Traveling on Gravel/Dirt Roads

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Hi, I am new to the forum and my husband and i went 4 Wheel driving over Xmas for the first time and they advise us to ruduce the air pressure in the car tyres when on garvel roads so if you run over a sharp rock it reduces the chance of a puncture.. can any one advise us re our van should we do the same for that too as we are going travelling in a few months and looking for some advise.

[bbush]

Hi there Barry here, we have just come back from up north with our caravan and lots of people told us that it is a good idea to let the tyres down a bit.

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Hi Barry, Joanne here how did you find that did it work for you

[GerryP]

Hi, letting some air out allows the tyres to flex a bit and also 'softens' corrugations to some extent. And yes, whatever you do to the car, you should also do to the van. How far you deflate them really depends on the terrain. For stony or gibber tracks, I would probably run 25 to 30 psi, but for sandy tracks, let them down a bit more - even down to 18 if the going gets tough as it allows the contact patch with the ground to extend, which in turn allows the tyres to 'float' rather than dig in. One word of caution though, as you let tyres down, the sidewalls become more exposed, so you need to be a bit more aware of mallee roots and other possible dangers to the sidewalls.
Cheers
Gerry

[J.REEVES]

Yes I agree with Gerry, but you will need to find your most suitable pressure as each set up has different weight and different tyres.

If you leave the pressure high things can still be OK, I tend to lower the pressure to make life easier on vehicle and van.

JR

[peterm]

Check the side wall and see what the pressure ratings are and ensure that you don't go below or above them.

These are the pressuires that the tyre is designed to be run at.

I run my van tyres at 65psi on the black stuff and 45psi on the dirt, my car is at 45psi regardless.

The above pressures are what i used for my last trip to Cape York, and my van is a single axle approx 2000kg and tows like a dream at the pressures.

Cheers,

PeterM.

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Thank everyone that advice has been helpful at least I have an idea now we have a 23ft Jayco Sterling and we are heading to Cairns then accross to Broome and then eventually home again and I am sure we will need to let them down at some point. Again thanks everyone.
Jo & Doug

[Jeffie]

Jo.

Did that trip last year - had no need to alter tyre pressures on car or van.
I assume your Jayco is not an Off Roader so any outback type roads you will be travelling on will not be so bad ( IMHO) that you will have to worry about tyre pressures.

Enjoy.


Jeff.

[KevinS]

Have a look at eis link below. There are lots of discussions about tyre pressures for a whole range of vehicles. This is one subject where "one size fits all" does not apply.

http://forum.australia4wd.com/index.php?act=idx

[jock]

There's been a fair bit discussed previously on this topic re tyre pressures on dirt roads.
There are two schools of thought..The majority say let the tyres down ( for reasons as previously stated) but there are a few who say the opposite..most notable being the highly experienced Jack Absolom. His theory is that by letting the tyre down you increase the bulge of the sidewalls (which are the thinnest part of the tyre) thus exposing them to easy penetration by the sharp upright stones.
We have always let ours down and found that the travelling is a lot more comfortable BUT! I have to admit that we have buggered two tyres in recent times.
The other issue is the type of tyre.....We have been advised by tyre people on more than one occasion , to avoid the aggressive type tread with big gaps between the lugs..great for dirt and sand but no good for sharp stones such as can be found on the Gibb and Birdsville tracks...they penetrate between the lugs into the tyre.
Good advice to always take two spares for the van and two for the tug.
Safe travels, Jock