Air Down Advice - Schnebly Hill/Black Gap Trails

[Peter Gosenya]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/VIAIR-88P-120-psi-12-Volt-Portable-Tire-Inflator-00088/206170415
this for twice the price would be way better option.

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[KenNessee]

Engineer Pass isn't hard and you'll have no problems in a Bronco. Subarus do the Alpine Loop. Go in at Corkscrew and it's even easier.

 

[Tricky Dick]

Different tires and different wheel widths will impact how low you should go. For example I was just playing in sand on Friday. I had my Mickey ATZs at 12psi and was thrashing around at speeds up to 60 mph without issue. I ran into another guy out there on Intercos that was running 9psi without beadlocks. (I've run 15 psi on narrow Swampers before and lost a bead.)

Then I aired up to 25 psi and drove an hour on the freeway, wheeled in the woods still at 25, then another 45 minutes on the freeway before airing up to 34.

I have this compressor and it's quicker than the gas station air I tried first. I've had it about 15 years now. https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-150-psi-compact-air-compressor-63184.html

 

[Mike777]

Thanks for the air compressor ideas. I’ll prob end up spending the extra change cause I’ll prob use it down the road.

 

[j_marinelli]

We are doing our first road trip (2500 Miles) in the Bronco in a couple of weeks and I've chosen as least one trail to go to. Its the Schnebly Hill Trail in AZ. Seems like a good easy first time off road trail from what I could see on youtube other than it being bumpy and some rocks sticking out.

My question is what should I air down my tires to? I have the SAS package. Full disclosure never gone solo before only did this at the Bronco Off Roadeo. Any advice for a first time off roader would be great!

On a side note, thought about going to Engineer Pass in CO but looked it up online. Doesnt seem like a very good trail for a first timer. I am doing Black Gap Trail in Big Bend later this year.

Kinda off topic but please follow up once with your impressions of Schnebly Hill when you get back from your road trip. We are doing a trip up to Flagstaff and this one popped up as a trail to check out in my research.

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

If it lets you know the difficulty of this trail...I towed my offroad camper trailer down Schnebly Hill Trail from my dispersed camp spot behind my f150. Aired the truck's tires down to 21psi and the camper's down to 25psi.

 

[Scott R Nelson]

I've done the research on 12V air compressors and the winner for best capability to air back up a Sasquatch tire for the price is the Smittybilt 2781 at around $156. The NAPA 300LPM made by Balkamp (BK MTWM10215C) actually looked like the best deal of all, but that was only a promotion and no longer available.

I dropped the pressure in my spare to 20 psi and the Smittybilt had it back up to 40 psi in about two minutes. I figure I can get all four tires aired back up in about ten minutes. As soon as the parts come in, I'll be building a 4-tire inflator/deflator that makes the whole process way easier. Unfortunately, that device costs about the same as a good air compressor. But I figure that it will be worth it.

One thing to watch out for. If you have the Ford Pass app and run deflated tires for a while, it will be notified and issue a warning that I can't seem to make it forget about. I finally shut off the ability of my Bronco to "rat me out" about things like that.

 

[Lazerus]

Def start from the 17 and go down to Sedona. Best views by far in that direction.
I was just in Sedona last weekend and most of the 'rim roads' were still closed - just checked the Coconino/ red rock road status and Schnebly is now open all the way through.
ran the Outlaw Trail loop this time through and it's a great trail for a novice. Most of it is a high 2 / low 3, but there's one climb out of a wash near the end that is borderling 3 / 4. I made the whole loop in 2 hours in a slightly lifted JL sport without breaking a sweat and never had to leave 4H. It's well traveled by rental jeeps and SxS's so your not ever isolated and the views are amazing. There's even indian cliff dwellings at the northern part of the trail, but you'll need a Red Rock Pass to park there.

I freaking love the Sedona trails as well as all the forest roads on the rim in the Coconino National Forest.

Views from the 'vista' on Schnebly (it's dog friendly)

 

[mbagne]

When I attended Off-Rodeo the instructor there said that he keeps all their Broncos at 28 PSI, and indicated that there is no need to go any lower for 90%+ off road situations. I didn't feel as though the Bronco was bouncing hard when going through canyons full of boulders, and we did fine jamming through sandy washes (fairly deep sand in some spots). I know there are many experienced people here at B6g who will swear that airing down has to be in the 20 PSI range (or lower) . . . I'm just reporting what a Bronco Off-Roadeo instructor said, along with my testimony that the experience was great spending the day in a Bronco at 28 PSI, wheeling through all sorts of rough, ungroomed terrain.

