Rough ride on washboard dirt roads

[RioGrandeJK]

Speeding up is a good way to smooth them out a little but there really isn't a solution to comfortably driving faster on washboard roads besides some suspension that is designed for high speed desert running, larger tires and airing down. In my area they are bad enough, that at low speeds, the Jeep starts to go sideways. Driving too fast for road conditions is what creates them in the first place, so driving faster only exacerbates the problem and beats up your rig. My wife takes dirt roads in her Outback like a damn rally driver, we went through struts on the last Outback pretty frequently.

 

[Steve Williams]

I had a chance to try a lot of different setups while I was running the Hole in the Rock road in southern Utah last fall. Its 60 miles of wash boarded dirt. I was playing on it for a week running back and forth to hiking and photo ops. I tried different things and by far the best combination to save my teeth and back is what the folks are telling you. I aired down to 15 psi and ran about 30 too 40 mph. Huge difference. You just have to be on your toes and watch out for deep sand and the occasional rutted wash crossing the road. It makes for a fun trip.


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[SunWolf]

As others have mentioned, you need to drive faster. I'm pretty sure Mythbusters had even done an episode on this. Airing down to about 20 psi will help a lot too. The Subaru has IFS and that's why it was more comfortable to him. A Jeep Renegade will feel super comfortable at full street pressure too.

Thanks. I will get an air compressor for my Jeep after this so I can feel comfortable airing down that low far from a gas station. The trails that had washboard rough ridges seemed to be common along easy trails along the 395. Came across washboard rattle on parts of Movie Road near Lone Pine, Manzanar trail that leads to the cemetery and memorial and parts of Buttermilk Road near Bishop. Ice, snow and mud was on the Inyo Craters trail with large ice puddles along the way that took up the width of the trail so the only way was to go through them. No problem at all with ice and mud. Just the dirt road ripples on the other trails.


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[wayoflife]

Thanks. I will get an air compressor for my Jeep after this so I can feel comfortable airing down that low far from a gas station. The trails that had washboard rough ridges seemed to be common along easy trails along the 395. Came across washboard rattle on parts of Movie Road near Lone Pine, Manzanar trail that leads to the cemetery and memorial and parts of Buttermilk Road near Bishop. Ice, snow and mud was on the Inyo Craters trail with large ice puddles along the way that took up the width of the trail so the only way was to go through them. No problem at all with ice and mud. Just the dirt road ripples on the other trails.

Getting an air compressor is a great idea and something every Jeeper should have in their Jeep. That being said, for the kind of roads you were on up in the Owens Valley, I typically run them at about 24 psi or so. At that pressure, you can hop back onto the 395 as needed and safely cruise at highway speeds without any problems.

 

[SunWolf]

The first washboard road I really encountered, was the road out to the racetrack in Death Valley. It's 25 miles out. At 15psi it was really rough feeling till I hit about 30-35 mph. At higher speeds your suspension is Abel to work more efficiently with the ridges in the road.


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Thanks


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[SunWolf]

Thanks for the tips everyone.


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[deezus]

36psi? Wow. I run on the street 28. Also minivan has 13inch tires and can't rock crawl that good.[emoji3]

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[Gbint]

Deezus nailed it. The right combo of air and speed will do it. Also remember that the larger the tire the less air pressure required. I.E. a bicycle tire can run as high as 90 and a monster truck as low as 6 psi. I used the chalk line method across the tires and I too run 28 to get even wear.


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[MericaMade]

Went on several dirt roads last weekend and had to go very slow on a few of them to avoid vibrations that felt like my Jeep was about to self destruct. Aired down a bit and it was still bad. I saw Subaru’s and minivans going faster without a problem. I don’t think a minivan driver even bothers to air down so this was frustrating to have them going faster than I was since I’m in a Jeep. The washboard ridgy spots were a big problem, but when I got to rocky areas I was able to go through them with no problem at all. Why are the tiny washboard, dirt road ridges such a problem in a Jeep?


