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Beach Driving

BENZTECH

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Hello again all. I have searched but cannot find any answer. I am going to be using my new Deuce on the beach and I wanted to know if I should air down my tires and to what PSI ? With my jeep I usually go down to 15 PSI but not sure about the Deuce . Has anyone been out on the beach with theres and how does it do with it ? People that arent deuce owners have told me not to air down at all my tires run about 70 PSI just wondering if anyone has any info or advice on the topic . Some pics of deuces on the beach would also be inspiring too . Thanks in advance for the help
 

F18hornetM

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Hello again all. I have searched but cannot find any answer. I am going to be using my new Deuce on the beach and I wanted to know if I should air down my tires and to what PSI ? With my jeep I usually go down to 15 PSI but not sure about the Deuce . Has anyone been out on the beach with theres and how does it do with it ? People that arent deuce owners have told me not to air down at all my tires run about 70 PSI just wondering if anyone has any info or advice on the topic . Some pics of deuces on the beach would also be inspiring too . Thanks in advance for the help

I worked in the desert in california for a little over 2 years, and we ran 15 psi all the time. Only traveled short distance on hard road, made truck hard to steer on paved road, but worked good in sand. If we didnt let air, they would "hop" alot and pull hard in soft sand. With air let out, seldom had to lock in front axle unless very soft.
Would love to take mine on our beach here, but because it has more than 2 axles, not allowed..Laws!! lol
 
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A

A/C Cages

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Ive taken mine onto the beach many times and not once have I ever messed with the tire pressure. Ive never had a problem with is sinking or getting stuck anytime.
I drive onto my beach with my deuce with no questions asked. even with 3 axles. (soon to be 2 axles).
 

doghead

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The data plate on the dash tells you what air pressure to use in the tires for, sand, and other conditions.

Do you have the tech manuals? Lots of great info in them too, like this.
 

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treeguy

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That's Florida sand, it's different. [thumbzup]

Right, what he said!

Keep in mind that all sand is not created equal. I lived on Nantucket for a while and air pressure would be different for different beaches (civi vehicles). Some beaches sand was more firm and you could get away with not airing down, but some beaches sand was so bad it was known as "dead sand". The ruts from vehicles and even your feet would be deep and the sides would wash in quickly. Spinning tires while having no momentum would definitly get you buried. The dead sand was also tough because the tires would sink from the weight and while moving forward the tires were forced to brake the bank of sand in front of them. Kind of like a freighter without the bulbus bow which is used to break the water immediatly ahead.

So read the data plates but what if you have other than stock tires? I'd start with the data plate recomendation and then feel out how your rig runs. If you have wider tires you may not have to air down much at all. Depending where you go it'll all be different, you'll get the feeling.

Good luck:wink:
 

BENZTECH

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Thanks its brand new to me I just got the truck yesterday and didnt even think to look on the dash plates. I have a manual too thanks for the ideas. I must have been too excited to think of the basics .:DMy tires are stock and the beaches here can be wierd at times so I will adjust accordingly. Thanks I just didnt want to get stuck without knowing another Deuce owner yet to get me out .
 

Josh

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Portland, Oregon
I take mine out in the sand all the time. Airing the fronts is the biggest thing. 15psi is what I do. Airing the rears down is a matter of the situation. If I have drag out a fully loaded 1ton with 5th wheel out , I'll air down the rears. Last time I went out I just took the valve cores out of the rear tires until they were flat. Even at 0psi the rear tires had almost no buldge and ran way smoother. I'd recomend at least 5-10psi in the rear though. I ended up spinning a tire on the rim and had to swap out a tube. If ya have any more questions I'll do my best to answer them for ya.
 

F18hornetM

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Ocean City, Md
There are different types of sand for sure, On our beach a 4x4 pickup without air let out will struggle, pull super hard. yet on daytona beach in Florida, ive seen cars ride down it.
 

stumps

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A curious thing about pneumatic tires:

On average they put just about the same pressure on the ground as the air pressure in the tire.

[Note: It is not exactly the same because the tire carcass is pretty strong even when empty.]

-Chuck
 

Chevracer87

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Hilliard Ohio
We hit some sand at Haspin this year beside the river. About 5 foot in I was wondering if I was ever going to get out again. The front dug in and the back duels started bucking. Had to lock the front in to keep going. Even Gimp ended up getting stuck with his 395's due to having desplined hubs on and no front wheel drive. I'm sure lower tire pressure would have helped
 

treeguy

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This reminds me, a while back on Nantucket I had a Tacoma w/w. I was aired down just fine and was driving along a fairly firm and wide expanse of beach at low tide. All of a sudden WOOMPH! The drivers side of the truck sank to the axles while the pass. side was still on solid sand. Un-be-knownst' to me the beach here transitioned into a wet muck texture not visible from the surface AND THE TIDE WAS ON ITS WAY IN!aua Its always bad when you dig around the tires and immediatly find water. I had been concerned before about being stuck on the beach alone without a winching point so I carried around a 3' Danforth boat anchor. In this case I dug a shallow hole to help the anchor start to dig in and attached the winch cable. Tires slowly spinning ang the anchor pulling deeper into the sand, the truck wasn't moving.:sad: Plan B was to attach a snatch block to the anchor with a chain and run the cable back to the truck. Well that was just what was needed and I was able to get out of the salty muck. Needless to say I had some hosing down to do including my underwear, WOW, that was an afternoon! (no alcohol involved either)

Just sharing, but the moral of the story for me is 'your eyes cannot tell the whole story'. If I were in a deuce, I think I'd still be paying the loan to the local excevator co. I still have the Danforth anchor, but I don't think its big enough now for my deuce!

Have fun but Mother Nature has some secrets!:idea:
 

Josh

Active member
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Location
Portland, Oregon
Also. A few sheets about a foot wide and 3-4ft long of expanded metal can be used in a pinch to make a "plank"road for the deuce. Ive used 2x6's and expanded metal on RVs weighing 3x that of the deuce with out issues. I've yet to need them in the deuce.
 

andytk5

Member
356
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Location
florida
I'm looking to head out on the sand in St. Augustine Florida soon too. I have the 11.00x20 T831's and I have been playing with the air pressure a little. I'd like to know if you ever made it out on the beach and how it did. Pics??
 

RodUSMC1962

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Northwest, Indiana
When ever we made a beach landing tire pressures were always lowered That was about 50 years ago for me, I don`t remember pressures. I definitely know all wheel bearings on all vehicles and trailers were repacked as soon as situation permitted.Salt water is bad.If you have the missfortune to get in deep enough to get your lites under water open them up to see if any water got in because of bad seal.:driver:
 
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