Everything about tires

[PlateauNDN]

I love the Cooper STTs'. Had at least 4 sets on 3 different vehicles. Hoping to get the STT Pro's pretty soon. From my own research I've found walmart the cheapest for them at store pickup.

[Special T]

My brother in law probably spends close to half of his time on gravel roads in eastern wa. He was a big fan of BFG all terrains but ended up with a set of general Grabbers and loves them. They are big lugs that are tapered like a pyramid. Lots of traction when new, and seem to last forever for the last 30%. Probably the only tire that has decent puncture resistance in the last 30%of tread but traction isn't that hot.

[Special T]

I want to add that this thread isnt about the best brand to buy. It is about how to buy a tire that fits your needs best. Even the gold standard of logging crew busses the M55 will have impact breaks at a lower tread.  DEEP rubber is your best protection and AIR PRESSURE! TIRES with a higher load/ply rating than the proposed use and weight tend to last longer due to the ability to air up/down according to terrain needs.

I think it's great sharing your experiences on here on this subject.

Another tire that worked really well on shot rock were the surplus military Humvee Tires. My brother and several friends ran them on their personal trucks and got great wear and traction out of them for a "work truck". 16.5 wheels are hard to find and so are the tires at 37" tall they don't fit a lot of peoples needs but they do look damned good on a high boy ford!

[Special T]

Some people run with out a full sized spare.  (for lifted rigs) Many folks have never busted out the OEM lift and lug nut wrench to check them out. This is a mistake.  On my dodge one ton it is not physically possible to break the lug nuts loose with the wrench.the tourqe specs are pretty high and the stock wrenches are horrible. I have used stock ones on past rigs like my Cherokee Subaru, and S10... even on my cousins half ton... with his Passenger rated tires...

[Special T]

Cheap insurance against flats are a plug kit. You can buy them at nearly any auto supply place, Wal-Mart, or harbor freight. They come with 2 tools. A reamer and an applicator. My neighbor came over with a nail in his rider mower tire. Pulled the nail gave a couple of strokes with the greener and pushed in the sticky roap. These work best in the tread of a tire. If you catch your tire hissing quickly enough some times you can throw the plug in before you loose too much air pressure. If it's in the tread you can likely run it for quite a while, however if you run into town a reinforced patch won the inside will make it last longer.

I have not used these in a side wall of a tire myself but have several buddies whom have.  No tire shop will patch a tire with a sidewall hole so it's best to leave it on the rim as a spare unless you trim it up and do a repair your self, and remount it as an emergency spare. (I'll try and find a you tube video later)  I have a full size spare that I patched up for my wheeler.

I normally push as much of the rope as I can into the tire leaving about an inch of tail on the outside of the tire. The air pressure will try and push the rope out, and the tail will get smashed.

[Special T]

Less than $5

[Miles]

Cheap insurance against flats are a plug kit. You can buy them at nearly any auto supply place, Wal-Mart, or harbor freight. They come with 2 tools. A reamer and an applicator. My neighbor came over with a nail in his rider mower tire. Pulled the nail gave a couple of strokes with the greener and pushed in the sticky roap. These work best in the tread of a tire. If you catch your tire hissing quickly enough some times you can throw the plug in before you loose too much air pressure. If it's in the tread you can likely run it for quite a while, however if you run into town a reinforced patch won the inside will make it last longer.

I have not used these in a side wall of a tire myself but have several buddies whom have.  No tire shop will patch a tire with a sidewall hole so it's best to leave it on the rim as a spare unless you trim it up and do a repair your self, and remount it as an emergency spare. (I'll try and find a you tube video later)  I have a full size spare that I patched up for my wheeler.

I normally push as much of the rope as I can into the tire leaving about an inch of tail on the outside of the tire. The air pressure will try and push the rope out, and the tail will get smashed.

 

I have one kit in every vehicle.   Once you've had enough flats, carrying a plug kit and a small 12v air compressor is almost a requirement.  Beats the hell out of walking miles down a dirt road looking for help. 

