. They hit the rotting seaweed and sink. I have been running up and down Padre Island National Seashore for 20 plus yrs, been stuck my share of times. I was down there week before last and conditions for driving were horrible. Had to lock in 4wd with in first mile of getting on the beach, drove about 8-10 miles and headed back out.

Kure beach in North Carolina.

Part of my problem might be my tires. They are a basic all season highway tire. It is a 4x4 Chevy 2500.

We don't have seaweed at all. Just real loose sand.

My fear was taking the tire pressure too far down. Going from 80 to 20 just sounded like too much.

Not sure you can still drive on Galveston beach, but I used to drive that all the time. I never took the pressure down. Never got stuck. The tires were very wide and I was in a little Toyota 4x4.

 

[Hook]

30 psi is safe on both sides. Won't spin off the rims and should lay out enough to get you a better bite in the sand

 

[saltbranch]

and very loose sand. OK - I got stuck. I didn't listen.

I was told to lower my tire pressure to 20#. Knowing that most tires are at 32#, 20# makes sense. Dropping the pressure about 30%

My tires are 80# in the back, 70# in the front.

Should I go to 50# & 45# or should I go all the way down to 20#?

Thanks

What beach are you on?
If you have mud grips, it wont matter if you air down or not. Once they start digging in the sand, its over. Might as well stop and wait for a someone to pull you out. If you have 2wd only, just air the back ones down to 15-20 to create a bigger foot print, assuming you do not have wide rims and narrow tires. Take a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel to help dig out and dump water around the tires to help firm the sand up. Short lengths of hurricane fencing will do wonders to help getting unstuck. Get the fencing under the tires and make a run for it :cowboy: Two other musts....a very good tow strap and cash
Another thing I have found that sometimes helps with a 2wd and no posi- track...slowly engage the E brake...alot of times applying the brake to the tire spinning it will make the the other tire spin/help get traction. Stay away from any seaweed that has wash up/stacked up, it rots from the bottom up and can be deceiving. I have seen alot of people get stuck cuz they headed to seaweed when in loose sand. They hit the rotting seaweed and sink. I have been running up and down Padre Island National Seashore for 20 plus yrs, been stuck my share of times. I was down there week before last and conditions for driving were horrible. Had to lock in 4wd with in first mile of getting on the beach, drove about 8-10 miles and headed back out.

Kure beach in North Carolina.

Part of my problem might be my tires. They are a basic all season highway tire. It is a 4x4 Chevy 2500.

We don't have seaweed at all. Just real loose sand.

My fear was taking the tire pressure too far down. Going from 80 to 20 just sounded like too much.

Not sure you can still drive on Galveston beach, but I used to drive that all the time. I never took the pressure down. Never got stuck. The tires were very wide and I was in a little Toyota 4x4.

The all season tire should be fine I would think, thats what I run. On my 2013 f-250 Cc 4x4, I went to a wider tire. The factory tires were just too narrow and I had some close calls getting stuck on the beach. Our property is sandy, like the beach and I buried my new truck before it had 4k miles on it.
Factory tire and rim...I would try 30lbs and see how it does and if you are comfy with how that looks, try 20 if you need too. On my off road buggy I had a few yrs ago I ran 12.5" wide tires on 8" wide rims and would air down 4-6 psi, worked very well rock crawling and at the beach.
Good luck and have fun out there!

 

[HDRider]

I did not get stuck today. That made the day much better.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

I found out hillbillys and sand do not mix. My one experience driving on sand was just north of cape hatterias light house on the outer banks of NC. I was in a Toyota 4runner that went good in the mud and snow. When I hit the sand it felt like someone had pulled a rug from under me and there I sat, stuck. I knew I was in trouble when I got out of the car. The sand had the consistency of flour and I sunk up mid shin just walking. Six guys fishing came and pushed me out. I decided then that sand was not for me.

 

[HDRider]

I found out hillbillys and sand do not mix. My one experience driving on sand was just north of cape hatterias light house on the outer banks of NC. I was in a Toyota 4runner that went good in the mud and snow. When I hit the sand it felt like someone had pulled a rug from under me and there I sat, stuck. I knew I was in trouble when I got out of the car. The sand had the consistency of flour and I sunk up mid shin just walking. Six guys fishing came and pushed me out. I decided then that sand was not for me.

It is a different animal. The connection I am making is, if you have a shovel you will not get stuck. Other than that, I don't have a clue... :frowns:

 

[hicky214]

I have been going to Hatteras for years and years it was like a second home to me for some time. I run 18-20 in my duramax the entire trip. Roads sand yada yada. I have had to go down to 12 before. A 3/4 ton truck stinks in the sand my Yukon I never aired down and never had an issue at 35psi. All depends on the sand also. It its wet your fine with 50. If its hot and dry for days it gets bad go low or get stuck.

 

[HDRider]

I have been going to Hatteras for years and years it was like a second home to me for some time. I run 18-20 in my duramax the entire trip. Roads sand yada yada. I have had to go down to 12 before. A 3/4 ton truck stinks in the sand my Yukon I never aired down and never had an issue at 35psi. All depends on the sand also. It its wet your fine with 50. If its hot and dry for days it gets bad go low or get stuck.

I am in a Duramax too.


Super duper loose sand on Kure beach.

 

[wbvs58]

I have driven extensively on our sandy beaches in Australia. We have beaches like Fraser Island that you can drive or used to be able to drive for a couple of hours before reaching the other end of it and be able to go on and off the soft sand to camp in behind the dunes. I would say that 20 psi would be suitable for most circumstances crossing the soft sand on and off the beach but it does not give a great deal of bagging of the tires. We used to have some headlands that we had to go around behind and climb some pretty serious sandy dunes behind these headlands. If we did not drop our pressures to around 10-12psi we would not have a chance of getting over them. We never spun off a tire from the rim.
Ken