Hi folks

We just did 48,000km in Africa on one set of BF Goodrich ATs (tubeless) with fully loaded 300 tdi (total mass circa 3,100kg) Here is our take:

Tyre pressures (in the main) are a function of tyre make, vehicle weight, road conditions and temperature. Tyre condition and driving style are also factors you have to think about as "speed" and the wrong tyre pressures on the wrong type of road are not good bed fellows.

We ran our tyres on good tarmac at: 3.3bar rear and 2.3 bar front
On bad tarmac / gravel we took it down to: 2.8 bar rear and 1.8 bar front
On firm sand and areas where we could get stuck: 2.0 bar rear and 1.5 bar front. Lower pressures for rock crawling - especially in Namibian / Moroccon deserts.

We never had a puncture although we did get a cut in the sidewall in Namibia but it was not too serious. BFG ATs are good tyres!! The above is only a guide and you have to adjust to suite the factors mentioned above.

Managing tyre pressures also helps to make your suspension / drive shaft UJs last a lot longer!

BTW - a good compressor is also a must - deflating and reflating tyres in the desert heat is not fun - get a good one that will last. We also found the heat degrades the silicon air line over time - we swapped this for 5m of rubber fuel hose in Gabon after we opened the compressor bag only to find the air line in 200 small bits.....!!

HTH

Nick

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Langebaan Sunset - Africa Overland
http://langebaan-sunset.blogspot.co.za/