Off-Road Tire Pressure

Chubbs · Post by **Chubbs** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:52 am

I am wondering what guys are running for tire pressure off-road (stock tires and wheels). In my YJ, I go as low as 8 psi when crawling. When I had a 1500, I was regularly at 15-20 psi off-road. With the weight of the PW, I am assuming 20-25 for general off-road? Down to 15 for real sand concerns?

Thank you in advance.

Chubbs

trk4sale · Post by **trk4sale** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 9:44 am

I run at 25 psi, but generally carry a lot of gear in the bed.

YouTube · Post by **OffroadTreks** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 10:13 am

Chubbs wrote:I am wondering what guys are running for tire pressure off-road (stock tires and wheels). In my YJ, I go as low as 8 psi when crawling. When I had a 1500, I was regularly at 15-20 psi off-road. With the weight of the PW, I am assuming 20-25 for general off-road? Down to 15 for real sand concerns?

Thank you in advance.

Chubbs

Wow, 15-20 on a 1500? That's wasn't a new one with the 20's was it?

It really depends on the trails man. What you air down too, is more of a need/comfort thing. There isn't a one size fits all approach. I don't roll up to a gravel road and air down to 12 psi.

For all my crawling in Moab, I air'd down to 25psi hot on my original stock wheels and tires. Bumpy ass trails that aren't crawling I was usually running around 40psi.

I've since found that these trucks ride a lot better if you air the rear down 10-15% more than the front.

When I switched to 35's my crawling in Moab was at 18psi. I'm on 37's now. And what I air down to will depend. I suggest you experiment with terrain and pressures. However, as a general rule of thumb, I wouldn't air lower than 12psi on the stock wheel at all.

Colibri · Post by **Colibri** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 11:28 am

^^^^ sound advice from the mikekey.

Will · Post by **Will** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:05 pm

Not to mention every tire has a different load rating depending on psi. What one holds at 30psi will be more or less compared to the next even in the same size tire...

coder · Post by **coder** » Sun Aug 27, 2017 9:07 pm

20 psi front/rear is what I run all tire sizes I've had 285/70, 295/70, 35x12.5 sand, mud snow rocks, fully loaded with camping gear for days on end.... works well for me.

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Sun Aug 27, 2017 11:43 pm

20 lbs front and rear. I've had no problems at that pressure so far.

olyelr · Post by **olyelr** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:30 am

Yep, 20ish for me too. I have felt no need to go any lower with an 8000 pound truck on small radial tires.

Chubbs · Post by **Chubbs** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 6:16 am

I appreciate all the inputs. This will give me a place to start.

Chubbs

ramv · Post by **ramv** » Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:42 pm

1500 I tended to slice sidewalls on 35" Pro Comp X Terrains at 20 psi. Never considered beadlocks. On 37" Krawlers I would pop beads regularly if below 17 psi up front and 14 psi rear. (Stock Ram 2500 wheels). On 42"s Iroks bias plys with outer beadlocks, (Rock Monster) I pop inner beads if below 14 psi front/10 psi rear.

With the PW, I have sliced sidewalls at 25 psi front. (stock). Thinking 25-30 psi is ideal offroad with radials. Lower with bias plys.

Highly tire related. Radials don't like the weight of these trucks so it's a trade off on how much you are willing to risk the sidewalls. Krawlers (and based on the weight, Toyo MTs) have serious sidewalls and can handle lower pressure with out simply ripping open. I definitely recommend a two full size spares if you run radials on the trails (I did this on my 2nd gen and currently with the PW.)

Post by **DamageWagon** » Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:20 am

I run Toyo MT's because they've given me excellent survivability bad traction. I've had no issues with them down to 18psi on 34's, driving pretty quick through rocks and desert. I usually keep them at 25psi offroad, they need a little lower pressure than many tires to feel comfy with the stiff sidewalk they have.

The biggest benefit of airing down is ride quality. A close second is improved traction when driving on dirt roads, especially dusted hard pack. Far from those is improved traction in other areas. With that all in mind, tire pressure varies based on your exact criteria, so you'll play with it as you go. With comfort being the most common reason to air down, it's better to stay a little stiff than to go too soft. Too soft starts to put the sidewalk in a vulnerable spot and gives vague handling. If you take a turn hard or hit something in a turn you run a risk of popping a bead.

2wagons1driveway · Post by **2wagons1driveway** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 12:09 pm

Bead locks on my truck but I try not to go below 18psi in the rear and 20psi in the front. My shock layout gives me a lot of axle hop in sand unless my pressures are that low but in high speed situations the tires tend to sacrifice rims to stay alive so I like to stay above 15lbs at least. I think when that trail ready called it quits I was around 12lb and fell through an ice hole at about 45mph

37" Toyo MT's

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