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Where were you at? I was out in North Glamis hitting washboards upwards of 60MPH and loving it. I was running 25 PSI with the EVO kit and Kings having a great time. I am really impressed with the Jeep, EVO, and KIng.

 

[SunWolf]

36psi? Wow. I run on the street 28. Also minivan has 13inch tires and can't rock crawl that good.[emoji3]

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Good to know. This was my first time experiencing this on what seemed like a flat dirt road. Will go much lower next time when I’m on a washboard dirt road.

A year ago when I drove my Jeep off the lot the psi was at 45 so I thought that was normal for street use. After reading around I dropped it to 40 and now I keep it at around 36. Will try it lower for street and see how that works. 36 seems fine for street compared to what it was before, but now I’m curious.

Deezus nailed it. The right combo of air and speed will do it. Also remember that the larger the tire the less air pressure required. I.E. a bicycle tire can run as high as 90 and a monster truck as low as 6 psi. I used the chalk line method across the tires and I too run 28 to get even wear.


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Thanks good to know

Where were you at? I was out in North Glamis hitting washboards upwards of 60MPH and loving it. I was running 25 PSI with the EVO kit and Kings having a great time. I am really impressed with the Jeep, EVO, and KIng.

This was on parts of Movie Road, Buttermilk Road and another off the 395. I had never experienced this type of shake on much bumpier and rockier roads. First time experiencing this type of washboard shake going between 10-15 mph and being forced to go about 5 mph. Felt like if I went any faster the Jeep was ready to collapse and fall apart like in a cartoon. Looking forward to try going faster next time and with a much lower psi. Thanks for the info.


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[MDK210]

Going to and from trails in CO up through the mountains the faster technique doesn't work well due to the curves, slants, switchbacks, and no guard rails ha. If you have a 2dr like me you'll most likely go sliding off the angled roads if you went fast and going back down a dirt mountain with washboards into a 5mph switchback is not fun. However, a flat open area I would totally do drive fast on.

 

[deezus]

It’s a Rubicon Hard Rock. I started off with the tires at 36 which is where they usually are and went down to 32. Just didn’t see why anything around 10-15 mph would make the jeep shake like crazy with those tiny dirt road ridges. I had been on lots of dirt roads, but these washboard ridges were something new to me and it caught me off guard.


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28 psi cold. That's where you should be...

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[Steve Williams]

I was playing out on the "Hole in the Wall" road east of Escalante Utah last fall. 80 miles of washboard with the occasional dry wash and rocks. I've never been on a more washboarded road/trail. I ran up and down it 8 times in the week I was out there. I tried multiple tire pressures and different speeds. The best I came up with was 15 psi and runnings over 45 mph. Flattened right out. I'm running 35s with Fox performance shocks on my 2011 JKU. Your mileage may vary, but lower tire pressure and faster is definitely the answer. Good luck!

 

[dillard09]

I was playing out on the "Hole in the Wall" road east of Escalante Utah last fall. 80 miles of washboard with the occasional dry wash and rocks. I've never been on a more washboarded road/trail. I ran up and down it 8 times in the week I was out there. I tried multiple tire pressures and different speeds. The best I came up with was 15 psi and runnings over 45 mph. Flattened right out. I'm running 35s with Fox performance shocks on my 2011 JKU. Your mileage may vary, but lower tire pressure and faster is definitely the answer. Good luck!

Man that road sucks! Those washboards felt like they were 2 foot between them and 2 foot deep! I wanted to drive off the side of the road in the field, it looked some much smoother out there. It didnt help that I was in my YJ with SOA leafs. Haha.

 

[Steve Williams]

Man that road sucks! Those washboards felt like they were 2 foot between them and 2 foot deep! I wanted to drive off the side of the road in the field, it looked some much smoother out there. It didnt help that I was in my YJ with SOA leafs. Haha.

Yep, it’s an ugly road but it takes you to some amazing places. There were times when I tried running it with two wheels up on the berm until I figured to just put the hammer down and hang on.


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