Airing down on bad roads?

[DT400]

I air down just about every-time I'm off-road for an extended time. Sand, rocks, washboard roads etc. It gives a smoother ride for both you and the truck. it allows the tire to form around the ground and provide much improved traction as well as preventing punctures since the tire can flex out of the way instead for forcing it's will on an object.
You don't want to run for extended periods at higher speed but if your off-road you likely not going fast anyway.
I go from 36psi to 18-20 psi for most stuff and 15-16 for difficult rock crawling trails.
I don't run bead-locks and haven't rolled a bead yet, but you do need to be mindful that it's easier to do then when at full pressure so I wouldn't be carving any corners.
You do need to have a tire with a decent sidewall if you want to play in the rocks but for dirt roads I wouldn't worry too much about it. P rated tires shouldn't be on a truck anyway so LT tires are just fine.
You can puncture, break or damage anything in the right situations so use common sense.
My rule of thumb is no more than 5 miles of tarmac an no more than 40 mph at the 18-20 psi. If I need to be beyond those guidelines I air up the air down again when I hit the next trail...it's not uncommon the air up/down a couple times a day.
As always YMMV.

Darrell

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[Calson]

Also just a side note. There’s no such thing as 6, 8, 10 etc “ply” tires anymore. It’s still used as a descriptor but modern tires don’t actually use that same number of layers of material anymore due to modern tire tech. Instead tires use load ratings. C = “6 ply”, E = “10 ply” yada yada

That is not correct. The tire companies all use the term "ply rating" which is determined by tire's "strength and capacity" in the opinion of the manufacturer.

My 2022 F-150 came with passenger car tires and the ride is like being in a SUV and not at all like a truck. The ride is smoother than with my Mercedes CLK coupe by a wide margin.

On a washboard road it make for a smoother ride with the tires deflated but I do not call that off-road or trail use of the vehicle, in fact it is far from it.