If you do a lot of touring and 4WDing out in the bush, you may not always air your tyres down. For many people, 4×4 tyre pressures for beach 4WDing are important but very few give proper consideration to whether you should be lowering your tyre pressures when you head out bush. After all, the majority of bush tracks are firm gravel or dirt tracks, right? Surely there shouldn’t be much of a need to let your tyre pressures down when you’re out in the bush?

The truth of the matter is 4×4 tyre pressures for bush 4WDing are just as important as they are on the beach. That’s definitely true if you are planning on driving challenging hill climbs and bog holes, as lower tyre pressures create a wider footprint for your tyre to find as much traction as possible. More traction means more ability to crawl slower over tricky obstacles, instead of having to hold speed and race through sections of track that could invite damage. Carrying a tyre deflator like the Kwiky tyre deflator or the Adventure Kings 3 in 1 tyre deflator will mean that you never have to second-guess your tyre pressures! You can always lower them to the exact right pressure for the type of terrain you’re driving.

Lowering your tyre pressures in the bush also has a couple of other benefits. First, it makes your tyres more flexible and able to mould around rocks and tree roots, in many cases greatly reducing the potential for tyre damage. Think about the difference between poking a fully-inflated balloon with a sharp pencil, versus poking that same pencil into a half-deflated balloon. The other massive benefit is that it considerably softens the ride when you’re bumping down a dirt track! That’s an especially big benefit if you drive a vehicle with leaf-springs.

However the vital thing to be aware of, is that lowering your tyre pressures with the help of your the Kwiky tyre deflator or the Adventure Kings 3 in 1 tyre deflator is only one part of the process. As a matter of good practice, you should always carry a portable air compressor like the Thumper MKII air compressor or the Thumper Max air compressor so that you’re able to re-inflate your tyres when you need to.;

So what tyre pressure should you be running when you’re out in the bush? The general rule of thumb is to start around 26psi. Use your the Kwiky tyre deflator or the Adventure Kings 3 in 1 tyre deflator to lower your 4WD tyre pressures to 26psi for most gravel or dirt tracks, and if necessary you can continue lowering your tyre pressures even further for added traction. In a situation where you can’t quite get the traction you need, use your 4×4 tyre deflator to drop your pressures about 4psi at a time and you’ll be blown away by the difference that makes!

In an emergency situation, in a standard vehicle that had no winch equipped when it started to rain, we’ve run our tyre pressures as low as 16psi out in the bush. That’s sand-driving 4WD tyre pressures right there, but you must be aware that you need to completely adjust your driving style when your tyre pressures are so low. In a situation like this, it’s extremely easy to roll a tyre completely off the rim if you turn too sharply or hit a stump or tree root. It’s highly recommended that you carry a 12v air compressor to allow you to re-inflate your tyres back up to 26psi as soon as you’ve passed that particularly tricky section of track.

4WD tyre pressures should also be monitored throughout the day as a way of picking up on potential problems that you should address before they grind you to a halt. For instance, dirt in a tyre bead can easily let a tyre run flat over the course of a couple of hours. If you pick it up early, you can either swap on your spare tyre or clean the bead and re-inflate with your 12v air compressor before any damage is done to the tyre from driving on it while under-inflated.

A Kwiky tyre deflator, Adventure Kings 3 in 1 tyre deflator and a Thumper air compressor or Thumper Max 12v air compressor are your best mates when you’re out in the bush!