Airing down on beach sand

L

lockerc18

New member
I'm going beach hopping on Cape Cod in a bit. When I did that in my 2004 Limited with the OEM Crossterrains, I aired down to 15 PSI. Worked great. With my 2017 Limited with Geolanders, I figured I'd do the same. But I was wondering if anyone had ever squished a TPMS sensor by airing down. I have no idea how far into the tire these things extend.

Thanks.
 
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lockerc18 said:
I'm going beach hopping on Cape Cod in a bit. When I did that in my 2004 Limited with the OEM Crossterrains, I aired down to 15 PSI. Worked great. With my 2017 Limited with Geolanders, I figured I'd do the same. But I was wondering if anyone had ever squished a TPMS sensor by airing down. I have no idea how far into the tire these things extend.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

you won't squish the TPMS sensor, it's connected to the valve.
 
Ive aired down to 15psi on stock SR5 tires with no issues. Ive done as low as 10 on my 2012 Tundra once as I was stuck a bit. No issues followed.
 
Been around sand divining for decades and have heard air down! and don't bother. Best solution for sand is a large, wide, soft tire, which supports the air down side. It floats on sand and will barely leave a visible foot print. However, if you are a good driver, you can get away with a lot more than a poor driver on sand. But, even a good driver can find soft enough sand to need help.

My recent but limited experience with our 2017 Limited (20" stock tires) is that it works, but does dig in, I believe because of the relatively small foot print. I run full pressure, carry a quality compressor, and will air down ASAP if I start to stick. And I have been through very soft beach sand where the traction control goes crazy when I get outside of established tracks. But it keeps on going.

I recommend a ViAir compressor (or similar) and just running full pressure with the intention to stop ASAP if you have issues. If you are going to be driving for any distance (5-10 miles), then air down first.
 
michalik.piotr6837 said:
Not necessary. Been driving on sand for over a decade, never aired down and never been stuck.... just saying.
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All depends on the sand. But even on hard packed, you still put extra strain on your engine and drive train as hard tires tend to push down into the sand rather than roll over it. What TVille said.

BTW I learned this from some dessert rats. Works for radials. Not sure for others.

Load your vehicle, including passengers, and with tires at recommended street pressure, measure height from pavement to bottom of rim. Lower pressure until height is 75% of the measure. This gives you a nice flat footprint but not down to the point you are riding on the edges. Been using it for decades in the soft sand of Bodie, Hatteras, Ocracoke Islands.

BTW that would be about 18 psi for my 2016 as typically loaded.

OBTW front and rear can be different, depending on load.
 
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MossJenks said:
It shouldn't but its a $20 part if it does.
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They're about $50-60 plus another $15 to mount and another $20ish to program. So breaking one usually turns into a $100ish. The programming is the biggest PITA. I have 4 new ones sitting on my shelf right now for my 2nd set of wheels/tires. You have to either buy a techstream for $900, or there is a TPMS only programmer for $120 on amazon.
 
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michalik.piotr6837 said:
Not necessary. Been driving on sand for over a decade, never aired down and never been stuck.... just saying.
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The 4runner is pretty heavy and the 20" tires are pretty narrow. But it would depend on the sand. You might make it 100 feet into the sand dunes near where I live. I wouldn't take a 5th gen out there even with low pressure. It's just too heavy for soft sand without 35-37's probably as a minimum.
 
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e60ral said:
how soft is cape cod sand? even in the soft stuff down here i don't think i've ever dropped below 18-20
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I have no idea how to measure the softness of the sand. It's not powder, some is wet and hard packed. It's pretty granular.

I do worry a little about the narrowness of the tires on my truck, though. What the heck, I'll try it and see how things go.
 
e60ral said:
how soft is cape cod sand? even in the soft stuff down here i don't think i've ever dropped below 18-20
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I worked on a project awhile back for a sand dredge. During the research I learned about all the different types of sand. It is amazing how, even though they look the same to the naked eye, how different sand is depending on location and type. [MENTION=118321]Jetboy[/MENTION] must have the round sand. I know the sand over on the NC coast has a lot of jagged edges, which lets it pack and interlock well. Round sand grain does not pack even when wet.
 
I have to replace one of my TPMS sensors in my beadlock front/left tire. I assume I can just buy one, and then replace it, and have a tire shop reprogram that single TPMS, correct? I don't have to do all 4 at the same time?
 
michalik.piotr6837 said:
Not necessary. Been driving on sand for over a decade, never aired down and never been stuck.... just saying.
Click to expand...



It really depends on what type of sand you're driving in. The sand trails and beach around here is made up of super soft, powdery sand and is very deep in spots. I always air down and have never had a problem. However, I've come across several vehicles....most seem to be Explorers and F-150's, that have been stuck. The drivers didn't air down and sunk their vehicles down to the frame. Also witnessed a suburban with fully inflated tires....sounded like he was running the engine at redline....tires spinning with two huge rooster tails of sand flying off the back....his vehicle was almost down to the frame. Somehow he made it through but you could smell his transmission burning. Smoke was coming from underneath his vehicle. I'm pretty sure he did some damage to his vehicle. If you're riding on harder, more compacted sand, you might be able to get away without airing down.


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Are the stock 20" geolanders OK for beach sand? I would think it would not be. But I have not tried it.

I live in MA and prob would not try it. So let me know how it goes. I wanted to do try the ones out by p-town but did not want to be that guy... lol
 
I lived in Qatar for a couple of years, and the national past time in the winter/Spring was driving in the desert, with Land Cruisers the most popular vehicle. Everyone of the Qataris I talked to aired down for sand, some to as low as 12 psi, but usually to 15-18 psi. Some of them had special balloon tires, and they aired down as well. To them the thought of driving on sand at full inflation was a sure path to getting stuck.
 
If you don't air down I suggest you have a well stocked recovery kit handy. But what do I know about air pressure and tires and stuff, I only started driving on the Outer Banks' beaches in the late '70s. :)

If I may steal a pic from a thread Salvo Jimmy (with much more experience than me) started on another forum... and see if you can spot the stuck Hummer...

tt05e45k0fG_h2stuck.jpg


Driving in the Sand Info | OBX Connection Message Board
 
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