Lowest PSI with Heavy Paid Load

[alksion]

Hi guys. I went a 9 day camping trip with my wife. I had to air down a few times. Sometimes because we were stuck and other times just for comfort on long off road trails.

We had a ton of stuff packed for the camping trip plus a heavy rack and RTT. You can physically see the weight of the suspension being used in the rear.

Two quick questions. How safe is leaving the tires aired down at the campsites for a long durations of time? And secondly/more importantly, what is the lowest PSI you can often go down to without a hub lock or bead lock wheels both loaded and unloaded vehicle weight?

I have the stock Bridgestone Duelers A/T tires that came with the Jeep. Lowest I aired down to was around 15 psi.

Thanks in advanced. This is my first Jeep and 4x4 car we’ve owned. I’ve learned so much in 6 months from these forums.

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[bjm00se]

You can leave the tires aired down as long as you want, until it's time to drive at highway speeds again.

Pressure is more art than science.
255/70R18? Your loaded Jeep is like 5000 to 5500 or so?

The main risk is breaking a bead, which is pretty inconvenient, but ultimately not all *that* big a deal if it happens at low speeds on a trail. Worst can happen is you trash a tire and/or a rim.

Still, that's a pretty small tire. I run 14 or 15 in a 285/70R17 on a truck that weighs less than 5000. So personally, for your heavier jeep on a smaller tire, I'd probably go 18-20.

Your mileage may vary and objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.

 

[bjm00se]

PS: If you get Oasis automatic trailhead deflators, they come with a cool little sliding chart with recommended pressures based on tire size and vehicle weight.

They're cool but a little bit spendy.
https://www.billet4x4.com/pro-deflators-trailhead.htm

 

[alksion]

You can leave the tires aired down as long as you want, until it's time to drive at highway speeds again.

Pressure is more art than science.
255/70R18? Your loaded Jeep is like 5000 to 5500 or so?

The main risk is breaking a bead, which is pretty inconvenient, but ultimately not all *that* big a deal if it happens at low speeds on a trail. Worst can happen is you trash a tire and/or a rim.

Still, that's a pretty small tire. I run 14 or 15 in a 285/70R17 on a truck that weighs less than 5000. So personally, for your heavier jeep on a smaller tire, I'd probably go 18-20.

Your mileage may vary and objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.

You know what I’m not sure what it weighed but that sounds close. Yeah I stayed at 20 most of time but when I made the recovery I went down to 15 PSI. Yeah I just played with the pressure to see what felt most appropriate with the weight in the car. Glad I had no incidents.

 

[wibornz]

You will be fine at 12 to 15 psi. If you were in sand, I would not hesitate to go down to 8psi. Just remember that you are aired down so no high speed driving.

 

[alksion]

You will be fine at 12 to 15 psi. If you were in sand, I would not hesitate to go down to 8psi. Just remember that you are aired down so no high speed driving.

Yeah usually stay well below 20 but have gone 30 a few times.

 

[alksion]

Out of curiosity bead locks allow for an extremely low tire pressure?

 

[jessedacri]

Out of curiosity bead locks allow for an extremely low tire pressure?

The tire is physically clamped into the wheel in a beadlock setup, so you can go to ridiculously low pressures. Honestly though, a standard wheel and tire setup can safely go to 15 and the risk of popping a bead is extremely low. You’ve also got a full spare in case that happens. I’ve had my tire totally smashed up and folded over in a ridiculous rock crawling scenario when I was sure it’d bust the bead and it still didn’t pop off.

my first upgrades on your rig would be proper ATs like KO2s or ridge grapplers - and probably a bit of a lift since you’re often weighed down. You could start by scoring a set of Rubicon takeoff wheels and tires for under a grand or shop your own setup for a little more.

Best thing for wheeling often is a nice thick tire with beefier tread that can take the abuse better than the Duelers will.

 

[alksion]

The tire is physically clamped into the wheel in a beadlock setup, so you can go to ridiculously low pressures. Honestly though, a standard wheel and tire setup can safely go to 15 and the risk of popping a bead is extremely low. You’ve also got a full spare in case that happens. I’ve had my tire totally smashed up and folded over in a ridiculous rock crawling scenario when I was sure it’d bust the bead and it still didn’t pop off.

my first upgrades on your rig would be proper ATs like KO2s or ridge grapplers - and probably a bit of a lift since you’re often weighed down. You could start by scoring a set of Rubicon takeoff wheels and tires for under a grand or shop your own setup for a little more.

Best thing for wheeling often is a nice thick tire with beefier tread that can take the abuse better than the Duelers will.

Thanks for the advice. I’m actually going to be buying a rubicon. Totaled my Benz a few weeks ago the Sahara it’s actually my wife’s but I’ve pretty much stolen it. I want to buy now but waiting for 22s to come out. Just need to get a car off fair in the mean time.
Hoping for U connect 5 or I waited for nothing.

 

[J0E]

See https://bt39.com/
You can edit the weight, tire, etc and see how that impacts drop and how close you are to getting a pinch flat.
I plan on adding a menu item to select a variety of 33, 35, 37, 38, 40, and 43 inch tires.

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