[Special T]

I wouldn't want to use it all the time but harbor freight has a $10 &$35 12v air pump

[Bofire]

I really liked the M55's on my truck, really good in snow, mud gravel. BUT when they got worn they were bad on wet pavement or compact snow ice. I think because they are so hard.
Carl

[Special T]

It's of edges are necessary for good traction on wet pavement, compact snow and ice. Many off-road tires have small relief cuts in the big blocks of tread that disappear after 50% or so. Some people are a fan of syping  for this reason. Issue is you want the cuts for enough to last but too deep they will chip off in rock.

[SniperDanWA]

I'll play along.   I pull an older (1962) travel trailer, dry weight 4,4xx.  By the time I add water supplies, etc., close to 6k.  I also pull a 4x12' utility that I run no more than 2k, if possible.

My first Suburban (95) needed tires when I bought it.  I put a Finnish tire on it from Nokian.  I think it was called Vulcan.  I loved the Finnish tire, but they stopped making it about 6 years ago.  Anyway, I only know tires tires by standard sizes.  285.75r16E was the size.  I got nearly 80k on the set before I had to replace.  Great wear for a 4x4 that spent most of its time on concrete and asphalt.  Not too aggressive in terms of tread, but great traction in snow and mud, with excellent clean out.  I spent a lot of time in the Umtanum and Manastash with that rig.  I've only hunted modern fire, so often snow, mud, etc. 

I moved those tires from one Suburban to another Suburban (00) when I blew my tranny near Moses Lake on my way to a funeral in CO.  I was pulling my TT at the time.  The new Suburban took to them great.  Smooth ride, no wiggle with the trailer and distributed weight great.  They were quiet until the last 10k in miles and then got pretty loud on concrete, but were still okay on asphalt (loud, but tolerable). 

Since I could not get the Nokian Vulcan again, I switched to Goodyear Duratrac 275.75r16E.  I loved their look, feel and grip, but they were very noisy as the traction of the tire wore down.  Both of tire brands and types held the trailers well and performed great in mountain, off road, mud, sand, dirt, gravel, rain, and snow.  Unfortunately, I sold my Suburban and I still had over 50% tread on the Duratracs, but they wouldn't fit my pickup.

That said, I also have an F-150 4x4, 2000.  I had BF all season 275.75r17C on it.  Squirrely at times.  I bought it with those and they wore well, but I want an E range and more tree.  I just put on 275.70r17E KO2 BF Goodrich on.  I bought them in Bozeman when dropping off the daughter at MSU.  So far, great tires.  I'm curious what @whackmaster ran into, as I want to see if that happens with mine.  Anyway, great weight handling, so far.  No side to side shifting when pulling, not very loud, but noticeable.  I've only got 4K of miles on them, but no noticeable issues.  I am taking the truck in for new torsion bars up front and alignment.  I know it's needed.

What did/am I missing Special T?

[Naches Sportsman]

Does anyone run cooper discoverer at 3's on their rigs? I have them on the work rig and I like them, but am curious to how many miles people have put on theirs.

Currently have cheaper Schwab at''s on my Toyota that need replaced when I am laid off for the season and am thinking leaning towards the at 3.

[Special T]

First off I'm a HUGE Nokian Fan! I had a set of Hakkapeleta snow tires for my Bratt with hardend core studs from the factory and was able to get them before the anti stud Nazis  made them illegal.

Wander side inside can happen for 2 reasons. Tire load rating differences... and ruts in the freeway. The I5 section in Marrysville had really bad ruts. Narrow aggressive tires accentuated this.. I have a buddy that works for a tire shop that constantly has people complaining about handling but fail to take into account the actual surface they are driving on.

You went from BFG all terrains to mud tires  so they should be louder...

[Dan-o]

TIRE FINDING CHALLENGE:      I need 1 Falken Wildpeak AT2.

SIZE:   285 75 16

It has to be an AT2.   The AT3 is nothing like the AT2.

They aren't being made anymore.

I will readily admit that anyone who can locate one is a better man than me, and I will buy you a cheeseburger!

[Special T]

TIRE FINDING CHALLENGE:      I need 1 Falken Wildpeak AT2.

Just buy 2 new at3 and call it close with a spare... your on a snipe hunt.
SIZE:   285 75 16

It has to be an AT2.   The AT3 is nothing like the AT2.

They aren't being made anymore.

I will readily admit that anyone who can locate one is a better man than me, and I will buy you a cheeseburger!