4 Wheel Drives - Off Road .

Are you planning a trip up north to the Gibb River road and doing some 4 wheel drives, starting to look for new tyres to buy for the big trip.

Or maybe you are looking at doing one of the other big off road trips in Australia?

What tyres are recommended for driving the Gibb River road and other roads like it?

Soon -- when it is cooler we are heading up north to explore the Kimberley and We need to start getting prepared for the trip.

We need to get to get new tyres for the big trip as we have come right across Australia with the ones we have.

I have been recommended by people who have done the trip across to buy either Coopers tyres / Yokohama or Goodridge tyres because these 2 have 3 ply side wall instead of 2 plies like cheaper tyres.

These will last longer in places like the Gibb River Road and ideal for our big trip across Australia so when you are ready to buy Coopers tyres have a chat to the guys in Midland discount tyres

We need to make sure we have the right tyres as well as spares + a tyre repair kit for the job as we will be off road a lot and a long way from any towns.

On a daily basis walk around your car and check your tyres to make sure they look evenly inflated. You are looking for cuts, splits, penetrations and bulges. If you find anything get them checked out.

Once a month and also before heading out in a long trip, perform a tyre pressure check whilst filling up with fuel.

Correct inflation pressure

To find the correct inflation pressure of your passenger vehicle tyre checking:

• The owners manual for your car
• On the side of the door
• Around the tyre edge or
• In the glove box

Regular tyre rotation between front, back and spare tyres will extend the life of the tyres as they will wear more evenly. Tyre rotation involves inspecting the tread and walls of your vehicles tyres for wear & damage

The importance of tyre pressure checks

. Tyre damage is often due to under inflated tyres resulting in uneven tread wear. Uneven tread wear will lead to the most frequent purchase of new tyres and increase in fuel consumption.

You should try and keep your speed constant when driving on corrugated roads. If the conditions allow it, and you feel confident that you can control the 4WD a speed of 85km/hr is ideal. Too fast is dangerous and too slow will shake everything and everyone in the vehicle too much and could cause an accident

Reduce your 4WD's tyre pressure, it should be 4-6psi lower than what you would have if you were driving on bitumen

The higher the tyre pressure the more likely it is to pop!

Bull dust is both a common and dangerous sight for four wheel drivers in Outback Australia. It occurs when the driving track becomes wet and after drying breaks into a very fine dust. Bull Dust often deceives drivers into think they are driving over a hard patch but in actual fact it is just dust covering a hole.

Do not drive fast through bull dust and always try to avoid it, if at all possible. A filter is also required in notoriously dusty areas as it can damage your engine - check this filter at regular intervals.

Driving on Sand.

Be sure to inflate the tyres as soon as plausible

* Never drive over 60km/hour when your tyres are deflated

* Try to avoid driving on the bitumen with deflated tyres

* When four wheel driving carry a good quality air compressor with you at all times. Don't settle for a cheap option as these are generally not powerful enough to inflate all 4 tyres

* You should deflate your tyres

Compared to the highway pattern, the all-terrain pattern has more void or groove area. All-terrain tyres are designed to be used on a wide variety of surface types, from dry, sealed roads to mud which we will be doing on our travels

The extra void compared to the highway pattern improves grip on unsealed surfaces and aids clearing of mud from the tread surface.

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Of the three types of RV tyre tread patterns, the mud pattern has the greatest amount of void or groove area. This void area allows the tread to clean itself, maintaining grip in muddy conditions. The tread pattern of mud tyres consists of sharp-edged blocks that bite in to loose soil & mud.