Airing down?
Based on my Compressor Recommendation thread, I now have a nice ViAir 450P compressor to air back up. So now it's time to start thinking about airing down. I'm use to airing down my jeep to 15psi w...
Forum Discussion
River and Sand,
I've not had to air down the trailer....yet. This pictoral was not planned. Those pix are deceiving as I was on my way to Death Valley, just following an old narrow gage railroad grade and it disappeared into a dune. I tried blasting UP the dune at street pressure, Rat Patrol style, hoping I could get back to the highway. No dice. Plenty of power, but not with 40-65-80 pounds pressure with 16K pounds pushing down on the 8 tires. Too much ground pressure.
Tires now-o-days are tough cookies. I don't mind beating them up a little. They'll wear out before they give out, unlike the glass, nylon, and rayon predecessors. I'm remembering not-so-fondly, 47 years ago, my first set of tires on my 1949 Willys Jeep Utility Wagon: 7:00-16 non directional cross country (NDCC in milspec) on real narrow combat rims. Rayon cord. Absolutely the worst traction on any surface. Stiff as a board and didn't air down well at all. They were so stiff that air pressure was optional.
That was then and this is now.
Many E rated tires have very stiff sidewalls to carry the load. Good for the street, but you must air down a little farther than the numbers might suggest to get the same 'floatational' effect. Generally, D rated and really wide tires don't have to be deflated as far for the same floatation.
On rocky trails, I try to fine tune the pressure in the tires to a balance between rattling your teeth out and too mushy. If it's just a little occasional roughness, I just leave it at street and go slower, bobbin' and weavin' until conditions improve. Washboard is my least favorite. for that I always air down to the point that I can stand it. A lot of numbers thrown down around here. In the end, it's not about numbers, but a feel; captured by experience.
By the way, that experience slowly fades if you don't use it. How do I know that?
regards, as always, jefe
I've not had to air down the trailer....yet. This pictoral was not planned. Those pix are deceiving as I was on my way to Death Valley, just following an old narrow gage railroad grade and it disappeared into a dune. I tried blasting UP the dune at street pressure, Rat Patrol style, hoping I could get back to the highway. No dice. Plenty of power, but not with 40-65-80 pounds pressure with 16K pounds pushing down on the 8 tires. Too much ground pressure.
Tires now-o-days are tough cookies. I don't mind beating them up a little. They'll wear out before they give out, unlike the glass, nylon, and rayon predecessors. I'm remembering not-so-fondly, 47 years ago, my first set of tires on my 1949 Willys Jeep Utility Wagon: 7:00-16 non directional cross country (NDCC in milspec) on real narrow combat rims. Rayon cord. Absolutely the worst traction on any surface. Stiff as a board and didn't air down well at all. They were so stiff that air pressure was optional.
That was then and this is now.
Many E rated tires have very stiff sidewalls to carry the load. Good for the street, but you must air down a little farther than the numbers might suggest to get the same 'floatational' effect. Generally, D rated and really wide tires don't have to be deflated as far for the same floatation.
On rocky trails, I try to fine tune the pressure in the tires to a balance between rattling your teeth out and too mushy. If it's just a little occasional roughness, I just leave it at street and go slower, bobbin' and weavin' until conditions improve. Washboard is my least favorite. for that I always air down to the point that I can stand it. A lot of numbers thrown down around here. In the end, it's not about numbers, but a feel; captured by experience.
By the way, that experience slowly fades if you don't use it. How do I know that?
regards, as always, jefe
