I was having the same problems getting over the dunes until I let out a little more air. Changing from 20-22 psi down to 17 psi really did the trick. I was using 4 hi going up the beach and I would switch into 4 lo to go over the dunes. At 17 psi, I could just crawl slowly right over the dunes. With either 285s or 315s, you could probably get away with running 20 psi all the time on the beach. I'm looking at either BFG AT KOs or Pro Comp ATs for my next set of tires. I have always done very well with BFGs on the the beach but Pro Comp makes a 33X12.5X17 AT that looks like it would work great on the beach.

 

I run a CO2 air system in my truck.
It will do 2 tires from 15 to 50 in about 2.5 min and that makes for a quick air up.
I have it setup to do the front 2 then the back 2 to keep the presure the same if I want to run 55psi front and 45psi rear. I only bring them up to 32 on pavement and that makes it quicker to air down the next day, then up to full presure for the trip back.
I will do that as I'm getting back on the road to prevent doing any damage to the tires running them at 15psi on pavement.
Jon

 

What are y'all using to air back up. I doubt if my cigar light compressor will do the job. I'd like to get a Quick-Air II. My previous Cherokee and F-150 had no problems on Padre Island with airing down, but I'm sure the Dodge need to air down like you say.

I always carry a small shovel and a couple of boards just in case and have my tow stap.

By the way, in Texas we have over 60 miles of continous primative beach on Padre Island we drive on, 114 miles total access. You are required to have a 4x4, there are a lot of trucks not worrying about sand. Just hit the coin operated car wash after you get off the beach. I'll gladely take take the risk of a little sand in the brakes for the enjoyment of getting away, otherwise might as well just leave it in the garage.

 

Peterbilt,

I highly recommend the Quick-Air II. I have had mine for about 8 years with no problems at all. A couple of mods I did was to put a Milton quick disconnect at the manifold, a good pressure gauge 0-150 psi, and 25 foot plastic recoiling air hose with a air chuck that stays attached to the air valve on the wheel. All of this fits into the case that the pump comes in. The air gauge is not as accurate as a tire pressure gauge but gives you a rough idea of the pressure in the tire without having to disconnect and check it during fill up.

Make sure you are running the engine when using this pump because as the voltage drops the pump slows down, takes longer to fill your tires, and hence will heat up more. It doesn't take long to heat up especially as the tire pressure increases. Good Luck!

L8r,................dogger

Days on, sweatin' in the Sahara Desert!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yep on the Quick Air 2.
Works Real good on the Blazer for offroad but I also went with CO2 so I could run the air tools and run it as a gas for the onboard welder.(Ready Welder 2)

 

Thanks dogger and Gadget for the thumbs up on quick air. I know several guys that love their CO2. But, I think I'll put the QAII on my list.

dogger you are closet to the coast than me, where do you go Madagorda?

Pete

 

Hey Steve, if you go down to Oregon Inlet you will want to go down to 15-17psi. That loose dry sand will eat you up. And yes you do want to air up asap. across from the entrance to the beach there is the Oregon Inlet fishing center, there is a BIG compressor there and 2 lines to fill em up.

Up in Carova you'll be fine at higher pressure(20+), unless you want to cross the dune line and explore. There's some cool trails back there and it's really fun to see the wild horses playing around.

Bummer, we were supposed to go this weekend too, but the wife can't get a 3 day weekend.


PLEASE, stay below 25 mph. There was 2 deaths a couple weeks ago from some a-hole jumping a sand ledge... beer, 50mph on the beach and no seat belts in a Jeep isn't the best combination

 

Maybe I got lucky, but the one time I drove on the beach in my truck I had the tires aired up to my usual 70 psi and just rolled right along with no problems. Granted it was fairly packed sand and I made a very conscience effort not to spin my tires, but I still did it and didn't have any problems. And that's with a 2WD stick!!

I should mention that this was on the north end of Padre Island near Corpus Christi. Drove a total of about 10 miles.

 

On the hard pack after the tide goes out you could drive anything without a problem.

Stay to long and the tide will push you up the beach into the sugar sand and you will wish you had 4 wheel drive and 20 Lbs. in the tires.

I guess some of us as you said get LUCKY if I tried that it would be shovel time for sure.

 

Well, Steve how did it do?
we ended up going out afterall. went up to Carova on fathers day and drove around, did some swimming. Truck did good enough. I didn't air down at all(Carova is mostly hardpack) just left them at 65psi, and most of the time 2wd.

 

Low pressure does not affect the tire ,it's the heat that biulds very quickly. At 15 lbs you would become a hazard as the max speed would be so low on hard road.Handling and risk of a Bead Roll Off are awhole differant story. Just for a benchmark ......30 degrees outside/01 2500/lots off snow on secondary roads/285's aired down to 18 psi and speeds to 45mph extended = tires at about body temp. Same everything except 80 degrees outside with lots of mud = tires sidewalls to hot to hold on to at 45 for 5 minutes..WOW

 

just came from kure(sp?) beach in Wilmington NC ... it was easy with 80lbs

went south to another beach (near the ferry) ... just about buried it ... aired down to 20 ... worked like a charm

 

I ride the Long Island beaches all the time; with the Dodge, the tires MUST be around 20psi, or no go...

Did an experiment after I knew lower pressures would get me around real easy; I've got bfg 315's, so I figured I'd see how far onto the soft stuff I could go without letting any air out - answer: 20'

My 4Runner can go out & back without taking any air out at all (usually), but then the weight on the front axle of my Dodge is MORE than the whole 4Runner!!!

Check out the photo gallery for a nice shot on the beach.

Rene

 

Stevenc, when you air down your tires, make sure the rear tires touch each other to give the widest possible tread to work better in the sand. My neighbor told me he does this with his Chevy diesel. He claims it works very well.