Real differentials can make even crappy tires hook up.

A selectable locker or automatic locker can be nearly miraculous.

 

Naw I disagree. Just like Megaengr I've several several times pulled up to camp pulling a 14K toyhauler after 200, 300, 400 miles driving at 10pm or 1am etc. I've pulled through a creek, up steep beatup hills so sandy 2wd trucks were getting stuck unloaded, and through lots of mud.
These offroad campsites may be different around here (mud riding) but I bet the trails to the campsites get tore up just the same with RV's and travel trailers.


Plus trying to get rental equipment returned by 5 and hauling a loaded trailer off a jobsite in a hurry. Or getting to a site at 5am after a rain to load and move a trailer or equipment. No time to mess around, gotta keep my guys working, gotta make money, gotta get home by dinner time.


Yeah, mud tires for the win. The cost is minimal to me every 18-24 months. If I get stuck I can at least say I've done everything I could . This truck gets used, no bedliner, no fufu.

 

Oh I posted a stock photo of terra grapplers. here is one of my truck:





These were my old Hankook M/T and a toyhauler in tow.


And one junker I haul.

 

Are those the Terra's or All Terain MT's and the 285/75? They look sweet. Wish you had a side photo too. I looked at the All Terrain MT's and they're like almost $400 in the 285/75... The 285/70 seem much less in the low $300's, and way more common. Seems like a lot of 295/70 out there too for the same low $300. I'd be willing to spend the $ for the performance and if I can keep em from dry rotting and then they should last forever .

 

Nice looking tires, as for "the bed liner" that's what gets sprayed in when you are done "using" the truck and it's time to sell.

 

Spray paint the trailer hitch and..... bondo and bedliner . She is brand new man

 

Sorry, don't know why I said terra grappler. These are Trail Grappler M/Ts.





These are 35x12.50x17 with a 2 inch front and 1.25 rear lift.


Don't know how long they will last but Michelins that come stock dry rot almost immediately.... So I'd imagine much longer than michelins.

 

If I used the truck only to tow with I'd go no bigger than 285/75 unless I had 4.10 gears.

 

Nice!

 

I agree with Red neck.

I have a dually and things are completely different so all I can say is when I had my 02 single rear. I had an electric locker in the front, air locker in the rear, twins, 35" all terrains for summer and 35" mud terrains for winter with studs and siping.
I had on board air and that truck was set up just like my new one except for the lockers. It had the same winch.

Here is what I would do.

1) 35" tires if you have 4.10s, 33" tires if you have 3.73's.

2) Goodyear duratracs is what I would run. Seen first hand how good they run on the hiway and off. I liked them so much I bought (6) 265 tires for my dually.

Do you go out in sand or mud? If sand, first thing I would do when you get there is to deflate your tires. They make some that auto deflate to a certain psi. This may be a PIA, but how bad is it to get yourself out. This works big time. If you set your truck up, doesnt take long to refill. Plus your friends wont give you any grief. That is the #1 thing to do in the sand. PERIOD!

If mud, air down but not as much. Also, chains take 5 mins to put on the rear max. These will work better than any mud tire. Except boggers. This way you can run an all terrrain for street manners, and then chain up when you go off road and will have the best of both worlds.

Lockers? Maybe, but they really only help if you are articulating alot. Once you spin a tire and sink it down a little, only thing a locker would do is sink down both tires. You have plenty of weight on the rear so no traction issues. I have run them, and I have them on another truck. You aint rock crawling with this thing so...

Even though you dont want to air down or put chains on, that is the cheapest, fastest, best thing you can do. You are pulling a trailer off road.

I take camper off road as well and have set my truck up to do exactly what you do as well. If I do get stuck, I do have a winch just in case I am by myself.

 

Busboy,

I have the same problem...been stuck a couple of times that I thought I shouldn't have been. I have never even looked at chains before...what kind do you recommend? Sounds like an easy fix to me.

Mike

 

We installed the tires I mentioned on my sons truck a few days ago and he's super impressed with them on snow and ice so far.
http://www.multimiletires.com/tires/...ication=SUV-LT
As for chains we have been using a "vee bar" chain, $99 a pair from a wholesaler. I don't use them very often and have never broken a chain but my son runs them a lot mostly pulling work trailers and he has broken a lot of cross chains usually from spinning the wheels. The last time he broke 2 cross chains when he was stuck with a 24,000lb gooseneck loaded with a piece of heavy equipment, unfortunately he ripped the rear brake line off and lost his brake fluid.

I have been doing some research and because of what was recommended by Beast2B in this thread https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...s-t299658.html we have decided to go with a square link cross chain. Pewag http://pewagchain.com/Products/Snow-...uare-link.aspx seem to be the best but there is no one that still carries them in my city so we will continue to use the vee bar until we make a trip to the US this summer. Because you live in the US I would recommend the Pewag square link. What ever chain you buy you must pre fit them to your truck and cut off any excess links from the side chains so they don't flail around. We also use 2 all weather 15 inch rubber bungees on the out side of each wheel to keep the chains taught.

One other thing to mention is you don't have to move the truck to put the chains on, just lay them on top of the tire so the first and last cross chain is at the front and rear of the tire at the ground, hook the rear side chain then couple the front and do up the tensioners.

 

bus boy you should give these guys a call. if they dont have what you want they may be able to order it in for you. they are out in nisku but they specialize in rigging systems.

here is a link to the tire chain section of their online catalog.
http://superslings.ca/LinkClick.aspx...g%3d&tabid=102

 

I actually buy my ratchet binders gr70 chain and specialty clevises from those guys but I never thought of tire chains. I talked to the old Pewag supplier here and he is still the supplier but only carries semi truck tire and big equipment tire chains now, he said there wasn't the demand for light truck but he didn't know of anyone else carrying them. He said they have a place in Calgary and I have to make a trip there next month but not sure if I will have time to get to them. I will check out supersling though, thanks.

 

My two cents- a set of good off-road tires, good driving skills, and know your terrain. I have worked on construction my whole life, and in the blue ridge mountains, and wouldn't consider putting chains on my truck to get around. Sure they work, but they are inconvenient, and if they break, they tear stuff up.