cancel
Showing results forย 
Search instead forย 
Did you mean:ย 

Correct tire size for driving truck camper on the beach

Tcnewbie
Explorer
Explorer
Looking to purchase a Dodge Ram 2500 truck. The size of these tires that are on the truck are 245/70SR17.0E
Will that be sufficient for hauling a truck camper on the beach? Thanks
27 REPLIES 27

jefe_4x4
Explorer
Explorer
Skipbee, your humor is not lost on me. I've found that people who poo-poo sand driving have never tried it but are somehow an expert. People who have found the 'edge' in the sand know everything they need to know; and find the edge over and over. Around 1976 we drove 125 miles at the surf line in Baja in a Toyota FJ-55 Land Cruiser between San Felipe and Puertocitos. What a ride! We had to steer around the inlets and outlets. The sand changed texture and consistency many times on that trip requiring lower and lower pressure down to 10 pounds and actually raising it on the sharp rocks. Here Dick is lowering the pressure as we try to race the incoming tide: You can see how the rig 'crabbed' along at too high a tire pressure trying to crest the high tide line. We had (5), five gallon jeep cans ( two on the tailgate) and a 53 gallon gas tank, plus 3 spare tires on wheels.


jefe
'01.5 Dodge 2500 4x4, CTD, Qcab, SB, NV5600, 241HD, 4.10's, Dana 70/TruTrac; Dana 80/ TruTrac, Spintec hub conversion, H.D. susp, 315/75R16's on 7.5" and 10" wide steel wheels, Vulcan big line, Warn M15K winch '98 Lance Lite 165s, 8' 6" X-cab, 200w Solar

skipbee
Explorer
Explorer
We have traveled a good deal over the very soft sand on Assateague Island, Maryland. There are literally hundreds of TC's operating here.
We have been using 16" Nitto Dune Grapplers on our very heavy rig with excellent results. We air down to 20 psi rear and 30 front and should we encounter an extra soft spot we have room to air down a bit more.

We have the benefit of a bank of hi pressure compressors at the entrance to the beach, and a large group of experienced sons of the beach always willing to help if someone is stuck.
skipbee
2004 F350 Diesel CC SRW 19.5" Rickson W/T 4WD
2005 Lance 1121 well found.
See us on YouTube" Living the Lance Life" 3 of 4. Google skip bosley for TR's: Alaska, Assateague Island, Disney World & Fla Keys and a California Coastal jaunt.

JohnJM
Explorer
Explorer
Ive run my Truck/Camper on beaches from NC to Cape Cod. Ive run BFG
285 18r tires for the last 15 yrs no issues. Sure you can get stuck, air down take it easy youll be fine.

IVe been out on IBSP many times without issue.
John M

Sam_Spade
Explorer
Explorer
nycsteve wrote:
Sam Spade wrote:
If the question is just any old beach that you might encounter, the answer is:
Don't do it.

Many beaches won't support even a small car without VERY wide tires. And having a truck camper towed out of the sand is a tricky proposition.


Wrong.


No it is not wrong.....to advise someone to be careful with what they are about to do.

Either you are a more skilled driver than most or are just lucky.

I have SEEN cars, trucks and RVs stuck in soft sand (both on a "beach" and off) and it isn't a pretty picture.

Just because you can do it doesn't mean that everybody can.

Being careful is never a bad thing and is never "wrong".
'07 Damon Outlaw 3611
CanAm Spyder in the "trunk"

nycsteve
Explorer
Explorer
Sam Spade wrote:
If the question is just any old beach that you might encounter, the answer is:
Don't do it.

Many beaches won't support even a small car without VERY wide tires. And having a truck camper towed out of the sand is a tricky proposition.


Wrong. Im on the beach all the time with the TC on. Very soft sand too. I air down my front tires from 65psi to 20 psi. The rears from 80 psi to 25 psi. The tires are what the truck came with , nothing special. Its a f350 4x4 SRW. 4k# camper. Take it slow, don't allow the tires to dig themselves in.If possible stay in existing tire tracks. Carry a jack and shovel. Stay well above the high tide mark. Over the years I have had to use a shovel once or twice , but almost always I can drive out of whatever fix I may be in.

jadatis
Explorer
Explorer
Once got hold of a pressure/loadcapacity list from Michelin.
For different speeds and for in Mud/sand and on Track.
Will give the picture of it, but in short.

