Have a 77 Ranger,,a short bed single cab,it's rolling on 35s MT with a 4'' lift, will I have to air down on the beach? Anyone know? Thanks

 

In general yes unless the sand is unusually firm. Around 12 psi. Its nice to have an air tank in the back to put some back in for the ride home.

One time I did not air down, I got stuck. I let some air out and and drove right on.

 

[QUOTE=Blue and White;16295013]In general yes unless the sand is unusually firm. Around 12 psi. Its nice to have an air tank in the back to put some back in for the ride home.

One time I did not air down, I got stuck. I let some air out and and drove right on.[/QUOTE I think the tires take 35psi ,if I air down that low will I risk breaking the bead??

 

It depends what the sand is like. Most of the time it's the hardest going right off the black top. Once you get out a little closer to the water it's much easier. Crossing dunes to get to houses can also be rough. I bet you won't have to air down but if you do 20lb will be plenty.

I used to go to the obx and we drove on the beach a good bit. The one year we did a 4x4 only vacation where we had do drive 11mi on the beach to our house. Most of our trucks were diesels which did worse with the weight. All had to air down except my buddies 06 F250 6.0 it had 35" bfg on it and had no problems getting across the dunes. It's fun but it's hard on stuff. Your truck being lighter I bet will get around really good just keep it moving where the sand is loose. If you get stuck get people on the back and bounce it. It'll come right up out the holes.


Most drive on beaches usually had air close by that you could pay for before hitting the streets again. None of us had air supply just used theirs.

 

On the beads un-seating... it does not seem to be a problem at least it was not for me.

 

Thanks,last truck I had on the breac was an 05 f350 dual axel, it sucked,way to heavy,and a real pain airing down to 20,as the tires held 80 then airing up, thanks for the help going to try at 20

 

You'll probably be ok but it's smarter to air down before you get stuck. Hit an unusually dry loose patch and you could get stuck and getting stuck on the beach sucks because there is nowhere to winch to.

You can get a cheap 12 volt compressor that will get you back to 20 or 30 psi or so pretty quickly until you can get to an air station. Harbor freight even has a couple. Power tanks work great too, if it's gonna be a regular thing.
National Park service recommends you make a kit for sand driving

- A shovel with a blade at least 6" square and at least 18" long.
- A vehicle jack sufficient to lift one wheel clear of the sand.
- A jack support that is at least 12"x12" of non-bending steel, 5/8" plywood or 1½" hardwood.
- A tire gauge with a minimum reading of 15 pounds or less.
- A tow rope or tow strap, chain or cable with a minimum pulling strength of 6,000 pounds and at least 10 feet long. Minimum diameter is ½" for nylon or Dacron ropes; ¾" for all other ropes; ¼" for carbon steel cable; 5/16" for chain links.

All Damm good ideas!

 

The worst truck in the sand for us was a dodge dually with a cummins in it. It had stock size tires on that were new bfg's. We had them aired down and couldn't get from the parking lot to the good sand. A bunch of guys ran over and showed us how to bounce them out. All of guys jumping in the bed it walked right up out the holes and back to the black top. That was it no more dually in the sand.

 

I got stuck on Galveston island with a tow strap but I was by myself. I ended up having to jack up the vehicle and pack sand under the tires over and over because I had buried it...using my hands and a crowbar to shovel and a factory screw jack to jack. Finally found some boards laying nearby in a dune and was able to use them for traction. Now I don't go out on sand unless I have a kit and a plan. It took hours. It was pretty awful.

If you'll be with other people you'll be a lot better off right off the bat as long as you bring tow straps.

 

With driving technique you may not require airing down or at least if you do, not to the levels that most have mentioned. Short wheel base trucks will dig in faster, longer wheel bases will spread the load more. The lighter the better. Running those HB compressors for more than a few minutes at a time will melt the fuse housing and leave you stranded. ok for small tires 31" will give it trouble in the long run. Ask me how many I wasted in one trip (4). This is all good and I run 16.5's which are said to blow beads(I have yet to blow one even when aired down to 6 lbs.

First trip to Pismo Dunes last year. 79 F-250 2wd SC/SB 4" lift bent beams, 33x12.5x 16.5 TA Mudders. Did not air down at all, althouh I did back up once or twice.




Took my dog my 83 Breach Cruiser and enough booze to not get overly stupid.

 

16.5's are more likely to lose a bead because of the lack of bead retention inside the wheel compared to 16's or any other size. But being on a beach isn't particularly stressful as you're typically not cutting the wheel sharply with a lot of traction or banging it off rocks. It takes some traction or impact to blow a bead usually. Awesome supercab by the way.

 

Thx Hast. Yep lack of internal bead can lead but has never been an issue for me. remember the Hummers used 16.5 of course the rims are beadlocked externally. I thought about locking my wheels, but since I have not even been able to find a spare matching wheel for this truck, I have decided not to do that to these wheels.

 

All good info,looks like the general consensus is to air down to 20psi, thanks y'all

 

Consensus?

I'm with MOFOCO1 I routinely run my 31x10.50 Jeep tires down between 6 and 8 PSI. Used to run Military 5 tons @ 5psi.

 

I'd be trying that truck exactly as it sits