Will be driving Cape Cod National Seashore soon, lotsa sand
What tire pressure should I set
Thanks
What tire pressure should I set
Thanks
Tire PSI for sand driving
- Thread starter woodmaster58
- Start date
12-15 has worked well for me. Recommend a thorough power wash afterwards to get that salt off ASAP.
I drove all over Padre Island, TX for many years. Wet sand, dry sand, hard sand, and soft sand. I never aired down and never had any problems. I only had to use 4WD once, when I was pulling out a stuck F-150. Dittos on the power wash comment. Don't wait to drive it home before washing. The salt is in the sand and gets everywhere. Try to find a wash place that has a dedicated underbody wash unit and run it through a couple of times. Also, look for the threads on here about drilling some drain holes in your frame. Have fun!!
MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
Supporting Member
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When we go to Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks or NC, I air down to 15 when we get there. It’s a tiny island with not a lot of places to go, so I leave them at 15 until we get on the ferry to head back home.
I stay out of the wet sand and water but sometimes I’ve hosed hosed off what I could on the island if a hose is available. Once I get home, I hose out the frame a few times. I also have drain holes I drilled into the bottom as has been mentioned here. 3/8” hole I believe. I also run an old school fan sprinkler under the Jeep for maybe 1-1/2 hours, moving it around every 10-15 minutes.
I stay out of the wet sand and water but sometimes I’ve hosed hosed off what I could on the island if a hose is available. Once I get home, I hose out the frame a few times. I also have drain holes I drilled into the bottom as has been mentioned here. 3/8” hole I believe. I also run an old school fan sprinkler under the Jeep for maybe 1-1/2 hours, moving it around every 10-15 minutes.
KennethS
TJ Addict
I agree that you can drive on sand with street pressure, but I discovered when pulling into a sandy wash to air down that the drive in was very bumpy with full tire pressure, and the drive out after airing down was extremely smooth, so much so that the difference in ride quality really made an impression on me.
Not many beaches in these parts, but plenty of sand. 12psi has always worked very well for me in it.
There isn't an ideal PSI. Wet or damp sand is very different from very dry sugar sand. Start where you want and go down from there. On load range C 35x12.5-15s with no beadlocks I start at 8 and go down from there. There are times when you cant get anywhere at 6 or 7 and dropping to 5 makes all the difference.
I ran 20psi in some pretty deep sand in Utah earlier this year. Worked well but I’d probably drop to 15psi if I was to drive the same trail again.
I would love to get a meet up with so cal and Arizona guys out there, it's one of my favorite places to wheel.
Funny thing is, I grew up in So Cal, had buddies who did the Glamis thing every year and never did myself. Now I've got coworkers here in AZ who do as well. I've always thought of it as more of a go fast dune buggy/ bike/atv vibe/environment.
11 psi - 15 psi depending on how much I am carrying and which beach I am cruising. The north LI beaches are more rocky than the south beaches which are deeper softer sand.
Definitely power wash EVERYTHING once you're back.
Definitely power wash EVERYTHING once you're back.
KennethS
TJ Addict
Same here. One co-worker has a 400+ hp Bronco and talks about uphill dune racing when they’re not on the quads.
It really depends on the sand.
You'll mainly air down for comfort in the hard packed stuff.
Get yourself into some fine soft stuff and you'll learn pretty quickly that you want to be aired down to about 8-10 psi. You can still get stuck at those pressures, so think ahead before you stop in a bad situation (low part of a dune climb where you can't gain momentum).
You'll mainly air down for comfort in the hard packed stuff.
Get yourself into some fine soft stuff and you'll learn pretty quickly that you want to be aired down to about 8-10 psi. You can still get stuck at those pressures, so think ahead before you stop in a bad situation (low part of a dune climb where you can't gain momentum).
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KennethS
TJ Addict
It's definitely mostly sxs and rails out there, but I've driven my street rigs out there for years. It's fun caravanning through the dunes in a large group.
Years ago I used to run the Red River sandbars in my old CJ5. It depended a lot on what kind of tires I had on it. When new it had radial all terrains and I never needed to air down Later I put a set of bias ply “gumbo mudder” tires on it and if I didn’t air way down the Jeep would dig itself down to the axle in a couple of seconds. My mom lived on a sand hill and I stuck it in her yard trying to turn around
Depends on your tires
Depends on your tires
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