I need to drive over Railroad Pass and the Hurley road every second week to access one of my projects, and it is really getting rough!

Don't even think about driving a less than robust vehicle up there- you'll knock five years off of its life!

Washboardy, ruts/potholes, runoff channels...? (Never been up there yet myself)

-Ryan

Doug drove it on his trip back from the Chilcotin in August and ended up having to replace a tie rod on his Explorer, I believe he told me, Ryan

All of the above! Washboard and rocks that stick up out of the road surface are the worst- my 4-Runner was bouncing in all directions to the point where it actually broke off one of the welds that hold the side floor boards in-place.

Oh, and I'm not a fast, crazy driver!

Much thanks. Was going to head up there next weekend. Appreciate the forewarning.

I drove it north on the Labour day weekend and decided to drive through Lillooet on the way back. It's not bad climbing the hill at 20km/h, but I didn't want to come back down it. Washboard doesn't seem an appropriate term - standing waves is more like it.

Is this road graded every now and then? We did the horseshoe of peaks in the Locomotive group last weekend and honestly I have seen the road far worse.

Time to lower tire pressure.

Does this really work? I've heard that it makes a ride over a bumpy road smoother- but is there a tire expert out there who can comment on whether it shortens tire life or creates a driving hazard.

You need to get Aqua Terra involved in this discussion, that's his area of expertise

I never drive any (OK most) FSR's if its more than 20 minutes, without airing down.
This wont work on low profile tires too well, but if you are running anything SUV or truck with 70 series tall sidewalls or similar, airing down is of huge benefit

The ride quality is improved extremely noticable,as is cabin shake and rattles. Dangerous washboard bounce and sidways drifting is reduced alot.

Suspension components wont be jarred as severe, reducing failures in parts.
Handling and braking is improved but will be somewhat soft and mushy. Puntures are less likely.
More rugged dedicated off road tires can tolerate 12-15 PSI
Anyone here driving a heavy duty SUV or full size truck is punishing themselves on rough dirt roads, if not airing down.

Most tires will perform fine at 18-20 PSI without looking flat and is a good starting point, 25 PSI wont feel much better from the normal 35 to 40 PSI that many are running

Its best not to drive on paved public road on underinflated tires.

Always carry a good spare, as small tire pmp, gauge and a tire repair kit.

Surely some may disagree, but have used this method with hundreds of others over many many years.

Lowering pressure increases comfort, traction and decreases punctures, but also increases fuel consumption and chances of a flat due to rim strike and decreases tire life. Low pressure when you get back on the pavement greatly increases fuel consumption and gives terrible mushy handling, and can be a real hazard for a blow-out or rolling off the rim, so no airing down unless you have a pump to air up once you hit good roads again.

Low tire pressure on pavement is far worse than high pressure on dirt.

As far as it being hazarous, my opinion is no, the vehicle is easier to drive with less distractions and less stress on everything including the driver and passengers.
AS far as tire wear, I cannot comment, but have not noticed anything unusual or accelerated, others say the same.

As mentioned, air up as soon as possible when nearing the paved section, and best not to drive on paved roads.

Thanks for the tips regarding under inflating. I will be going back over the Hurley sometime over the next week and will give it a try!

BTW, the reason I have to make all the trips over the Hurley is to do a regular geotechnical inspection of the Jamie Creek hydroelectric project- which is going well. The road up the west fork is still not passable beyond the intake (which is near the obvious log bridge). Personnel tell me that so far, there have been very few hikers that have gone up the valley beyond the intake. Hazelwood Construction has brushed out the entire Bridge River main road up to Jamie Creek, and also grades the road when required. They have also replaced one of the bridges and are planning to do additional maintenance to keep the road in reasonably good shape. Once the project is finished, the owners will be maintaining the road- but only up to Jamie Creek, of course.

I used to drive a full-size american station wagon over the Hurley. I could go faster than pickup trucks because of the car's reasonable clearance plus soft suspension. Never broke anything on it in 11 years of that sort of use.