PSI for different conditions?

I'm relatively green in both my Tacoma and off roading in general. I have spent a fair amount of time in other trucks in snow/ice/mud etc. but the thoughts of airing down, or up, never occurred to me.

I found recommendations for sand but I'm not having any luck searching for recommendations for snow/ice/mud etc.

Any advice? Also, how far is it considered ok to drive to air up at 10-15 psi? I will be looking into getting a compressor to throw in the truck when we're heading to the beach, but just in case.

Sand - 8-15 seems to be what I am reading

Snow - Is this different for 4-6" of fresh snow over ice compared to 12-20" of powder over gravel or ice? This is the majority of what I will be off roading in as I live in Seattle and regularly go over our mountain passes to the east side of the state. Typically the roads will be compact snow and ice, but I like to play in the snow

Mud - ?

Rocks -

Thanks!

 

I would say especially for someone new who can't judge conditions as well to stick to 15 for pretty much everything.

I will air down to 10 sometimes in soft fresh powdery snow. I stick to higher 12 - 15 for harder packed snow. About 15 or so for most rocks and trails.

Just my .02

YMMV


I wouldn't drive on road at all.

 

Just remember when you do drive on the road at a lower pressure to keep your speed down. the lower your tire pressure the slower you should be going on the road but still always try to get to a compressor or service station as soon as possible to air up.

I never really air down in the snow or ice but I have always carried chains no matter how good a 4 wheel drive or how good or big of tires. I may be wrong but i was always under the impression that in snow and ice the same goes for mud you actually want a smaller tire footprint so that your tires cut through down to the road or in mud down past the mud into to hard dirt. The exact opposite for sand, i do a lot of sand driving and you air down so that you float on top. I guess soft powdery snow might similar to sand but hard snow and ice I personally do not want to float on. Carry good chains either way they can literally be a lifesaver.

 

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Off road in the deep stuff you want flotation. On road yes.

 

I live south east of Portland Oregon and drive to snowboard on Mt. Hood a lot every winter. I always bought good tires for me vehicles (jeep, 4runner, jeep, now tacoma!) just because of this. I never aired down or used chains once in the last 5 years of driving. I will air down this coming winter just to see how my truck does cuz a truck on snow and ice is way different than those SUVs and manual vs automatic makes it more tricky yet more fun.

On my truck I am running Goodyear Duratracs which so far havent let me down.
All very good advice from you guys so far tho

 

Most deep/ dry sand will need deflating... 15 psi is the place to start... If the truck struggles... then drop it to 10. GET a pump before you deflate! $50-$80 for a good one that connects to the battery. They are 3 times faster than the cig. lighter powered ones. (6 psi per minute vs. 2 psi per minute)

I did mud and snow at street pressure with my new Hankook Dynapro ATm's last Feb. without a problem. I don't do as much mud and snow as others here, however.

 

I run 15psi for most situations. In soft stuff (sand, mud, etc.) I will go 10-12. Dropping psi also makes the ride so much better off road. It takes the harshness out of washboard

I have the MV50. Cost around $50 and its a great compressor for the money. Used it many times and its pretty fast.

 

This one.

 

Looks like one I have too... Tsunami MV50, recent addition. I also have the Harbor Frieght unit 'General Pneumatic'... it is a bit faster, but the wire gets very hot and melts fuses!

 

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