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Old 03-31-2016, 05:26 AM   #21
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It gets driven harder than most and I'm not having flats...


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Old 03-31-2016, 05:31 AM   #22
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17psi. This is the trip I started learning how low I could go, and what a huge difference 5-7psi makes. It's unbelievable.

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Old 03-31-2016, 05:37 AM   #23
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Old 03-31-2016, 09:05 AM   #24
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You guys who are "airing down" to anything over 20psi are wasting time.
I beg to differ.. for a couple reasons:

1. Airing down for ride quality - Baja, washboard, etc, you don't need to get anywhere near 20 to greatly improve the ride. No additional traction needed, just for ride quality.

2. Your van is a mere 7000 pounds. Mine is over 50% heavier. 15 PSI and the rim is damn near on the ground.

That said, yes, lower will hook up better, and good tires can certainly handle more than most will throw at them.
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Old 03-31-2016, 10:20 AM   #25
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Tire brands can make a big difference too. My Goodyear Duratrac's are pretty well undriveable on pavement with anything less than about 50lbs. I run 70 on the pavement, but dropping to 50 will definately make the ride better. Sadly the side walls are really weak. On my last trip, at 50lbs, I slashed another sidewall on a water crossing. I have no idea if more air would have prevented that though. While they provide great grip, they are known to be very failure prone. I'm afraid to go much below 50lbs, but I have no idea if that helps prevent rock slashes. Thoughts anyone?
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Old 03-31-2016, 10:21 AM   #26
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I beg to differ.. for a couple reasons:

1. Airing down for ride quality - Baja, washboard, etc, you don't need to get anywhere near 20 to greatly improve the ride. No additional traction needed, just for ride quality.

2. Your van is a mere 7000 pounds. Mine is over 50% heavier. 15 PSI and the rim is damn near on the ground.

That said, yes, lower will hook up better, and good tires can certainly handle more than most will throw at them.
Sorry for coming off like an ass. By the time I finally hit the post button I had spent so much time trying to post pictures (without using Photobucket) that my blood was hot. Then I went to Photobucket and lost everything I had typed...twice! I think it has something to do with using an iPad.

I have been wondering what 15psi looks like on the heavier vans. Another difference is I'm running E rated tires that aren't close to their max load capacity.
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Old 03-31-2016, 10:29 AM   #27
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Tire brands can make a big difference too. My Goodyear Duratrac's are pretty well undriveable on pavement with anything less than about 50lbs. I run 70 on the pavement, but dropping to 50 will definately make the ride better. Sadly the side walls are really weak. On my last trip, at 50lbs, I slashed another sidewall on a water crossing. I have no idea if more air would have prevented that though. While they provide great grip, they are known to be very failure prone. I'm afraid to go much below 50lbs, but I have no idea if that helps prevent rock slashes. Thoughts anyone?
I have cuts in my sidewalls but none leak air. My older tires (Goodyear MTRs) looked completely thrashed on the sidewalls and didn't leak either. From time to time, I tow my 2 car enclosed trailer (11K lbs) thousands of miles, and the tires look scary but never have blown out.
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Old 03-31-2016, 10:58 AM   #28
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Good suggestions on airing down to help with vibration on washboard roads, I`m going to do that much more frequently now. As far as how low to go, well, I haven't had to do anything with my Sportmobile yet as I`ve only had it for a month but in the summer I do 4x4 tours in the Cape Cod National seashore . We run Chevy Suburbans in very, very deep sand thru the dunes and I always air that down to 10-12 psi. When in a real tough spot I can go as low as 6psi. When you start running really low like that you find an amazing difference in just a few pounds. I can absolutely tell the difference between say 15 and 12 psi and if getting bogged down just let out a few more pounds and can usually sail right thru. All of that low pressure tho has a real impact on tire life. I do not air up/down between trips and travel about 2 miles each way to and from the dunes to town over pavement and the tires take a real beating on the road. I can only expect about 5,000 to 7,000 miles of life on those tires. It is a commercial tour company tho so it`s just a cost of doing business.
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Old 03-31-2016, 11:04 AM   #29
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Sorry for coming off like an ass.
No worries, your point, on a lighter van, is valid.

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I have been wondering what 15psi looks like on the heavier vans. Another difference is I'm running E rated tires that aren't close to their max load capacity.
Yeah, I'm on E, but much closer to max. My rear is about 60% of the weight, so those tires are seeing ~3000lbs each. This is about 40PSI:



If I get around to it, and remember, I'll drop one rear to 15PSI and take a picture.
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Old 04-04-2016, 09:17 AM   #30
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I should have taken a better picture, but this is 15 PSI on my van:

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