Tires for single wheel trucks?

[GOOSE]

The Toyo M55's are a big tire sized down to 16" just as Calvin stated about the M700HD's. Very good tire used by logging companies in the pacific north west.

 

[7.3 man]

I think thats what I might go with but our terrain has me concerned if they'll hold up to mud and a trailer towed behind the truck.

 

[fields_mj]

My experience doesn't apply much to what you're after, but here's my 2 bits anyway. My truck had 12.5x33s on it when I bought it. The PO lived outside of Jacksonville FL at the end of a dirt (sand) road. I presume this tire set up worked well for him because it helped him stay on top of the sand when it rained/flooded which happened to him often. When I got the truck up to Indiana and got it out on the farm cutting firewood, I quickly found that those 12.5 tires sucked. Now, in all fairness, they were pretty worn when I got them. Having said that, regardless whether the truck was empty or loaded with 5K of oak, when the ground got a little soft they wouldn't sink down and get a bite. Instead they would slide on top and dig a hole until I had both axles on the ground. I lost the front Diff that winter, and as a 2wd they REALLY SUCKED! I went back to factory spec tires and had the front diff fixed, and I've noticed a big difference. I'm currently running Michilan A/T on the front, and they've done well all things considered. They do well on the road, and not bad off road. I've used Generall Grabber A/T on the rear, and they were good when new but wore out quick and weren't worth a hoot the last half of their life. They were pretty noisy though, but I didn't mind even though the truck is my daily driver.

I've currently still got the Michilans on the front but they need replaced and only because my ball joints wore out and have trashed the outside of the driver side tire. I'll rotate them and keep going until fall, then maybe set them back for next summer to get some more use out of them before changing them out. I've got the Grabbers on another pair of rims in the garage where they've been sitting since last fall for the same reason. I need to get them back on and get some more life out of them as well. I can't remember what I have on the back right now, but they are BFG/Bridgestone ATs of some kind. They've done well for me this past winter and I need to get them off and save them for next fall/winter.

What I've noticed with my truck is that when it comes to getting stuck the best way to avoid it is to avoid slipping a tire at all. This has held true with every truck I've owned both 2wd and 4X4, but especially with this truck. It's heavy enough on its own that once it slips a tire it digs a hole fast and there's rarely an oportunity to "rock" it out. Only once have I been able to do that and that was because I dropped one wheel into a hole with the truck in 2wd and a load of firewood on the back. Had to empty the load and lock the hubs in and I was able to rock it out, but I still left some pretty nasty ruts. Every other time it has required a tractor, or at least several hours of digging and jacking to get at least one axil up off the ground. So if you're going to be off road much, and especially if your pulling trailers on questionable terrain, I would opt for the most aggressive tread available and be willing to sacrifice road noise, corning, fuel milage, and ride quality for it. Since my truck is my dialy driver, I try to find some middle ground for a tire, and I'm overly cautious about the ground conditions BEFORE I go in.

Just my 2 bits,
Mark

 

[riotwarrior]

***** Oh how I yesterday...

Its been raining here hard. As some know the landlord pulled all the trees in one section of Orchard and then prepped for planting by drilling in holes oh 16" or so in diameter....

several holes got filled as he changed his mind on the location. I filled those holes. I backed up my truck and sunk a tyre down a bit in one of those holes. As luck would have it my lil wood deck and a spare tyre do not enough weight make for traction WHAT SO EVER.

Locked hubs and stuck truck in 4x, Oh look I'm stuck...wheel in HOLE NOT GOOD! just dug it down DOH

Ok rock a bit and get out after a few attempts, NOTE...INSTALL LOCKERS SOON! anyway my tyres dig in and did the best they could for traction in the mud and it's slick stuff. It was that damn hole that got me bogged down. Now had I had my "BRICK" for weight the truck would have been unstoppable.

I was pleased with my tyres yet again.

The M55's would IMHO be fine for trailering and mud. These are a very HD Robust tyre used locally by logging companies and such. As a matter of fact my truck when I got it had 4 on it that where recapped, so they are tough carcass too.

Once I got out of that hole, I had no more issues....now I stay away from that hole!

Al

 

[7.3 man]

I think I'll get a mud terrain tire then

 

[GOOSE]

I know there are many people that see a large tire as an unnecessary excess. I have ran 3 different sets of tires on my truck. 305-70-16 Nitro Terra Grapplers, 235-85-16 Toyo M55's, and my latest 285-75-16 Cooper Discoverer AT3's. The Nitto's were ok, the width hit the front leaves preventing full turning abilities and they wore quick. I put the Toyo's back on hoping for mileage, logging little difference in mileage even after calculating for the size difference. The Coopers immediately gave me a better ride quality over the Toyo's. Now learn this, a larger tire has more surface area to disperse weight upon so the can hold more weight with less pressure and the sidewall ratings prove that to be correct. The Coopers at 65psi hold more weight than the Toyo's at 90psi, they ride much better on the road and off, and allow full turning over the Nitto's that did not.

I personally think that 235's and 265's look like donuts on a one ton 4x4. 285's are a minimum for me from an '83 f250 all the way through the superduty era. I do understand that tires are a personal preference thing and there are many different needs for a tire to fulfill. Small tires however, aren't always better. My next set hopefully will be Toyo M55's in the 285-75-16 size. Good luck with your searching and selection, hope some info here is helpful.

 

[tanman_2006]

I have 33x12.5 R20 mickey T ATZ's on my dmax and absolutely love them. 22K on them towing, mudding, a couple races, and mudding with a trailer I have over 50% tread I'd guess. Gravel roads will eat a BFG AT for lunch if they dont take the paint off the rocker panels first.

I run Treadwright Guard dog 285/75 R16's on my 95 6.5L and they are good. Not many miles yet but I have high expectations.

 

[88beast]

my 2 cents pepboys definity dakotas take a beating for mt tires. when i had mine i was overloaded more times than i should admit and they wore and held up great.

now i have goodyear silent armor ats. they ride so much nicer but i have not had them offroad yet but they should work good with a agressive lug for an at