Just a reminder, be mindful of what you are driving over or look under your truck when you stop off road. My company just lost a truck when the crew drove over some dry brush off the side of a road and got stuck in the sand. This was out near Laughlin, NV. The dried bush caught fire and destroyed the truck. The fire engulfed the cab of the truck and the engine block and was put out before it moved into the bed where we had a wooden box and tons of wood items (lathe, tripods, hubs, etc.). The instrument and GPS were saved when the guys immediately grabbed those items out of the cab before they couldn't get in there anymore. Luckily it was the only dried bush in the area, so the fire didn't become worse. Thankfully, no one was injured.
I have a longitudinal project that requires me to drive across a quarter mile of abandoned ag land twice a year in order to reach one of the monitoring stations. I have the farmer clear a swath for me a few days before the start of observations for just this reason.
Good advice for sure!
Another piece of advice that may have avoided the situation completely. Before driving out into the desert (or off road for that matter), let some air out of your tires. This causes the contact patch of the tire to significantly increase, thus increasing traction and the ability to float (rather than sink). Experience will tell you how much each particular type/brand of tire can handle before you run the risk of "losing the bead" or worse, having mud/dirt become stuck between the tire and the rim.
Lowering it to 30-35 PSI makes a HUGE difference and you can still drive home with 30 PSI.
For years I used a $10 Wal-Mart air compressor to air back up. Took awhile. Now I carry a larger 12 volt air compressor with me all the time.
Carrying a handy-man style jack with the larger base is pretty essential when off-roading in the sand.
You can jack the vehicle up as far as it will go, then push the truck sideways until it falls off the jack. Switch to the front of the truck and repeat until you are off whatever you are high centered on. NEVER trust your life with of these jacks. ALWAYS assume it will collapse at any moment and the handle will swing towards your chin at 100 MPH.
Sorry about the truck - hopefully it has full coverage.
When you look at getting a replacement,
maybe get a Toyota with Crawl Control
^^^^ The new Tacos are pretty sweet!
I carry a fire extinguisher, snatch strap, a snatch block, a few shackles, shovel, hi-lift, flash lights, first aid kit, compressor, tire repair kit, basic tool kit and as of a recently, got my HAM license with a HAM radio. You can never be too safe. I've dropped my PSI down to 12-15 depending on the terrain.
Experience will tell you how much each particular type/brand of tire can handle before you run the risk of "losing the bead" or worse, having mud/dirt become stuck between the tire and the rim.
Actually, it's even easier than that. Your tire pressure psi should always remain greater than twice the width of the rim in inches.
If you have 7 inch wide rims, you want the psi to be GREATER than 14 psi.
(Of course all rules are meant to be broken, and the extreme 4x4 crowd run 2-3 psi on 10 inch wide rims, but they have Kevlar tires, beadlock rims, and are equipped to deal with tire and rim repair in the field.)
When you get stuck the vehicle is not going to go forward or backward any more.
No traction, no motion, period.
The only reason for the motor to remain running is to power the winch or help steering while being pulled out by some means.
I've seen more damage done to vehicles by drivers that kept dogging it thinking it was going to magically come out of the bottomless hole they drove into.
The truck stops and stays on dry ground. Then I unload the ATV. It is much easier to pull out by hand winch ropes if it gets stuck.
Ryan Versteeg, post: 338843, member: 41 wrote: Just a reminder, be mindful of what you are driving over or look under your truck when you stop off road. My company just lost a truck when the crew drove over some dry brush off the side of a road and got stuck in the sand. This was out near Laughlin, NV. The dried bush caught fire and destroyed the truck. The fire engulfed the cab of the truck and the engine block and was put out before it moved into the bed where we had a wooden box and tons of wood items (lathe, tripods, hubs, etc.). The instrument and GPS were saved when the guys immediately grabbed those items out of the cab before they couldn't get in there anymore. Luckily it was the only dried bush in the area, so the fire didn't become worse. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Huh...I don't believe that scenario has ever crossed my mind.
Yep. The skinny pedal is often the culprit in most situations. I spent 8 years abusing Humvees in the Military and a lot of my free time now playing in the woods and at Off-road parks. Taking your time, knowing the vehicles limitations and common sense will prevail. Dropping the pressure on a P-Metric road tire will often spell out disaster. But a good 10 ply E-Rated truck tire will take the abuse and get you home at the end of the day. I personally use auto deflators that drop my pressure from 35 (road) to 15 PSI (trail) rather quickly. Our terrain is rocky and tight. Dropping pressure allows me to obtain a greater foot print over the rocks and prevent punctures. You may lose a little clearance but the increased traction is well worth it.
There is risk with decreased PSI, but that comes from driving too fast, turning to tight and binding and of course heavy use of the skinny pedal rather than patience.
Never heard of that rule of thumb.
I'm not sure that would work in every situation. I think it depends entirely on the style of the wheel, the profile of the tire and how stiff the sidewall is.
I was running 10" x 15" wheels with 33 x 12.50 M&S tires and could air down to around 18 psi without any worries. So Ok - that is pretty close to 20 PSI.
Brother had stock International Scout wheels...probably 6 or 7 inches wide x 15" with what I call "rancher tires" others call them "cookie cutters" Very aggressive, biased ply tires. They would fall off the bead if you even thought about airing the tires down. There was no way you could run 12-14 PSI, much less 20 PSI.
And to add to that..if you have ANY motion, even only a couple inches, you are not stuck.
Joe the Surveyor, post: 338922, member: 118 wrote: Huh...I don't believe that scenario has ever crossed my mind.
I started a number of fires in Nevada with my Bronco.
At night you could see sparks and burning chunks of grass and greasewood flying out the back while driving down the dirt road between flattening rabbits (never, never swerve to miss a rabbit).
Carried a big water fire extinguisher and a pressure one.
Spent many evenings washing out underneath the rig.
And that was winter, had some rain and snow that year I can just imagine what late summer is like 🙁
This is a good bit of advice and works well. However one thing I would mention is that a 16.5" tire should NEVER be deflated. Those tires are typically beadless tires and a drop in pressure will allow the tire "lip" to fall away from the rim and at that point, you're screwed.
imaudigger, post: 338948, member: 7286 wrote: And to add to that..if you have ANY motion, even only a couple inches, you are not stuck.
If you are only moving across the same few inches, that is stuck.
