Tyre pressures on the Gibb River Road

by Ken

Your story about people and their tyre problems reminded us when we went to the Gibb River Road / Mitchell Falls some years ago. We met two Polish mates and wives who had bought two brand new Pajeros and vans to do this trip.

We asked how they were going as one does and were they enjoying the trip. Apparently not too good. They told us they had to tekscrew both the dashboards back on the vehicles as both had fallen on to their laps.

We asked them how much pressure were they running in their tyres. They asked what we ran. We were running agout 16 psi.

One bloke slipped into the other in Polish then said he told his mate they should let the tyres down. THEY WERE RUNNING THEIR TYRES AT 60psi!!!!!

Comments for Tyre pressures on the Gibb River Road

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Jan 31, 2011
 Tyre Pressures
by: Birgit

60 psi?? That's certainly impressive on that road. Wonder if could be some kind of record...
Thanks for sharing. The dash coming off is impressive, too.

Mind you, 16 psi is extreme, too. You are right on the edge there, below I'd start worrying about the tyre coming off the rim. And you'd certainly have to crawl. Ok in super soft deep sand or sloppy mud and that, but for normal off road driving?

On a rocky track I would recommend people stay in the mid twenties. Maybe you meant 26 psi?
Feb 01, 2011
 Tyre Pressures & Speed
by: Gav

When we spent a month on the Gibb River Road we ran 25psi on the front axle of the landcruiser and camper trailer. The back axle of our landcruiser middy (where much of the weight was) we had 30psi. We experienced no problems at all with punctures and definitely no damage to any part of the vehicle.

Using common sense is critical to having a safe and enjoyable holiday. I wonder what speed those Polish tourists were travelling at too....And just because you lower your tyre pressures doesn't give you free reign to increase your speed.

For comfort's sake a slower speed and lower pressures are the way to go. Besides, you're on holiday - whats the rush? As my partner says - If you're rushing, you're only rushing to your death (god forbid!).

Play it safe and travel safe.
Feb 16, 2012
 Tyre Pressures
by: Canyoner

We did a circuit from Broome of the Gibb River Rd, Mitchell Plateau, Kununurra, Bungles & back to Broome in a rental 4WD. Too far to drive & not enough leave time from the East Coast to do it in my 4WD.

I've had about 30 years experience driving 4WDs, so was a little disappointed in the standard of some of the rental fleet vehicles & what they tell their customers regarding tyres.

1st up. They keep their tyres @ 40psi. - OK for some tyres on the sealed roads 'most' of the time. Lucky I took my Tyre Dogs (tyre pressure monitor) with me, as I dropped the pressure down to 32 psi to start with.

Not long after leaving Derby I got a warning from one of the tyres - the pressure had jump to 45 psi along with much higher temperature. I stop & let some air out. This was a blessing, saving us a blow out & the costs of a new tyre.

I had another friend & his brother travel from Darwin through to Broome in some rentals 4WDs. They had 5 blow-outs between them & their tyres were barely if legal too.

2nd - The tyres on hire vehicles are never covered in the insurance, yet they let vehicles on the road with barely legal tyres, expecting the hirer to pay for new tyres when they blow one.

They give no instructions on tyre care or what pressure they should be operating at on different surfaces & speeds. Maybe this should be something brought to their attention - as I did when I returned the vehicle to the hirer - a small local Broome renter - who was great!
Jun 09, 2012
 Kens a Wally
by: Anonymous

Never seen a Pajero dash fall apart in my travels :)
Jun 09, 2012
 Tyre Pressure
by: Ken

I've never seen a dash fall out either, but that's what they both told our group, and they were not happy Jacks.
Jun 14, 2016
 Type of tyre and pressure,Gibb River Rd
by: Rob O'Donnell

My son, grandson and self drove the Gibb in 2010 from Kununurra to Broome. (Twin cab 4 wheel drive and off road camper.) It was shod with conventional tyres run at 40lbs all round. We ended up going around Australia. Not one puncture, however, about 3 months after, my son had a flat on the front left. He was told by the repair mob the tyre was irreparable, it had fractures in several different spots. How lucky were we.
Aug 06, 2019
 Do you set and leave your tyre pressure?
by: BZA

Hello.
I am about to drive the Gibb River Road in my Mazda Tribute AWD. She is a mighty beast so I am feeling confident. I have a really good compressor and pressure gauge on board but I am not really used to adjusting the PSI. I take it I deflate once I hit the dirt to aprox 25 PSI and leave it like that until I return to a sealed road. Is that about right?
Nov 27, 2020
 Pajero on Gibb River Road
by: Anonymous

Some friends with two Prados, a Dmax and a Pajero started out on the Gibb River Road. The Paj turned back because the owner was unsure if he and his partner or the Paj would be the first to break.

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