I’ve never aired down in my life and the idea scares me. This is why I thought beadlocks were needed, to give me more security and peace of mind. Are off road tires designed to be aired down? What about all terrain tires? I mean so the bead doesn’t unseat.
4x4 Systems Education Sites?
- Thread starter Sailmike
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Influencer I
The tires I air down to 15-18psi are the garden variety (soon to be replaced) AT's that came from the factory on my 4runner. Nothing special required.
In the west, ( you’re from So.Cal. I see) airing down is very common. My auto deflators are set at 20# they are great for washboards and most sand. I have dropped to 10# to get out of some shell, sand, hell WTF is this stuff. I run BFG’s KO2’s E rated on a 3/4 ton truck,65# under full load, 50 highway, stock 17” rims. I have yet to pop a bead. If I do than it’s the gas to blow the tire on trick.
Doesn't matter. Bead locks and camper don't mix. Especially on the hwy.
Keep in mind how much heavier the rig you're considering is compared to your CRV. It's very easy to get a one ton truck to do the two wheel peel bit in snow and mud. That's why I'm so hardcore about lockers. Even just one, has saved my but on countless occasions when I was 100% sure that morning, that it was unlikely that I'd even need 4wd.
Keep in mind how much heavier the rig you're considering is compared to your CRV. It's very easy to get a one ton truck to do the two wheel peel bit in snow and mud. That's why I'm so hardcore about lockers. Even just one, has saved my but on countless occasions when I was 100% sure that morning, that it was unlikely that I'd even need 4wd.
Enthusiast III
Hey!
Check this guy’s site out: https://discoveroffroading.com/
His books are great and I learned a ton about the theory of recovery, winch use, and avoiding bad situations. I haven’t taken one of his classes because they are expensive.
I ended up taking off roading 101 and 102 classes to lean some recovery and technique stuff at a Rausch Creek in Pennsylvania. Maybe look for something similar in your area.
Good luck!
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Influencer I
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@Sailmike just going to throw in a few things here, most bead locks are not DOT approved and thus technically illegal to run on public roads. So long as you don't get crazy with airing down and your wheels are the appropriate width for the tire (or just a bit narrower) you wont have any problems airing down. I have never run bead locks and air down regularly. Just be realistic and experiment close to home so if you do have a failure help is close by.
Now as far as the diesel thing goes, do your homework. Generally speaking if you want a solid transmission but are willing to do engine work, go Ford, if you want a solid drive train and don't plan on doing much upgrading GM is a good option (the Alison needs help for much more power than stock, and the GM fuel system is adequate at best), if you want a solid engine and don't mind doing front end work and transmission work go Dodge. Also stay away from anything running a CP4 common rail injection pump, they aren't designed to run on North American spec fuel and as such eat themselves, there are class action lawsuits currently because of this against Ford, GM, and Dodge. Now since emissions deletes will come up, unless you personally know a reliable person to write tunes for it, run don't walk away from a diesel emissions delete (that side of the industry has been shut down, the only outfits left are shady at best). Every day at work I talk to people about this or that issue with their delete and there is literally nothing that can be done since its illegal, and now being enforced (thanks to the rolling coal fad).
Now as far as the diesel thing goes, do your homework. Generally speaking if you want a solid transmission but are willing to do engine work, go Ford, if you want a solid drive train and don't plan on doing much upgrading GM is a good option (the Alison needs help for much more power than stock, and the GM fuel system is adequate at best), if you want a solid engine and don't mind doing front end work and transmission work go Dodge. Also stay away from anything running a CP4 common rail injection pump, they aren't designed to run on North American spec fuel and as such eat themselves, there are class action lawsuits currently because of this against Ford, GM, and Dodge. Now since emissions deletes will come up, unless you personally know a reliable person to write tunes for it, run don't walk away from a diesel emissions delete (that side of the industry has been shut down, the only outfits left are shady at best). Every day at work I talk to people about this or that issue with their delete and there is literally nothing that can be done since its illegal, and now being enforced (thanks to the rolling coal fad).