 

[Theherofails]

I stay about 17psi for most stuff here in AZ. I don't notice any difference going down to 12-13 unless I'm doing something like running with Raptors. It helps a bit more at 50+ mph.

Everyone has given good advice already. Just adding a data point.

Fun fact - according to the Pink Jeep Tour, I was the first 2021 Bronco down Broken Arrow! Was my first trail when I got the Badlands.

 

[gigidaho]

I just went out there for a climb! Honestly we didn’t air down at all, it would have made it more comfortable of a ride but just seemed like a bit of a hassle, so I would air down only as much as needed for comfort but could still easily make it to the gas station to reinflate afterwards.
This will be a really fun first off road! Enough large slabby rocks to feel adventurous but nothing that would make your palms sweat. Have fun and make sure to stop for a hike, the human trails are incredible too.

 

[M Redwood]

Sedona is best part of Az better than Grand canyon....take it in many good trails make sure ya drive up oak creek canyon with top off / down ..enjoy!

 

[BroncoAZ]

We are doing our first road trip (2500 Miles) in the Bronco in a couple of weeks and I've chosen as least one trail to go to. Its the Schnebly Hill Trail in AZ. Seems like a good easy first time off road trail from what I could see on youtube other than it being bumpy and some rocks sticking out.

My question is what should I air down my tires to? I have the SAS package. Full disclosure never gone solo before only did this at the Bronco Off Roadeo. Any advice for a first time off roader would be great!

On a side note, thought about going to Engineer Pass in CO but looked it up online. Doesnt seem like a very good trail for a first timer. I am doing Black Gap Trail in Big Bend later this year.

When I was in college in the late 1990’s Schnebly Hill Rd was passable by some cars and most SUV’s, 20 years later it has become much more of a trail. There are some rock steps that are a good place to scrape the underbody on as you descend. In 2017 I took my stock 2011 VW Touareg TDI down Schnebly Hill top to bottom on 18” street tires at street pressure (33F/39R). I got a lot of odd looks from the jeep and FJ guys on the trail that day. Tire placement was critical, I bumped the underbody a few times and had to be careful on a few sections. I don’t know that the Touareg would’ve been able to make it back up the trail. A SAS Bronco should be a walk in the park on that trail, but it’s still challenging enough to be fun and very scenic. I’d shoot for 18-20 PSI. On my 87 Bronco, 5500# and 35x12.5R17 tires, I would use 18 psi as a good all around pressure for offroad and drop to 15 psi for hard crawling. I would be at risk of denting a rim below 15psi.

 

[Mike777]

When I was in college in the late 1990’s Schnebly Hill Rd was passable by some cars and most SUV’s, 20 years later it has become much more of a trail. There are some rock steps that are a good place to scrape the underbody on as you descend. In 2017 I took my stock 2011 VW Touareg TDI down Schnebly Hill top to bottom on 18” street tires at street pressure (33F/39R). I got a lot of odd looks from the jeep and FJ guys on the trail that day. Tire placement was critical, I bumped the underbody a few times and had to be careful on a few sections. I don’t know that the Touareg would’ve been able to make it back up the trail. A SAS Bronco should be a walk in the park on that trail, but it’s still challenging enough to be fun and very scenic. I’d shoot for 18-20 PSI. On my 87 Bronco, 5500# and 35x12.5R17 tires, I would use 18 psi as a good all around pressure for offroad and drop to 15 psi for hard crawling. I would be at risk of denting a rim below 15psi.

Thanks for the tip! We are also taking a Curt cargo carrier on the hitch. But should be ok for this really light trail.

 

[Felix808]

I'd recommend starting at the top of Schnebly Hill Rd (near Flagstaff) and descending into Sedona - you get waaaay better views.

If you start in the morning, you'll get into Sedona around lunch time, and could go to Broken Arrow in the afternoon - your Black Diamond should have no issues running it, and you get more amazing views.

I'm planning a Schnebly/Broken Arrow run for either April 24th or May 1st if anyone is interested.

These are 2 trails I look forward to doing, probably next year as I'm still waiting. How is camping on Schnebly? I plan to get there early evening/ late afternoon and hit a camping spot close to the start then next morning run both trails. Any time of year to avoid?
Thanks.

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