Airing Down Without Beadlockers

[rking.1688]

So I know a major component of doing any decent trail/rough road driving is to air down the tires. As long as lower speeds are maintained, it’s pretty safe and improves your ride as well as lowers your chance for puncture. My question is, is it safe to do on a wheel that doesn’t have a beadlock?

My Explorer has stock rims and honestly, I’m not interested in swapping them. From what I’ve seen, I’d be hard pressed to find an 18 inch wheel on the bolt pattern I need with a beadlock anyways. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it to invest in an on board air compressor or just run with my normal air pressure and be done with it.

 

[Brett L.]

I air down on my 4Runners stock wheels all the time. The difference in comfort is night and day. So no, you do not need beadlock wheels unless you plan on running really low air pressure like the rock crawlers do.

 

[Graeman]

Beadlock wheel just allow you to air down to around 5psi. Stock wheels will have no problem with airing down to anything above 10 psi. Don't go lower than that except in an emergency/stuck situation.

 

[Billiebob]

Beadlocks are great for competition, for the average guy, airing down to 10-15psi is not an issue with on stock wheels.

 

[Kgxpedition]

Our support truck does not run bead lock and we run 18psi at the lowest do to the weight we carry and Max speeds of 100 if we are running in the desert. The trails we run in the UP are all low speeds and have went as low as 10 psi just for better traction but aired back up after I was through the rough stuff.

 

[Codebeagle]

As others have said, stock rims are fine airing down in double digits (I like 18psi on my older 4Runner a lot). I bought a portable compressor and it is awesome without much investment compared to an on-board system. Plus, I like having air to help others on the roads who pull out that low pressure spare tire.

 

[Stormcrow]

Ronny Dahl (4Wheeling Australia) has a great video on tire pressure - specifically, he gives a range of pressures for different terrain types. You can see his rig behind him in the video and he doesn’t use beadlocks.

 

[rking.1688]

Ronny Dahl (4Wheeling Australia) has a great video on tire pressure - specifically, he gives a range of pressures for different terrain types. You can see his rig behind him in the video and he doesn’t use beadlocks.

Thanks, I’ll have to watch this tonight. Thank you for all the information. I’ll have to look for a quality compressor sometime soon.

 

[Dilldog]

Bead locks are a rock crawling thing for when you air down tons for traction and are putting down lots of power and or spinning wheels. Most people who run em do so for cool factor. Only type of wheel I would worry about airing down is the 16.5 due to the less pronounced inner bead ridge.

 

[M Rose]

Bead locks are a rock crawling thing for when you air down tons for traction and are putting down lots of power and or spinning wheels. Most people who run em do so for cool factor. Only type of wheel I would worry about airing down is the 16.5 due to the less pronounced inner bead ridge.

And 16.5 were designed specifically for split rings or beadlocks.

 

[Smileyshaun]

If your that worried about it , break the bead on a tire and get it back on the bead on your own . With a good ratchet strap and a compressor it’s not that hard to get a tire back on the bead . If your not turning a lot single digit psi is not really a problem depending on the tire for general gravel road travel around 18psi works well . I think people spend more time debating stuff on this site than actual application . Go out , try some different psi in tour tires to see what works for you.

 

[rking.1688]

It sounds like the general agreement is that 13-18 psi is the sweet spot. Now to find a good air compressor that’s worth while without breaking the bank.

 

[Smileyshaun]

I’ve had this cheap harbor freight compressor for about 6 years now , it’s a little slow and loud but gets the job done it’s done everything I’ve asked of it from stock tires on a forester to 37s . The biggest issue people have with these cheap little compressors is hooking it to the tire before turning it on , it overloads the motor causing it to get stuck and blow a fuse . Turn it on and then screw it Onto the tire And it will serve you well . One advantage of a slow compressor is it gives you time to re-organize some of the stuff in the back your rig , Check over the vehicle to make sure nothing is loose or damaged , Get some good stretches in to limber up your body after sitting for so long.

 

[Dilldog]

I also run a harbo frieght compressor identical to the one above, it works well enough.

 

[Smileyshaun]

I also run a harbo frieght compressor identical to the one above, it works well enough.

After so many years of use it’s definitely getting slower and louder but keeps chugging along . I also took out every screw and added a drop of green locktite just to help keep it from rattling apart .

 

[Boostpowered]

If your that worried about it , break the bead on a tire and get it back on the bead on your own . With a good ratchet strap and a compressor it’s not that hard to get a tire back on the bead . If your not turning a lot single digit psi is not really a problem depending on the tire for general gravel road travel around 18psi works well . I think people spend more time debating stuff on this site than actual application . Go out , try some different psi in tour tires to see what works for you.

That works great for the bead if its outside the rim if you break the bead inside all you need some starter fluid and a lighter. Another outside the rim trick beside straps is to wedge the tire under your rig and use a jack inbetween to pop it back on.

Real Beadlocks are really expensive if you can even find a set, most out there are fake just for looks. I had to make my own for my offroad buggy its only worth it if you do real rock crawling or race.

 

[Smileyshaun]

That works great for the bead if its outside the rim if you break the bead inside all you need some starter fluid and a lighter. Another outside the rim trick beside straps is to wedge the tire under your rig and use a jack inbetween to pop it back on.

Real Beadlocks are really expensive if you can even find a set, most out there are fake just for looks. I had to make my own for my offroad buggy its only worth it if you do real rock crawling or race.
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Ya it’s definitely a pain we built 9 of them in a day , that’s a process I’ll be glad to never do again lol