Off Road Airing down questions.
 

So my buddy recently got himself a 05 WK, my first friend with 4wd so we have been off playing around with our rigs. His is stock, however surprisingly well equipped. Full time 4wd, front and rear lockers, etc. He's keeping up pretty well with me, more getting comfortable with his ride, than lack of skill.

So my truck rides rough as hell, think ridding in the back of a cement mixer going over a endless track of speed bumps. I have a to-do list of things I'm getting to work on to improve that. New suspension system, 35's, air bags, etc. However I can't find information that pertains to me when it comes to airing down.

The biggest argument for airing down my tires when offroading is ride comfort, however traction is never a bad thing. I have never been in a situation that 4wd wasn't good enough, and the posi in the back makes actually needing to enable 4wd take a lot longer.

I keep my tires at 60psi, I've found it has the best balance between fuel economy and tire wear, not trying to sacrifice one for the other. I'm currently running Goodyear Wrangler Territories found here Goodyear Wrangler Territory - Canadian Tire

They are great tires for knockoff's. Mother is running them on her 1/2 ton as well. 10 ply's, decent side walls. I just can't find any info for airing down a truck my size, probably sitting around 7400lb's empty, not counting gear and people. I'm thinking the 30psi range might give me the result I am looking for, but I would rather have a second or third opinion.

I ride on mostly FSR's through the mountains up here, no rock crawling or anything that extreme, odd water crossing. Mostly for the fun/views. Nothing like BBQ'n ribs and prawns at the top of a mountain.

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...mporary-33.jpg

I run 32 front 28 rear... always. so take that however you want, albeit mine are 10ply w/ 3ply sidewalls.

For reference what size tires do you run? Mine are 2-3 side ply as well.
And how is your suspension? I have next to no give when empty, reminds me of a bike without suspension, though when loaded to the tits the back rides damn near a Cadillac.

i know this is of ZERO help to you and sorry but i can't help it.

you are driving a 3/4 ton diesel pick up truck, not a rock crawler.

Thanks 94, I'm aware she isn't a rock crawler, but she just loves to climb mountains....

either your new there, or you dont have many friends...:-X04


kidding,

my truck rode rough on muddy dirt roads even with 15psi swampers...suspension is just to tough

I live in to much of a city hub where most people just get 4/6 cyl sedan's instead of trucks and call it a day.
I've been the "friend with a truck" in my group of friends for years, usually when we go camping they all pile into their cars drive as far as they can, toss all the gear in my truck and ride in the bed to the site.
I usually ride alone and bring the required gear to get myself out of bad situations.

And I know it's my suspension mostly to fault, shocks need to be replaced, and the leaf's need some love to boot.

I put air shocks on my 84....those were so so so nice...i dont recall the brand. But They made a world of difference in a rocky terrain like you and I live in Snuff....ima start looking for those shocks...

I've not heard of air shocks. Something like this? MONROE SHOCKS & STRUTS :: Max-Air® Air Adjustable Shocks :: Air Adjustable Shocks
I'm running beat to **** Blisten's, actually a few dents in them from fun weekends. ;)

And I pity them, this terrain is amazing.

when i had my 89 diesel 250, i would drop the tire pressure to 10-15 lbs in the 35's for driving in the sugar sand on the beaches.

Are you OR is this done? If not first thing dont get them 22" rims and put 35"s on it defeats the propose of a trail truck...You need tires that when you do air down its not going to smack the rims on rocks, Dont get any type of gas shock like KYB's they will ride like crap..As for airing down you can run 15psi but much lower on a aluminum type rim WITHOUT a bead ring inside the wheel (The raised lip inside the rim itself) the bead will pop off..Something like a steel wheel you can drop down to 10psi without a problem, If the truck is simply a play truck and miner work truck you can remove the over load spring and 1 to 3 of the main springs to give it more flex...If you have access to a welder buy your own shocks and make shock towers, The longest you can get to aid in the flex of the suspension

Kinda hard to see but its all been tubed for super long shocks

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/HPIM0633.jpg

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/HPIM0628.jpg

My old trail rig when I lived out west
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/HPIM0616.jpg

I had 35" BFG's mud tires but took them off in these pix because I sold it :'( I miss it bad had soft lockers front and back would climb damn near anything.

Have not done it yet, still pretty much stock suspension, might have a factory 2" lift as she sits a little higher than other F-250HD's I've come across. First things first is to give the axle's some love, mostly need bushings and u-joint's (or whatever they are called on the front axle).
Then I'm thinking I'm going to look into air bags and start pulling leaf's I don't need for riding when empty, find the amount I need and get them bent back to their original angles (if they are in good enough condition, or replaced if not). Thinking air bags as well just for that option to kick yourself up a few inches and get better clearance in those tricky spots. (Got a line on a york compressor for onboard air) And shocks around the same time as leaf's get worked on.

I'm sticking with my 16" steel rims the truck came with. To much of a pig to put $1000 rims on, at most I might get some black powder coated steel rims. Seems stupid to put weaker rims on a big heavy truck. And I'll be looking at the Wrangler MT/R w/ Kevlar and/or Duratrac (Killer all season/winter tire, probably the best you can get for Canadian winters) when I go 35's, they have the nice aggressive tires in the sizes I want.

I've been thinking about doing something like that with my Dana 50, do a Coil over conversion, and add tubing for suspension like you have. This guy has what I was looking at, though it seems to be much more work than what you did and a bit beyond my ability, have to get it custom done.
Coil over (Site hates firefox, you can navigate just fine on IE for some reason)

And I love your bronco, I want to get me one of those one day for day trips up into the mountains.

And a few photo's from today's adventure, for those who don't understand why I do what I do. Will be doing up a trip report tomorrow and I'll link to it. This is after I sleep, and get more photo's from everyone else. It's 1am, the day started at 6am yesterday... Zzzzzzzz... :-X17

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...mporary-89.jpg

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...mporary-85.jpg

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...mporary-59.jpg

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...mporary-88.jpg

Why yes, we hit snow in the middle of July... And I don't want to talk about the hour I spent shoveling my truck out of it...

your truck might run better at those elevations if it had a turbo:-X22:-X04:-drink

You would turn around and throw down the turbo comment wouldn't you, lol.
I've never had a want of power at higher elevations, truth be told the truck runs better the higher I get her. It is a thought, but it feels like one more thing that could go wrong/make bush repairs more difficult. I already have a wk with more electronics in its fuel system than I have on my truck with a hemi to work on, it feels like a high risk/reward for ****ting around in the bush.

lol. if it does just fine for you and does what you ask of it power wise then no need to spend the money on a turbo. hey at least i did not say that you need to get a banks turbo like some other member on here,. cough, f250hd, cough. lol