Finally got to drive the Raptor on the beach

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Ricoman

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If you want to haul ass, you gotta air down, simply for comfort. I doubt getting stuck would be an issue either way.

I took my 14 y.o. and his buddy down the Padre National Seashore and let them take turns cruising at 50-70 MPH. If you're just cruising from the condo over to the umbrella area, yeah, street pressure is fine.[/QUOT

50-70mph..! Lucky You....they have a 25 mph limit on the Beach I went to...and didnt want to chance a ticket my first time out...but did do a few 50mph sprints when no one was around..LOL...
 

500mag

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Had the Raptor on Carolina Beach yesterday and I must say I'm impressed. I've had a lot of F150s and F250s and none have performed as well in the sand. There was virtually no wheelspin with the KM3s at 40 psi, even from a dead stop, so they definitely don't need to be aired down. Last truck I had on the same beach was a 2017 F250 with 37 inch Ridge Grapplers, and they spun all over the place, almost had to air them down. You don't want to air down unless you have to - it is a pain in the ass with big mud tires.
 

squeak

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I was down there in April and didn't air down the tires. Does fine. I've taken an H2, lifted Silverado 1500, '12 Raptor, stock '15 Tahoe, and now my '17 Raptor on the beach in OBX and never aired down the tires and never had an issue.

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smurfslayer

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I was down there in April and didn't air down the tires. Does fine. I've taken an H2, lifted Silverado 1500, '12 Raptor, stock '15 Tahoe, and now my '17 Raptor on the beach in OBX and never aired down the tires and never had an issue.

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Thanks! good to know.
 

Kaz109

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At the in-laws vacation home in gold beach oregon and took the raptor on the beach for the first time. Keep in mind this is my first truck so I have no clue what I am doing, just trying to learn and havr fun in the process.

I did not air down ( wasn't aware I needed to) and was in 4H with traction control on and hit 60mph but was nervous about pushing it further. Had fun and I will head back out there tomorrow to turn traction control off and get some doughnuts in 2wd.


Overall I am just really enjoying this truck
 

dave_g

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I drop mine to 20 psi when running on the beach in NJ. Keep in mind not all sand is the same- and it will change some depending on moisture. I have seem many states (like FL)where people drive 2 wd cars and RV's on the beach- that would not happen in NJ-
 

SurfRaptor

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There is definitely some confusion here. Airing down helps you not get stuck in deep soft sand but it also acts as cushions for your suspension and front end. If you are not airing down and offloading with 40 PSI in your tires (and I mean real use of the vehicle and not a city block on the sand) then you are trashing the front end components much faster and will cause issues down the line. A Viar compressor kit is like $200 and a ARB Auto Air Down is $40. These people are absolutely thrashing an 80k truck. I would air down almost every time especially if you plan on being hard on it. I'm sure some people will argue that the Raptor can do this out of the box and Im sure it can but why put more stress on the front end?

In my JKU wrangler I run 13 PSI on the beach in Baja and 28 on KM2's on the road in baja just to soften up the ride. Tire size is just slighly less than a 35 at 305 70 R16.

For anyone new to offloading and reading this.......Air Down and then put the skinny pedal to the floor.
 
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