MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: KingBilly on February 07, 2015, 07:12:28 PM
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When on dirt roads I drop my tyre pressures and slow down so as not to overheat my tyres as the sidewalls are flexing a bit more which is helping to cushion the ride on corrugations. Generally I drop to 28 PSI and try to keep around 80-85 kph. Generally for my load etc, my tyres heat up to about 32-33 so I reckon I have it pretty sorted for me.
Often I see others on the road travelling a lot faster and I know others don't drop their tyre pressures because they like to travel faster. I have always wondered if what I was doing was correct. Anyway, just found this website which confirms I have been on track. Interesting read.
http://www.yourtripright.com/driving-corrugated-roads.html (http://www.yourtripright.com/driving-corrugated-roads.html)
KB
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Hit um hadr & fast get through them as quick as possible . Your kidneys will pack up & leave you when you stop . Really the 28/32 sounds fair to me But the speed is totally up to yourself :cheers:
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Nothing wrong with your approach KingBilly. Dropping the pressures makes life for the suspension easier and also reduces the chance of getting a puncture in my experience. The results of testing in the link your provided confirms this practice to me.
In my experience you need to vary the speed to suit the corrugations you are driving on, however, saying that I've driven on some corrugations that no matter what the speed they were still bad to drive on.
There are plenty of people out there who don't want to listen to good advice unfortunately.
Jason
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Interesting results. I think it also depends on suspension each vehicle has. The worst corrugations I have ever experienced was on a Cape Trip in 2003. This was on the by pass road and the corrugations were deep and no matter the tyre pressure or speed would not work. Every other trip has varied and also what people are used to.
Personally I have dropped my tyres down a little but having a tpms on board does help to measure the heat in tyres.
Mark
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Take every situation on its merit... every condition, weather, car, tyre, pressure, weight, towing/not.towing, no roofrack etc are different..
Its nice to have a theory, but it wont always work that way.
I despise corrugations and would just turn around and **** off home. Theres no joy in shaking yourself and your car to pieces for hours on end.
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We did the Merinee Loop last year, nearly 100km of corrugations deep enough to hide a beer can. Dropped both Tug and CT tyres to 24psi and didn't go above 80. No dramas at all.
Oh yeah, and asked SWMBO to drive the whole lot...thereby ensuring that any damage was NOT my fault :angel:
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Take every situation on its merit... every condition, weather, car, tyre, pressure, weight, towing/not.towing, no roofrack etc are different..
Its nice to have a theory, but it wont always work that way.
Yep. Agree with that.
I despise corrugations and would just turn around and **** off home. Theres no joy in shaking yourself and your car to pieces for hours on end.
Not always practical....sometimes you just have to find a happy speed and line and put up with it.
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I despise corrugations and would just turn around and **** off home. Theres no joy in shaking yourself and your car to pieces for hours on end.
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Well I cant see you doing the Cape then ;D
Mark
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I have never dropped tire pressures on Coro. It's not that I havnt thought of it, it's just that I havnt physically done it. I always try and work out the best speed to travel over the Coro. Sometimes that's 80 or 90 and sometimes it just doesn't matter what speed you do, it just rattles the hell out of your vehicle and your tetth no matter the speed.
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I have never dropped tire pressures on Coro. It's not that I havnt thought of it, it's just that I havnt physically done it. I always try and work out the best speed to travel over the Coro. Sometimes that's 80 or 90 and sometimes it just doesn't matter what speed you do, it just rattles the hell out of your vehicle and your tetth no matter the speed.
Drop your pressures muzz. Makes a huge difference.
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I don't think that there is a "one size fits all" theory, given that corrugations vary from mildly annoying to teeth shattering.
I guess it would also depend on the type of Tyre, lower profile tyres would absorb corrugations differently than a Tyre with a higher side wall.
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I have been driving on corrugated dirt roads since before I even got my license to drive at age 17, I am now over 55 years old.
In all this time I have followed the advice that I got from those who lived/drove every day on corrugated dirt roads.
You need to remember that it has only been a few years that the road to Cooktown has been black topped, there was no black top between Mt Molloy and Weipa , Bugger all black top between the Atherton Tablelands and Normanton / Cloncurry, if fact there was bugger all blacktop any where you went, so you had to be competent at driving on dirt/ corrugated roads if you wanted to go anywhere.
Now back to that advice that i got nearly 40 years ago.
Firstly , when driving on dirt/ corrugated roads in a four wheel drive , have your hubs engaged and reach down and engage High Four,( YOU WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR DRIVE LINE ), when driving on dirt in 4 wheel drive you have better control over corrugates and in corners as your front wheels are helping with the added grip , you will get better tyre life /. wear out of your tyres as a bonus.
Secondly, find a speed that put your vehicle on top of the corrugates, this could be anywhere between 80 to 100 kph,( I do tend to sit around 90 to 100 kph ) by doing this you will get a smoother ride, your suspension works better, and you will do less damage to your vehicle.
I very seldom run my Tyre pressures above 32 pounds, I run 33 x 12.5 x 15 M/T tyres and I get even tyre wear across the face of my tyres. I maintain this tyre pressure either on dirt roads or black top, I have not bothered to check tyre temps, but I have rarely had tyre problems on dirt roads.
My two bobs worth, and it works for me. If anyone has doubts,you could try keeping up with me on dirt roads. ;D ;D
cheers duggie
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....... If anyone has doubts,you could try keeping up with me on dirt roads. ;D ;D
No thanks duggie..... ;D ;D
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In my travels I have seen some modified vehicles really fly on corrugations. I'm not sure how they're modified as the only indication is a sticker on the back window. What is a Hertz and can I get one for my Patrol?
