I go out on the local trails at least a couple times a month, and I've never once aired down. When I was stock it was partly because the truck came with nitrogen inflated tires that I didn't want to let out (part of the dealer's "Sierra Package" or some BS like that, which I got them to take off the price) and partly because I don't have a compressor to refill the tires.

Most of the trails I frequent are not designated OHV trails, but old mining or power company roads that are no longer maintained. They can get quite rocky at times, but nothing that I couldn't handle with my stock TE. It's also worth mentioning that 95% of the time the trails are bone dry and tractions is not much of an issue.

My question is, when does it become strongly recommended to air down? I understand the advantages of a larger tire footprint and that the tire can conform better to rough surfaces, but I haven't been in a situation where I felt like that was necessary. I guess it would be nice in rock gardens from a comfort standpoint and might reduce wear and tear on the suspension a bit, but it just seems like a hassle.

What conditions/situations do you guys air down and what advantages am I overlooking?

Typical trails:




This is on the rougher end:

I have terra grapplers that are not LT rated so I air down only to about 25. That gives me better comfort over the really rocky stuff and I can still drive 30 minutes back on pavement to air up. 35lbs on really rocky stuff can bounce you around a lot. i think that is why a lot of people air down is so they aren't beaten to death by being shook up so much

That makes sense. It does get kind of annoying when it's so rocky all you can do is idle along in 1st gear in 4lo and still get bounced around like crazy. I just figured that comes with the territory.

Yeah I was very cautious the first time i went out wheeling. I had Michelin LTX ms2's on the truck then and I went from 38 to 30 psi because I was so worried about cutting a tire and popping a bead. I have went lower and lower each time, now I am down to the 25 range and may drop down to 22-25 with the snow we will be getting here in Va tomorrow. If you have LT rated tires you can probably drop to 15 lbs and still be safe I see the guys I run with do that all the time, but then they need to air up after we are off the trails.

for the areas you're running, and anything that would require 4 low, I would be airing down.

I drop tire pressure if just going up for a drive with the family. it just makes for a much more comfortable ride.

I also have a good compressor to air back up at the end of the day. it helps ease any concerns of airing down.

Have aired down virtually every one of the (many) hundreds of off-pavement forays in the last decade of owning this truck (4th gen). Once it became a habit, I became spoiled.

I'd say the only thing you're missing is the comfort but as you mentioned, the tradeoff is not having to mess with airing down/up. But if you ever come across a hill you can't make you'll be amazed at what airing down will do for you.

There's also the issue of long term suspension life but that's speculation that I have no idea how to quantify.

Btw, I wheeled a lot of the local area in August when I helped my son move there to attend UNR. I really enjoyed it. I'm not a gun guy but I like the gun culture there because I imagine many of the locals expect to be able to use the back roads to go shooting. Anything that keeps the back roads open is good in my book. Slept in my truck a few times out in the sticks. Nothing like waking up to the sound of gunfire. No alarm necessary.

You just touched on one of my favorite things about living up here. There are a few actual "trails" sure, but you can drive to the edge of town in almost any direction and find an un-gated dirt road and just venture off into the sagebrush. A lot of times it doesn't end up being very challenging (which isn't a bad thing considering I'm usually solo), but you get the chance to explore a new trail every trip. I've heard of a local 4x4 club that I want to get involved with to find some more difficult trails where you want to be sure there's other rigs and recovery gear.

I air down for comfort and to save time far more often than because I need the traction. 20-25 PSI does a good job of smoothing the washboard out, and you can traverse sections like the pics you posted much faster with squishy tires. Airing up when you hit pavement might be a hassle, but less hassle than crawling through a patch of baby heads at 5-10 MPH because you can't go any faster.

While not as effective on stockers this vid shows a really good reason to air down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks

But honestly, it makes a day of off-roading so much more comfortable.

For sand driving I will air down every single time. Usually run 15psi.

For other offroading it depends on the terrain and how long I intend to be out, for example a full day wheeling at Rausch Ck I will drop down to 20 and go lower if I feel it's needed. But if I don't need low range, I probably won't air down.

I took my 4runner on the beach about a dozen times. I aired down for about half of them. I never noticed any issues either way. The ride was a little smoother when I dropped down to 22psi on P series 265/70/16's.

I took a full size truck onto the beach with straight up street tires and didn't air down at all without any issues.

I rarely air down:

Airing down for "comfort" doesn't make much sense to me - When driving through rocks at 3 miles an hour airing down doesn't change anything comfort wise. How fast do you guys drive off-road?

Airing down to about 20psig in soft sand helps a tiny bit.

I have never found that airing down in snow or ice ever made any difference.

Back in the old days when I was first off-roading (about 1955) in much less technical vehicles and crappy tires airing down seemed to helps a tiny bit.

I know I'll get flamed by a whole bunch of you young-uns - but I've been doing this a hell of a long time.......

No offense, but it sounds like your idea of offroading is going down a graded fire road. Any time I do a trail I air down for a few reasons. it effectively gives you more wheel travel because the tire acts like a soft spring. the rotation of the tire dampens the cushion of the tire as well. your suspension now shares the load of work with the tire. less vibrations are transmitted to the body and therefore your body. your kidneys will last longer. it gives you more traction because it deforms and grabs rocks more easily and also because of the extra travel you gain at each corner. the lower you go the more these come into play. I personally run 10psi on the trail, but its different for everyone. with stock size p rated tires you probably dont want to go that low, maybe 18 psi.

realistically a stock 4runner is pretty capable, but if you do any real offroading airing down makes the ride much better and makes the trucks job easier.

With respect, Ron, if I wanna go 3 MPH I'll get out and hike. My truck lets me cover ground so I can see more stuff, and I can cover ground faster if I air down.

That doesn't mean you have to air down - you do whatever floats your boat, and more power to you. But don't come in here playing the old guy card and pretending that because you don't drive on anything more than dirt roads, that the rest of us don't know how to wheel, or that because you're too stubborn to air down that the rest of us shouldn't either.

"Airing down in snow doesn't make a difference", indeed.

In answer to the flamers -> In the past 15 years I've done over 300 documented and extensive off-roading treks - mostly in Land Rovers but then in the 4Runner for the past year. Most of the treks from 50 t0 500 miles. Mostly in northern Nevada but also some in northern California, Utah and Arizona. As it's mostly quite dry here I don't have to worry too much about water and mud. Typical trail is sand, small rocks, moderate rocks. Mostly in mountains; mostly old mining and ranch trails.

A few examples:















Hmm - photobucket not cooperating today