There are many ways to air down your vehicle for driving on the beach or off-roading
Airing down is and was necessary back in the day to drive on a beach in Delaware and most of the east coast. It should be required, it only takes ten minutes. Confusion comes from seeing cars in Florida. The sand in Florida in many areas is calcium based and it packs like cement. That is why you see cars on the beach down there in some areas not all of Florida has this sand.
The silicone based sand we have on the east coast does not pack at all and will swallow a vehicle fast. It gets hot, fast, and loose in the summer. Off-roading in mud is the same. I even air down in snow for better traction and control.
The other issue we have are the people who just refuse to air down and chest thump that they don’t air down. Usually they get stuck really bad . They are destroying the resource for the sake of their ego. No one cares. The purpose is to leave as little a tire impression in the sand as possible, that should be your goal.
Airing down is easy, push the valve stem on your tire and whooosh, the air comes out. Only issue is you have to sit there and do that to each tire. It is hell on your knees, and it takes a little bit of time. A friend of mine has a stool she sits on, she lives in the future, we aren’t that smart yet.
As crafty as surf anglers and off roaders had to be back in the day, they came up with a way to avoid bending over to air down. They used binder clips with a screw in the center. Put the clip on the stem and the screw depresses the stem releasing air. Wait for the tires to bulge a little on the bottom and that was usually fine. Checking the tire’s psi with a gauge to be sure is always a good idea. Many have one of these clips just in case they need one, make sure the screw is flat not pointed.
Eighteen to twenty PSI these days is all you need, if the sand is looser go down to fifteen. Do not go below 10 psi. I recommend people have some starter fluid with them and matches. If you pop a bead on your tire, spray starter fluid into the tire and toss in the match. The gas will ignite and pop the tire bead back on with pressure. First time I did that, the guy thought I was going to blow up his vehicle.
Tire deflators do this automatically. Screw them onto the tire’s valve stem, it depresses the air stem and releases the air. The Staun tyre deflators and other tire deflator brands are set by the user to air down to a specific PSI. Only issue with these is they can rotate your valve stem when you take them on and off. Loosening your stem enough to leak air and flatten your tire while you are surf fishing and not paying attention. Good reason to keep an air compressor in your vehicle and a valve stem wrench. Been there done that.
Some folks just pull the valve stem with a valve stem wrench and let the air out. Be careful and have some extra stems on hand. You don’t have to take the stem all the way out, but if it pops out of the valve stem into the sand you will never find them again. Also been there done that. Guess how long a tire valve cap keeps air in the tire? Not long enough.
Put your valve caps back on too after airing down. This keeps sand out of your valves. I usually hit the valve with a shot of air from the hose to make sure they are clear. Having extra caps is must as well, we lose them constantly.
Bending your air stems is another issue with tire deflators and using air stations constantly . A bent stem takes longer to air up and air down, and sometimes won’t work at all. I carry a small kit of air valve stems, and valve stem wrenches. I also have an air gauge that has a hose and dial gauge. There is a button below the gauge that allows you to release more air to fine tune if necessary. This also comes in handy when you put in too much air and have to take some out. I replace my stems constantly, usually when airing up or down.
We have come a long way in the tire industry, things are not like the days of old.
Back in the day airing down was necessary, everyone only had two wheel drive vehicles. Surf anglers would use bald ambulance tires with inner tubes. Airing down to about eight PSI. Then they would look for weak spots in the dunes and drive onto the beach. These places are today’s crossovers in parks. Ruts from large trucks was not an issue, they didn’t exist. The parks also didn’t exist and neither did air stations, except at gas stations miles and miles away.
Surf anglers would use a spark plug chuffer pump to put air back into their tires. You remove a spark plug and let the engine’s pistons pump your tires back up. Now we have air stations and portable air compressors. There are still chuffer pump like systems you can use.
When you don’t air down you put serious wear and tear on your transmission and suspension. This is why jeeps catch on fire, their transmission fluid heats up and boils over out of the dipstick. Occasionally it blows through a plastic connector or hose and hits the exhaust bursting into flames. “Every vehicle fire we have ever had on the beaches was one that wasn’t aired down.”
The other issue not airing down is the giant ruts and washboard “holes” at the entrances. When four wheel drive showed up and hit the beaches, the two wheel drive cars couldn’t handle the deep ruts. That is why we now have that clearance rule for vehicles, that parks is thinking about getting rid of for AWD vehicles.
You are not required to have four wheel drive in Delaware to drive on the beaches, but it is recommended. We have driven out in two wheel drive before, but that never lasts long. Getting on and driving around is easy coming up the ramps is the problem. Everyone should be required to air down. Some states require it and will write tickets if you are stuck from not airing down. Step it up Delaware. Don’t be a clown air it down.
That is the worst part of your day, you’re going to the beach. Ten minutes airing down is the difference between a great day and or three hundred bucks in tow fees. Even aired down everyone gets stuck, I blew out a half axle one day and made the dreaded call … Coastal Towing To The Rescue
Always Air Down And Aggressive Tread Is Bad