Do you air down?

[nrh6.7]

I'm curious who here airs down their tires when they get off the road and heads towards their spot. I have never done it but have wondered really how much benefit you get from doing so. If you do what type of compressor do you use to air back up?

 

[rileybassman]

I haven't, but generally have chains and or traction mats... Those mats got me out of a bind last year... Won't go off road without them now.

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[the0thermrt]

I don't air down. I'm on mostly fireroads with a few rough spots with crux moves like big ruts or crossing a wash. Maxxsa tracks FTW.

 

[boom]

no.

only in sand and mud for me. i try to stay out of both on hunting trips.

 

[kopecsean]

Airing down helps quite a bit. I'm inyo rock crawling so I get a major benefit there. You have a wider traction pattern when you air down, more traction, it also makes your ride much smoother. I have an on-board compressor that I use to air up.

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[Huntindog45]

Yep. If I am going to be spending any significant time on dirt/rock I air down. First it make the ride a hell of a lot nicer but more importantly it helps not get flats. This is especially true when I leave my house here on the valley floor and end up several thousand feet higher. The air pressure in your tires increases substantially so they end up being way over inflated. of course i am not talking about going down to 5 PSI...just down under 30.


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[NevadaZielmeister]

It all depends on the type of vehicle, the type of terrain, the type of tire. When I go off-roading in my Jeep Rubicon I always air down since without the ride is simply magnificent. I think that if you were to air down, be careful not to air down too much and to drive slower when you do. But with the rig that I see in your photo, I wouldn't. If you ever find yourself seeing a path/road that is that rough, you might not want to take the risk and get stuck out there. They have a saying, having a 4x4 just means you get stuck our further.

As for airing up, I have on-board air. I would really recommend the ARB products as they have some portable options for your situation. Otherwise, on-board air is really nice.

 

[black dawg]

When I need to, yes. Probably around 3000 miles over the last 4 years at 5psi or less. Really need some sidewall to make it work right though...like a 35 on a 17 or 33 on a 16. If you are going to do it regularly, engine driven oba is the only way to go. Some of the little electric compressors can work though...with small tires like 33s or less. Rough rocky trails turn much smoother when you get the pressure down there.

 

[coiloil37]

No, but I don’t rock crawl or deal with sand. My hunting buggy (jeep) has lockers, tsl swampers, winches on both ends, 21” under the belly and goes where I point it. I have on board air but only for the day I may get a flat as I don’t carry a spare. I do have plugs and tools to fix a flat (plus wire in the event I have to sew a sidewall) but the bias ply tsl tires have nearly an 1” or tread and they’re tough as hell. I run studded winter tires (with a spare) once it’s frozen and carry tire chains. If I was driving a girly 4x4 I would have a good set of tires and a winch instead of airing down every time I left the hwy.

 

[nrh6.7]

Thanks for all the feedback gents. I drive the truck in my avatar (not me in the pic BTW) and wondered if it would be better to just leave the air alone. I'll be putting new Cooper STT Pros on before hunting season and will at least have chains for the rear. Plus hi lift jack, straps and chains so I should be good, just wanted to ask.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Since I use my truck to haul my TT to our hunting area, the tires are filled to 55psi. That makes for a very hard ride going down dirt roads so I let them down to about 30psi once we reach our camp spot. It give me a much better ride and better traction.
I just use a 12 volt compressor that plugs into the cig lighter to air them back up.

 

[bojangles808]

Airing down helps quite a bit. I'm inyo rock crawling so I get a major benefit there. You have a wider traction pattern when you air down, more traction, it also makes your ride much smoother. I have an on-board compressor that I use to air up.

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this what we do

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Depends on conditions, I have had to to escape moon dust and carry a complete recovery kit with VIAIR 400P portable compressor

 

[mtnkid85]

I do in snow or if I have a lot of washboard. It helps TREMENDOUSLY!
It helps with traction yes; but it really helps soften those dash rattling, filling popping sections of e-n-d-l-e-s-s washboard! I run engine driven york compressor and also have a self contained Puma with battery clamps that I throw in my other vehicles.

 

[black dawg]

No, but I don’t rock crawl or deal with sand. My hunting buggy (jeep) has lockers, tsl swampers, winches on both ends, 21” under the belly and goes where I point it. I have on board air but only for the day I may get a flat as I don’t carry a spare. I do have plugs and tools to fix a flat (plus wire in the event I have to sew a sidewall) but the bias ply tsl tires have nearly an 1” or tread and they’re tough as hell. I run studded winter tires (with a spare) once it’s frozen and carry tire chains. If I was driving a girly 4x4 I would have a good set of tires and a winch instead of airing down every time I left the hwy.

So what do you do (what kind of wheeling) that airing down wouldn't be a benefit? I am asking because I cant think of a situation that airing down wouldn't be a help.....any situation that requires a non-girly 4x4 anyway.

 

[coiloil37]

So what do you do (what kind of wheeling) that airing down wouldn't be a benefit? I am asking because I cant think of a situation that airing down wouldn't be a help.....any situation that requires a non-girly 4x4 anyway.

Mostly just whatever is between me and wherever I want to go. Plenty of skeg and mud. Airing down never hurts but it’s a pain in the butt dealing with it when I’m on and off the roads as much as I am. It’s a hour down the hwy to where I like to hunt then a mixture of logging and oilfield roads, cut lines, pipe lines and trails with a little pavement mixed between the areas I hunt. I don’t lack for traction and the extra ground clearance from 26 psi doesn’t hurt either as I’m only running 35” tires.

Airing down isn’t what gets me through crap like this. That’s what winches are for. That 8274 on the front does 140’ per minute and I don’t mind using it. The girly m8000 on the back is slow as dirt but all low profile winches are and I couldn’t figure out how to mount a real winch on the back.

I actually had to buy a JKU Rubicon because the three kids and wife don’t fit in a Tj so it’s pretty girly right now but I’m in the process of stuffing some tons under it on coilovers and I’ll run 42’s. After that’s done I’ll swap in a gm V8.

 

[black dawg]

We don't deal with mud like that here (without really looking hard for it). And yes with 35s you have to really be careful about loosing to much clearance. It is nice with my 40s that ground clearance doesn't really start going away until down around 15 psi, which helps me a lot, even in muddy stuff, and short pavement sections aren't a big deal at low speed even on a 6500ish pound rig.