For in Mud/Sand you can use even 50% of the pressure for 20km/12,5m/h on the road, wich then is the maximum speed to use.
Can go as low as 0.6bar/9psi for a tire with 6 bar/85psi AT pressure, ofcource if the load on tire is low enaug.

My conclusion is that at that pressure on road the tire would bare on the sides and not in the middle, but in sand/mud the underground forms that way that it supports the total surface .
But this is my conclusion, of a self declared tirepressure-specialist, so not a profesional tire-ingeneur.

For on track 80% of the pressure needed for 65km/35m?/h on road, wich then is the maximum to use speed.

Here 2 pictures


Tom_Anderson
Explorer
Explorer
Also, very aggressive treads, like mud tires, will tend to dig in and get you stuck quickly. A milder all-terrain tread will stay on top of the sand better.

silversand
Explorer
Explorer
Sam Spade wrote:
If the question is just any old beach that you might encounter, the answer is: Don't do it.


...ya. You'd better know the sand (and tide) dynamics of the beach you want to drive on. The best, is to ask someone who regularly drives that particular "stretch of sand" with a truck camper rig preferably, first.

We've had no problems with stock 245/75 R16 all-terrain tires on the beaches we've driven on the East Coast (this includes driving the loooong St Augustine Florida stretch with the truck camper rig).

I've since gone with slightly wider tires with a taller side-wall (Goodyear Duratrac).
Silver
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 6.0L Ext/LB Tow Package 4L80E Michelin AT2s| Outfitter Caribou

Sam_Spade
Explorer
Explorer
If the question is just any old beach that you might encounter, the answer is:
Don't do it.

Many beaches won't support even a small car without VERY wide tires. And having a truck camper towed out of the sand is a tricky proposition.
'07 Damon Outlaw 3611
CanAm Spyder in the "trunk"

towpro
Explorer
Explorer
what kind of truck camper you looking at? with the Dodge 2500 be enough to truck to carry it? Since you don't have the truck yet, now is a good time to look at the numbers.
2022 Ford F150
Sold: 2016 Arctic Fox 990, 2018 Ram 3500, 2011 Open Range
Sold Forest River Forester 2401R Mercedes Benz. when campsites went from $90 to $190 per night.

jefe_4x4
Explorer
Explorer
Driving your truck and camper on the beach? It has been done. There are a couple forces in play here. 1. The weight of your camper. 2. How much floatation you can get with stock size truck tires. Coming from a 'jeeping' background, I've experimented with tire pressure on sand for decades on disparate rigs. There are some must haves.
A tall sidewall is good when you deflate for sand. I've stayed with 16 inch tires on wider steel wheels to allow for a longer and wider patch on sand. There are some good to haves. A super single wheel and tire are the ticket for sand running. Here are the 12 inch wide wheels and 365x65R16 (33x15.50R16) super singles I drove into the ground next to a stock 265x75R16 Michelin:


@ 22 pounds of air, the monsters had a 17 inch wide, by 15 inch long footprint that floated on the loosest blowsand: Here is the appropriate sidewall squat: front stock size @ 22 pounds; rear super singles @ 20 pounds. This is about as low as I would want to go.


jefe
'01.5 Dodge 2500 4x4, CTD, Qcab, SB, NV5600, 241HD, 4.10's, Dana 70/TruTrac; Dana 80/ TruTrac, Spintec hub conversion, H.D. susp, 315/75R16's on 7.5" and 10" wide steel wheels, Vulcan big line, Warn M15K winch '98 Lance Lite 165s, 8' 6" X-cab, 200w Solar

1320Fastback
Explorer
Explorer
Air down as much as possibl and keep your momentum up.

Tires as wide as possible will help with flotation but may not be necessary.
1992 D250 Cummins 5psd
2005 Forest River T26 Toy Hauler

Tom_Anderson
Explorer
Explorer
Tcnewbie wrote:
Looking to purchase a Dodge Ram 2500 truck. The size of these tires that are on the truck are 245/70SR17.0E
Will that be sufficient for hauling a truck camper on the beach? Thanks


The most important thing is to make sure you lower the tire pressure until you get a significant sidewall bulge. As far as tire size goes for sand, the bigger the better (especially width). 245s will be marginal, IMO.