When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I've only taken my Jeep out there in the past, but my friend had a stock f150 that he took out in the beach. We aired his tires down to 20psi and he didn't have any problems. He only had 17" wheels though. This was up by Salvo too.
You should be going fairly slow on the sand. I would try 20psi to start and go down a bit from there if you need. If you do get stuck, air down to 14psi BEFORE you dig yourself into a hole. Take a small air pump and make sure you have recovery points and a strap to get pulled out if need be.
Airing Down "lengthens" the treads contact patch on the ground/sand. More Tread...More Traction!
I think the issue is going to be the short side walls and weight. The benefit from airing down is with the sidewall flattening out too give it not surface area to ride on. With the short sidewalls on those 20s there isn't much flex so you'll pop a bead long before you see much benefit, especially with a 6000# truck.
I think the issue is going to be the short side walls and weight. The benefit from airing down is with the sidewall flattening out too give it not surface area to ride on. With the short sidewalls on those 20s there isn't much flex so you'll pop a bead long before you see much benefit, especially with a 6000# truck.
It is actually not about the sidewalls making the tire wider...it is about the tread lengthening out more like a tank track. Place a raw egg under your tire just barely touching the tread...now air down...as you do the tread elongates and will crack the egg. It is true that a shorter sidewall will hinder this a bit tho...
I posted this in the off-road section, but I didn't get any replies. Thought I'd try in a busier forum. Sorry for posting twice.
I'm taking my 2014 F-150 to the outer banks (Ocracoke Island) for vacation next week. We've been doing this for many many years. This is the first time I'm taking this truck though. The sand is really deep and I know guys who don't deflate their tires tend to get stuck out there.
I still have my stock tires on the truck. They are Pirelli Scorpions. Pirelli's site says not to deflate them below 1.6 bar or 23 psi. In the past, I've done other tires on smaller/lighter vehicles down to about 10 psi or so. Will I damage my tires if I go down to 10-15 psi? Sorry if this is a dumb question.
I go to pismo here in cali and drop my tires down between 8 to 10 psi I had 2wd 08 with Pirelli's dropped them down to 9lbs and never had an issue
Weird you say that...
Just got back from the Outer Banks... I aired down to about 25 and wish I had not.
I saw several trucks of our size out there and they did not air down their tires- you did not need to.
If you do- bring a compressor, the ones in the area are all worn out.
Weird you say that...
Just got back from the Outer Banks... I aired down to about 25 and wish I had not.
I saw several trucks of our size out there and they did not air down their tires- you did not need to.
If you do- bring a compressor, the ones in the area are all worn out.
I was always told to air down to 20 psi, and to use my street tires as opposed to off road tires. Supposedly the street tires do a better flattening out giving you more surface coverage.
So, that's what I always did with my 99 F150, never had any issues. Probably because I had the bed full of "oh crap I'm stuck" gear.
I'm going to the OBX first week in August and I'm thinking of taking my 11 F150 out on the beach but the wife is fussin about it.
I think the issue is going to be the short side walls and weight. The benefit from airing down is with the sidewall flattening out too give it not surface area to ride on. With the short sidewalls on those 20s there isn't much flex so you'll pop a bead long before you see much benefit, especially with a 6000# truck.
That's exactly my fear. When I've done this previously in smaller, lighter vehicles, I had tires with large sidewalls and they could air down no problem.
Originally Posted by MikeyZ
Weird you say that...
Just got back from the Outer Banks... I aired down to about 25 and wish I had not.
I saw several trucks of our size out there and they did not air down their tires- you did not need to.
If you do- bring a compressor, the ones in the area are all worn out.
Truck looks good out there! I can't wait to get there. We'll have a compressor for sure.
Originally Posted by Old Crab
I was always told to air down to 20 psi, and to use my street tires as opposed to off road tires. Supposedly the street tires do a better flattening out giving you more surface coverage.
So, that's what I always did with my 99 F150, never had any issues. Probably because I had the bed full of "oh crap I'm stuck" gear.
I'm going to the OBX first week in August and I'm thinking of taking my 11 F150 out on the beach but the wife is fussin about it.
Not sure where on the OBX you're going, but if it's Ocracoke Island, you'll definitely want to take your truck out there. You can get more gear out there for hanging out on the beach, and the 4x4 access beaches are way better in my opinion. I just wouldn't go out there without 4x4. We've been doing it since I was a little kid and every year I see guys in 2WD trucks just get buried. They charge a bunch to pull you out too. On beaches with more packed sand, it's fine. You could take a lowered honda civic on Florida beaches. I wouldn't do anything short of 4x4 on the outer banks though.
It greatly depends on the section of beach, some are hard flat sand and some are "sugar" sand and rutted. I will not go on Hatteras beaches without airing down my tires.
Oh BTW I did get to pull out a C Class Benz, it was 2 very lost girls following Google maps. They where trying to get to "The Point".
The picture of all the trucks you can see how hard and flat the sand it, that's ocracoke.
07-08-2015, 01:25 PM