Enthusiast III
The beadlocks being “illegal” is a common misconception. I am a former sheriffs deputy and in the state I worked there was no actual law stating beadlocks were illegal. If anyone can show me a statute that defines them as illegal I would love to see it.
You are correct that most (not all) are not DOT approved and thus cannot be used as original equipment by manufacturers. The vast majority of aftermarket lift kits are not DOT approved either and I haven’t heard of anyone being cited.
You could possibly run into a legal liability issue if the wheel failed and caused an accident, but I will let the lawyers speak to that.
legal or not, no tire shop will touch a beadlock so you have to do that yourself if you rip a tire on a trip.
Good for a buggy or rockcrawler. Totally pointless for anything with plates.
Good for a buggy or rockcrawler. Totally pointless for anything with plates.
What is a diesel emissions delete? Is that similar to what VW did in that huge scandal some years ago?
Influencer I
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No emissions deletes are actually removing the DPF, DOC, SCR, and EGR (what VW (and actually Dodge as well with the EcoDiesel) did is they had multiple fuel maps for their engines. During normal service they run in one way, then as soon as you plug in with a diagnostic tool different parameters kick in so they run clean enough to meet strict emissions standards. The problem is that not all of these different fuel maps in the ECM got approval). The thought is it increases the reliability of the engine, in reality it tends to cause more headaches. Simple things like running the engine hard and under a load and limiting idle time make the most difference. The biggest issue with all of this comes from the need for special ECM tuning to make the engine run without the alphabet soup of emissions devices. Since the EPA has actually started enforcing the federal law that necessitates all of this there is no legal way of obtaining said tuning.
As far as I know, J2530 is a voluntary testing standard.
There are no DOT or SAE requirements to be street legal on aftermarket wheels.
The only DOT requirements are in dimensions. You can make wheels out of peanut butter and sell them. Some do.
@G & J already summed up the legalites.
Besides all that, I already think it's pointless to run beadlocks and tire shops don't touch them so....
if someone really wants to run beadlocks, might have real issues with insurance and legal fallout, might get stopped by the police,
AND there is really no point for anything this side of a trailer rig. If you forget to tighten 200 bolts, and you loose a wheel at 60mph, might have to live with some ugly consequences.
So that's why I say, "legal or not", obviously many opinions on the subject.
There are no DOT or SAE requirements to be street legal on aftermarket wheels.
The only DOT requirements are in dimensions. You can make wheels out of peanut butter and sell them. Some do.
@G & J already summed up the legalites.
Besides all that, I already think it's pointless to run beadlocks and tire shops don't touch them so....
if someone really wants to run beadlocks, might have real issues with insurance and legal fallout, might get stopped by the police,
AND there is really no point for anything this side of a trailer rig. If you forget to tighten 200 bolts, and you loose a wheel at 60mph, might have to live with some ugly consequences.
So that's why I say, "legal or not", obviously many opinions on the subject.
I once took REAL headlock wheels to my local tire shop for 38's. Loose, because obviously, nobody will touch a plated truck with bead locks. Poor kid couldn't get rim weight to stick, and was having a heck of a time balancing the first one.
Lucky I was paying attention before he wasted a whole box of stick on weights. Lol, I scraped them off with my knife right at his machine, spun it. Machine said ''87 ounces''. I said ''Perfect'' and grabbed them and loaded up.
Moral of the story. You want balanced wheels on a hwy camper that your riding cross country. Not bead locks. Balancing bead locks makes as much sense as balancing slicks.
Lucky I was paying attention before he wasted a whole box of stick on weights. Lol, I scraped them off with my knife right at his machine, spun it. Machine said ''87 ounces''. I said ''Perfect'' and grabbed them and loaded up.
Moral of the story. You want balanced wheels on a hwy camper that your riding cross country. Not bead locks. Balancing bead locks makes as much sense as balancing slicks.
Enthusiast III
Most overlanders don’t need beadlocks. It depends on a number of factors like tire size compared to rim size, what kind of power you make, how much you air down, how hardcore the trails you run are, etc.