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In my travels I have seen some modified vehicles really fly on corrugations. I'm not sure how they're modified as the only indication is a sticker on the back window. What is a Hertz and can I get one for my Patrol?
Pmsl
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In my travels I have seen some modified vehicles really fly on corrugations. I'm not sure how they're modified as the only indication is a sticker on the back window. What is a Hertz and can I get one for my Patrol?
Or any vehicle with a company logo on it. Council utes go real quick too.
KB
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My two bobs worth, and it works for me. If anyone has doubts,you could try keeping up with me on dirt roads. ;D ;D
cheers duggie
Have trouble keeping up with you...and we have our windows UP....
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Have trouble keeping up with you...and we have our windows UP....
That was in my 40 year old 1973 G60 Nissan >:D, not the GQ - The Old Girl. :angel:
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KB
I am with you - drop pressures and find a speed that fells good. Don't have any preconceived ideas on speed and find one where the noise and vibration are the best.
As has been mentioned, sometimes there is no "leveling out" regardless of the speed. Some years ago I was doing the Canning (no camper) and found it seemed best around 80 - then 2 days later both rear shocks failed (yes I had spares and we changed them at Thring Rock). About 15-20 was all we attempted till the end of that track.
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Thanks Al.
In response to some of the other comments, I didn't post this thread to tell people how to drive or to say my way was the best way. Far from it. I have found over many years what works best for me and for my style of driving. Others will obvously have found what works best for them and this may be different. No arguements from me.
I simply posted the link as it seemed to comfirm what I already knew. And that is that speed is not the answer to making travelling over corrugations easier. Some may think it is but that when the "speed is better" theory is actually tested, it is clear that speed is not the answer. The report confirms that reducing your speed and your tyre pressures makes travelling on corrugations easier. But as we all know, some corrugations will never be easy.
KB
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Well I cant see you doing the Cape then ;D
Mark
I'll wait till its tar road :P
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I'll wait till its tar road :P
Looking at the speed with which QLD has been putting bitumen on roads you won't have to wait long...
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I don't think that there is a "one size fits all" theory, given that corrugations vary from mildly annoying to teeth shattering.
I guess it would also depend on the type of Tyre, lower profile tyres would absorb corrugations differently than a Tyre with a higher side wall.
the one size fits all is a big thing.
Having recently done the Anne Beadell and the Canning, I am sure that there are few other places In Oz that rate for corrugations.
I used to adopt the govern your speed until you are planing over them. In my trip over the Canning I was traveling with 2 other vehicles.
There problem I had there was that to get the speed that I was happy with meant I was up the back end of the guy in front. We could never seem to get a happy medium. The guy in front was happy at one speed. I was happy at another and unfortunately, regardless as to how much time we tried to keep between us, one of us would catch up with the other. Usually when we did catch up the corrugations were atrocious.
There is no on size fits all and unfortunately there is no one config suits all mainly because no to roads are the same and no two vehicles are the same and no two drivers are the same.
Bottom line is with corrugations you have to guage them at the time, drive them to suit at the time and try to fit in with everyone's style. Good luck:)
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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We did the Merinee Loop last year, nearly 100km of corrugations deep enough to hide a beer can. Dropped both Tug and CT tyres to 24psi and didn't go above 80. No dramas at all.
Oh yeah, and asked SWMBO to drive the whole lot...thereby ensuring that any damage was NOT my fault :angel:
Mate, you must have copped the worst conditions on that road ever! I've driven it once or twice & have always considered it the best dirt road anywhere in Aust! I usually get over taken by locals in Commodores on that road lol!
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Yep. Agree with that.
Not always practical....sometimes you just have to find a happy speed and line and put up with it.
+1
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I have never dropped tire pressures on Coro. It's not that I havnt thought of it, it's just that I havnt physically done it. I always try and work out the best speed to travel over the Coro. Sometimes that's 80 or 90 and sometimes it just doesn't matter what speed you do, it just rattles the hell out of your vehicle and your tetth no matter the speed.
Mate, give it a try! I resisted for a very long time, I wish I hadn't! 80-90kmh is good - but it's a whole lot better if your tyre pressures are down. Not too many roads have rattled us around since I started dropping the tyre pressures down. Another big plus is that you get more K's out of your tyres too!
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I went to the Kimberley's last year and on the corrugated and dirt roads, dropped the tyre pressures to 20 in front and camper and 26 in the rear of the car. Kept the speed down, no chipping no punctures, and the ride is a whole lot smoother.
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I'll wait till its tar road :P
Pick me up on your through
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Looking at the speed with which QLD has been putting bitumen on roads you won't have to wait long...
that's what I mean :)
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Looking at the speed with which QLD has been putting bitumen on roads you won't have to wait long...
as someone who has seen some of that 'bitumen', i wouldn't hold much hope of it being there when you get here...
they don't make roads up here like they used to.... :(
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they don't make roads up here like they used to.... :(
I'll agree with that - but that's everywhere you go...
Dunno if its the extra amount of traffic, or if they build it too good they will never get return work.
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I'll agree with that - but that's everywhere you go...
Dunno if its the extra amount of traffic, or if they build it too good they will never get return work.
i used to work for the dept of transport here in qld for a while and the reason i got (reading between the lines) was that they don't want to make a road that the next government can take credit for...
that's why infrastructure spending should be by bipartisan agreement, not by virtue of political party...
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I went to the Kimberley's last year and on the corrugated and dirt roads, dropped the tyre pressures to 20 in front and camper and 26 in the rear of the car. Kept the speed down, no chipping no punctures, and the ride is a whole lot smoother.
Yup! Been using the same tyre pressures & still have the same tyres on my camper as when I bought it. Cheap Chinese tyres & they have been to some very remote places :) Not so much as a flat tyre!