How low can you go?

When airing down? I have 33x10.50 BFG Mud Terrains on 8 inch steel wheels. I was on a rough, washboard desert trail/forest road last weekend that just about rattled my teeth out. My tire pressure was 24psi. How low can I go without having to worry about popping the tire off the bead? I don't yet have a way to air back up either, so I will need to run back to town on low psi at highway speeds, so that's a consideration too. Thanks for any advice.

 

I've run my 31x10.5 tires down to around 12-15psi with no problems. I wouldn't drive to far at highway speed at that pressure but for 10-15 miles at say 30-40mph you should be ok.
Buy you a cheap little 12v compressor to air them back up, worth the $30-$50 price tag.

 

I have same tire and size on 7" rims and run 10-12psi on dirt roads. However I try to stay off the pavement, and stay under 30mph if it do.

 

Off road only mind you... But I run my 33 10.5" at 12 psi and re-inflate when they get around 8. At 12 they don't even look low! At 8 I can tell I need to check and add some.

On my '72 Jimmy I run the 35 12.5 16.5's at 25 psi on the road. Any more than that the tread doesn't wear evenly. The 35 14.5 MT bias that were on it years ago I ran at 22 psi for even wear. And had over 50k road miles on them.

 

Ditto, 33's and I run off road at 10 psi. I was in Pismo 2 weeks back and ran them at 4 psi.

 

I have 33x10.50-15 general grabbers on 15x8 steel wheels. When I'm running on just plain dirt roads I drop to about 15. I can also drive pretty comfortably 20-30 miles back to civilization at those pressures and speeds within reason. (let's face it, the CJ tops out at pretty much 60). On actual trails I plan to drop to between 5 and 10 somewhere as that is what I normally drop to. My first run with this tire and wheel combo on trails is this weekend. It will be pretty much mud and snow with some rocks thrown in for good measure. i'll let you know if they stay on the beads. =)

Due to no power steering and no power at all I run them at 50 on the street. It helps with turning and also less rolling resistance.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I will try airing down to about half of what I'm at now. I'll pick up a cheap compressor for now too. Jeepermc, take some pics this weekend!

 

I agree with what others have said. I run 10 - 12 PSI off road. I have a double ARB compressor to air up when done. In the past I used a cheap plug in air compressor to inflate them. Watch garage sales, CL, etc. I just picked up an AC compressor with brackets for $20.00 for my grandson's YJ.
What hasn't been pointed out about running at speed with tires at 12 PSI is a scary uncontrolled wobbly ride plus your tires will overheat. This can and will cause inner cords to separate. That gets real scary real fast. Don't ask how I know. Fortunately oncoming traffic saw me and pulled over. No damage other than a new tire and seat cover

 

Ha! It took me a second to figure out why you needed a new seat cover!

 

I had a TJ that was 4280 lbs with 35X12.50X15 BFG Muds on 15X8 rims. Off road I would run 10 to 12 psi and on the street I ran 25 psi front and rear. With the weight of the Jeep tread wear was perfect. I did 5 tire rotations every other oil change (6000 miles) and the tires lasted 55,000 miles. At 25 psi the Jeep felt great.

 

8-10 worked pretty well this weekend although I think I could have gone down to about 5 and been just fine and increased the traction a bit. I'm going to sipe these Generals. Snow and mud traction is OK, but it can be improved on. I never pulled cable, but it was slipperier than I liked a few times.