Airing down for dirt/gravel road

[BDennis]

The road to the White Mountain Peak trailhead is 36 miles roundtrip. The road has a reputation of severe washboard conditions and sharp rocks in some areas that can cause flats. I’m thinking about airing down my stock 225/65 17’s on my FWD hybrid XLT for just this road to 25 pounds and inflating back up when I hit the pavement. This is done in the off road community to improve traction, comfort and to reduce the chances of flats.

Any thoughts from those of you that have done this in your Maverick or in another vehicle.

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[Cancunbadlands]

It won't be necessary, it's not a sand road. Keep the 35PSI recommended on the door sticker.

 

[BDennis]

It won't be necessary, it's not a sand road. Keep the 35PSI recommended on the door sticker.

i know I will be airing down to at least 30 for comfort due to the extreme washboard conditions. 35 will make the ride extremely harsh.

 

[Cancunbadlands]

32 will be better

 

[BDennis]

I forgot to mention that there are sections of very loose gravel.

 

[bgn]

I drop about 5-7 psi on most forest service roads. Any more than that, and I lose too much clearance.

 

[mooner3]

Yea clearance is an issue as mentioned given the Mav is pretty low, that’s the biggest reason I upgraded my tires to 245/70/R17

I recently did a similar terrain, went down to 30 psi and was happy with it. Incidentally found some awesome kit if you’re curious:

• Battery powered compressor: ETENWOLF VORTEX S6 Tire Inflator... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGLTPKBZ Haters may hate on this but got me through 2 rounds of up and down and still had 2/3 battery left. Find it a lot easier than having to connect to car battery etc. I wondered about a compressor you could plugin to the bed outlet but at 400w I thought that would be limiting
• ALL-TOP Adjustable Auto-Stop Tire... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5KVLK1D

Send pics when you go, have fun!

 

[CFR68]

Same size tire, Wild Peak AT4s, I air down to 25 using deflators on washboard roads & haven't had a problem yet. Carry a 18V Milwaukee Fuel compressor with me, end of trail air-ups are a breeze.

 

[BDennis]

Same size tire, Wild Peak ATs, I air down to 25 using deflators on washboard roads & haven't had a problem yet. Carry a 18V Milwaukee Fuel compressor with me, end of trail air-ups are a breeze.

Thank you, this sounds right given that the road is graded fairly well, so clearance isn’t an issue.

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