Opinions on the subject of <span class="highlight">tyre</span> <span class="highlight">pressures</span> link

John Hi

I've never met Adam, but they say he's a hard man.

we run splits for the last 4 years now, and the only thing to let as down are the tubes..lol

when we had the Prado with wide 16" we ran 28-30 psi all round no props..
with the troopy 16" splits we drop 10-15 psi all round for the dirt OK

I don't know about the springs and air bags increasing tyre damage???

will have to think about that

Cheers

Richard

Hey Bro,

Yeah, I had trouble with the download but saw the first bit.

Well thats his opinion. But in which context?

You have to remember too that I have gone back to split rims for specialised treks and not your run of the mill touring stuff.

Cheers

John
This reflects a lot of what people advocate at our 4wd club (in SA). A friend had a couple of flats in the Kimberly and a local tyre repair bloke there said 'you southerners are always running tyre pressures that are too low', so its probably good it says Oodnadatta track.

I cant get comfortable with the statement side wall damage does not increase at lower pressures but he's seen more than me.

"his comment on split rims that Willem may not appreciate" - I see he does welcome comment. FAir bit of goodwill in putting this on the net so give him credit. Come to think of it he is taking a risk not having a disclaimer.

Worthwhile post thanks. JD

Folks,

I have met Adam personally and my impression of him is that he is very knowledgeable and quite interesting, but doesn't suffer fools gladly.

Adam has been at Oodnadatta for something like 30 years and before that, had a Truckies background I believe.

With his vast experience, I would imagine he has only one view and that is his own and under the circumstances where he lives and works, I see nothing wrong with that.

Some people may find him abrupt at times, especially when they are experiencing difficulty with a breakdown and expect instant and total support from him with their own predicament, perhaps to the exclusion of all else. Well, it doesn't work that way "out there" and people need to be more patient with the time he is able to give to their problem. I believe his heart is in the right place though.

Adam is the Town Mayor, amongst other things and he gave us the keys to the local museum he is largely responsible for setting up. Terrific history on the whole area, especially that of Anna Creek Station, once the largest cattle station in the world and the historic but now redirected, Ghan Railway.

Only spent a half hour with him when he sat at our table over lunch, but a very interesting character just the same.

One of the people with experience to equal Adams is Jol Fleming. Jol's website is a wealth of ouback 4WD info. Check his thoughts on split rims and tyre pressures. (They pretty well line up with Adam's) however Jol gives a lot more detail.
While you are at it, explore the site read a bit more about Jol's life and 4WD experience. An incredible character, also well worth meeting if you are up Alice way.
www.direct4wd.com.au/default.htm

Jol is also going tp put an explanation on his page about how to use petrol safely to reseat your tubeless tyre.

For TRUE OFF-ROAD work in desert conditions split rims and cross ply tyres are still the best by a long, long way.

Ask people who earn their living driving off-road ie; going through the bush from point a to point b.

If you stick to formed tracks and gravel roads (like that bloke probably would), tubeless radials are probably fine.

As far as dirt roads go, how would the Oodnatta compare with say the Birdsville Developmental Road?. ( I haven't travelled on either yet ).

Terry R.

Hi John

Wasn't impressed with some of that advice at all.

Because of the sketch format its not the easiset to read
but near his copyright name he states that this advice
is for high load , high speed cruising and _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx diagram
at top RHS of typical big wagon showing tyres pressures
of 20-24 at front and 26-30 at rear.

So assuming high speed means up to speed limit (100) we
have loaded Patrol wagon at 100 with 20psi in front tyres.

Nuts - I believe that is likely to cause more tyre failure
from overheat.

Generally speaking I agree with lower pressures but only
in conjunction with reduced speeds.

I wouldn't drive at over 80 with such advice.

Robin Miller

Hi Ive just joined the forum days ago and hope this helps.
I conservatively do 25 to 30 thousand km on corrugated dirt roads across the top end every year for the last 13 years, I would never consider lowering my tyre pressure below 40 psi front 42 psi rear loaded or unloaded .
In the last 6 years I have owned an 80 series, troopys,and at the moment I am run a 78 troopy,2 100 series and about to get another 100 series, I have Australian made Bridgestone A/T duellers 265 65 16 on all cars with tyre pressure of 40 psi front 42 psi rear, In the 6 year Ive used these tyres and pressures there have been no problems and I get approx 55,000 km per set. I will not be changing tyre brand or pressure any time soon.
ps I looked at that pdf file seriously scary info.

Hi mfemster
I had a look at the article and my impression was this guy spends all his time driving on soft terrain eg desert country and yes those tyre pressure's would seem to work.
I just wouldn't see these tyre pressure's working on say the Gibb river road or perhaps the road between Bulman and Gove for instance, As I say Im no expert but my accountant seems to think I don't spend much on tyres.
Food for thought I tow a 800 kg camp trailer on all extended tour and my resent holiday 1/2 way around Oz , Ive noticed on this forum and on fraser island that it is preference to lower tyre pressure when towing on sand or desert. On holidays i went to fraser and finke river track, Now on fraser I lowered my car tyres to as it turned out 36 psi and left trailer tyres at 40 psi (trailer tyres and spare same as car )never got stuck in fact had a ball my theory being ever tried to push or pull a fridge on a trolley with flat tyres. However I have lowered my trailer tyres to 35 on corrugated dirt roads to help trailer suspension only on long hauls. I have also made sure the wheel base on the trailer is the same as the car.
Any thoughts on this one .

Just a quick one I drove my first Landcruiser in 1976 at 12 Im now 42 ( Luck or Experiance)
Have a nice day

Just had a better look around the Pink Roadhouse site and some of those mud-maps are GOLD!. Good local homespun info like this is great to have and it's great that they have been produced and reproduced.

As for the Tyre Pressure Guide; it should be seen for what it is, a back of the envelope effort containing a condensed version of approximate, locally relative information based on probably years on experience on one road in particular (although there are many like it).

I reckon the copyright symbol at the bottom was probably inserted as a joke. It's a wonder no one had a crack at him for misspelling tyre at the top and writing over it in a thicker pen. You should not go looking for a glossary of terms to define what "high speed" is on that track or others like it. If the bloke was a Rhodes Scholar he would probably be doing something else he liked. I would not go quoting legal speed limits either, it's a waste of time. Better to ask "When did the grader go through?" They probably assume around there that anyone going over 90KPH loaded up on a track like that will not last long in the gene pool anyway, no matter what they are told. If you are going much more than that, it won't be tyre failure you need to worry about it's actually having enough grip to stay on the road, particularly of you have high pressures and less footprint on the deck.

Although I only have experience with a couple of the combo's he has there I reckon it's absolutely spot on. The side comments like equalising the footprint and always driving in 4WD are good too.

If something of this nature had been given to those German tourists who perished at Lake Eyre near William Creek when they got bogged then they would probably still be alive today. (The one where where the Police locked the hugs, lowered the pressures and drove the Troopy out).

Documents like this show that plaintiff lawyers have not yet got to Oodnadatta; and thank God for that!

Just my 2 bits.

OT

Hi mfewsre
I just noticed your response to my post on how long Ive been driving for and I think I offended you.Sorry if I did but that post was a tongue in cheek response to JohnR post above yours with on offence intended to any one.
Now a business associate of mine visited yesterday( and he has more experience then I) and I showed him these links and posts and he agrees with me on the high pressure, He runs Coopers on a gxl and he did the gibb river road 6 times last year on the same set towing an 800 kg trailer he said he averaged 85-90 kph and he run 42 psi all round he said though that in soft country long term he may adopt the lower pressure but he said no lower than 36.
cheers.