I ran without them until I started to spin the wheel inside the tire and had the bead come unseated multiple times (different issues on different vehicles).
Tire shops will not work with them when they come in on a vehicle. If you bring the tires off your “rock crawler” in the back of a truck most have no issues. I usually stick with 4x4 tire shops that know how to balance big wheels and have off-road tires in stock. In my experience, most big box tire stores will do anything to avoid dealing with big tires. I have been told that they won’t work with any tire that don’t match the exact size and rating on the door sticker.
Taking tires on and off of beadlocks is not a difficult task. Just bring them in mounted and have them balanced.
Thank you for the link. I think those classes may be worth it. I'll check for any cheaper courses near me.
Alright, alright! You guys have sold me on beadlocks, I don't need them!
I didn't know that about big tires. That's good to know.
Tire shops won't even touch a regular truck anymore. Lifts are only good to 9000#.
Won't do a rotation on a truck because they can't lift it. Todays techs are retards. I never jack my tires more than two inches off the deck to do a rotation. The last thing I want to do is lift a 100# F rated wheel 3-4 feet up.
We had to find a local guy that specializes in fullsize trucks and work vehicles. But I have to move into a GMC Express van for a week while my truck is getting fixed. Minus well lock up all my ammo and pills in a safe, and toss the keys in the truck when I drop it off. Because it's depressing driving the vans.
Your average tire shop and car dealer only wants to service little Subarus and wear pink sweater vests. A Dodge dealer couldn't even do the tires on my Ram truck.
Because of the complete lack of emergency repairs, I've permanently canceled all ideas of foreign overlanding. I'll just fly in. Every major expedition has repair stories, and they get worse every year. Going through the headaches of keeping a truck on the road is such a nightmare in the US, I don't even want to consider our 3rd world neighbors.
Won't do a rotation on a truck because they can't lift it. Todays techs are retards. I never jack my tires more than two inches off the deck to do a rotation. The last thing I want to do is lift a 100# F rated wheel 3-4 feet up.
We had to find a local guy that specializes in fullsize trucks and work vehicles. But I have to move into a GMC Express van for a week while my truck is getting fixed. Minus well lock up all my ammo and pills in a safe, and toss the keys in the truck when I drop it off. Because it's depressing driving the vans.
Your average tire shop and car dealer only wants to service little Subarus and wear pink sweater vests. A Dodge dealer couldn't even do the tires on my Ram truck.
Because of the complete lack of emergency repairs, I've permanently canceled all ideas of foreign overlanding. I'll just fly in. Every major expedition has repair stories, and they get worse every year. Going through the headaches of keeping a truck on the road is such a nightmare in the US, I don't even want to consider our 3rd world neighbors.
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Explorer I
I have many times and that is why I went with a more petite truck. As others mentioned weight up high is your enemy as is overall length - compromises. Almost went with a PowerWagon but it was larger than I wanted.
Explorer I
Airing down will give you more traction - but that is not needed as often as one might imagine (this is dependent on where you are of course). The main reason to air down, IMO, is to make the bumpy tracks more tolerable. If your tires are absorbing more of the bumps you and your passengers and your gear will not get bounced as hard. If I am on easy/moderate gravel I often do not air down; if it is rocky/bumpy I will air down - all about comfort.
I guess I've been lucky then. Aren't there ways to check for information about a trail before driving them? I thought I saw something about trail ratings? Something like that.
Explorer I
I'd call it unlucky :) There are sites/apps that cover some of the tracks out there but they don't come close to covering all of the tracks out there. The tracks covered by internet sites/apps are going to be well traveled and often full of people; the unknown (to the internet and crowded masses) tracks are the real gems IMO as they are quieter and allow more communion with nature. Last Labor Day we found a GREAT spot down a local well traveled track and I was almost taken out a couple of times by the Dukes of Hazzard; pretty sure @M Rose had the same experience on that trip.
Part of the joy for me and my ilk is exploration and getting the heck away from everything that bogs us in that which masquerades as "real life".
