Getting decent traction?

[CheapBassTurd]

It was time for tires and picked up some all terrain tires for
the scroungemobile. Needed better low gear action for some
of the stuff I back up to, and hauling rounds uphill in the soft-
floor side forest. It's awesome how the things dig thru all sorts
of mud and goopy leaves, but really messed up the gearing on my
commute. Went with massive compared to stock rear tires and it
was enough to shorten my commute one mile, make the overdrive
kick in and out constantly, toss off the speedo calibration, etc.

Luckily the nose sits too low on the '01 Dakota and after moving a
few loads of rounds for next springs' splitting, the monsters go
up front. Just enough clearance to operate safely. The front stockers
go to the back and the wood scavenging will have to stay roadside.

At least I tried, and will now drive a truck that sits level. LOL
(It just looks WRONG to have tiny tires in giant wheelwells on a p.u. truck.)
Prolly wait till after snow season, and just leave the OD off till March.
Lesson learned. get awesome tires, but keep the stock size! ! !

Do many or most of you self-haulers use 4WD's, or have payloaders dump
a load in for you? This question mainly applies to off road-wood haulers.

PS. Traction is a serious issue here in winter with all the twisty
hilly roads near Lake MI and the ridiculous amount of snow the lake offers.

 

[Tar12]

I run IROK ND on the 97 dodge 4x4 and MUD CLAWS on the 96 Dodge 4x4 as well as a winch. I don't go ultra cheap on tires...a cold winter day with minus windchill broke me of that when I buried my 96...with a full load of white oak stacked up cab high...broke through the frozen ground..this was before the winch(winch was bought next day lol)(good tires following week)...had to unload that wood and use a jack to get get it up out of the ruts...that was a bone chilling experience that will not repeat its self!

 

[maple1]

It was time for tires and picked up some all terrain tires for
the scroungemobile. Needed better low gear action for some
of the stuff I back up to, and hauling rounds uphill in the soft-
floor side forest. It's awesome how the things dig thru all sorts
of mud and goopy leaves, but really messed up the gearing on my
commute. Went with massive compared to stock rear tires and it
was enough to shorten my commute one mile, make the overdrive
kick in and out constantly, toss off the speedo calibration, etc.

Luckily the nose sits too low on the '01 Dakota and after moving a
few loads of rounds for next springs' splitting, the monsters go
up front. Just enough clearance to operate safely. The front stockers
go to the back and the wood scavenging will have to stay roadside.

At least I tried, and will now drive a truck that sits level. LOL
(It just looks WRONG to have tiny tires in giant wheelwells on a p.u. truck.)
Prolly wait till after snow season, and just leave the OD off till March.
Lesson learned. get awesome tires, but keep the stock size! ! !

Do many or most of you self-haulers use 4WD's, or have payloaders dump
a load in for you? This question mainly applies to off road-wood haulers.

PS. Traction is a serious issue here in winter with all the twisty
hilly roads near Lake MI and the ridiculous amount of snow the lake offers.

Bigger wheels on one end than the other? On a 4WD? That's pretty hard on the drivetrain. If you're using 4WD at all.

 

[Ashful]

Bigger wheels on one end than the other? On a 4WD? That's pretty hard on the drivetrain. If you're using 4WD at all.

Pretty hard on the driver, too, if the bigger tires are in back.

 

[maple1]

Well yes, maybe & quite likely. No fun when your back end tries to pass your front - one or the other will end up going sideways.

 

[mike van]

Running different size wheels/tires on a 4wd has been a bad idea like, forever. Even worse today with antilock brakes if so equipped. Your statement about kicking in & out of overdrive should be an eye opener that you did something wrong, You are sure to wreck something $$$$$$$ under that truck, like the transfer case, as you have axles trying to turn at different rates. If it was a 2 wd, you could get away with it,[but not a 2wd with antilock brakes]

 

[firefighterjake]

I went with larger tires on my ATV years ago . . . and rued the decision to do so as I was constantly replacing parts due to the excessive stress. As a result I tend to try to stick with the OEM size tires on my vehicles . . . I might go one size . . . maybe.

Tires are expensive and money was tight earlier this Fall when I needed to replace the tires on my wood hauler/toy hauler. Since I drive the truck into the woods and off-road frequently I went with All Terrain tires both for the added traction and for the thicker ply. Ended up driving to New Hampshire for a set of used General Grabber AT2s (the thicker ply version.)

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Two wheel drive. Different ratios are havoc on a transfer case
from what I understand. Just wanted some meat out back.
Didn't work out as well as hoped.
The stress was higher on the rear with the 235mm tires.
The stock sized new 215's are back on and shifting is normal again.
The odometer is correct again.
No jumping back and forth to and from OD.
These are less aggressive but still M+S rated.
All scavenging stays roadside rather than following power
lines thru the forest cutouts.
maybe I'll get a nice full sized 4WD someday........

 

[Zack R]

I've had good luck with BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's. If you find yourself in a rough spot air down or chain up. For reference these are 285/75/16 (33"). Quiet on the freeway, E load rating, widely available and great in the snow (snowflake rated).

My philosophy on tires... All of the engineering put into suspension, ABS, steering, stability systems etc, comes down to where the rubber meets the road. If you have to skimp on something do it elsewhere.

Just shy of of 300k miles on the old cruiser.

 

[jwfirebird]

the atko's are the best snow all around hauling truck tire you can buy, all I buy. I have to get to work and those tires will plow snow when the drifts are above the hood on the road to work. we get serious drifts when the plows don't go out because they wait till its done. terribly expensive though. I did have a set from treadwright for my old Yukon, same pattern but half the cost, they put walnut shells in it so they are better on ice that the real ones. only down fall is the noise. real bfgs are about as quiet as car tires, the retreads are really loud

 

[velvetfoot]

Not really relevant, but it was amazing to me how little traction I got on our slightly icy, slightly sloped driveway this morning with our pickup with studded tires in 2wd. Put it in 4 wd and no problemo. I'm not a long time truck driver, so hence my amazement, I guess. Considering adding some sand bags in bed.

 

[begreen]

Not really relevant, but it was amazing to me how little traction I got on our slightly icy, slightly sloped driveway this morning with our pickup with studded tires in 2wd. Put it in 4 wd and no problemo. I'm not a long time truck driver, so hence my amazement, I guess. Considering adding some sand bags in bed.

Pickups have poor traction due to the lack of weight over the rear axle, lower gearing and in some cases high powered motors. Good for hauling heavy stuff, but one needs a light foot when it's slippery.

 

[lost in the woods]

hankook dynapro atm. . . best tire for the money

 

[Ashful]

hankook dynapro atm. . . best tire for the money

I just put a set of them on my last truck, a year before selling it. Decent tires, but nowhere near as good as the Toyo M410’s I ran prior to that.

 

[Sodbuster]

Two wheel drive. Different ratios are havoc on a transfer case
from what I understand. Just wanted some meat out back.
Didn't work out as well as hoped.
The stress was higher on the rear with the 235mm tires.
The stock sized new 215's are back on and shifting is normal again.
The odometer is correct again.
No jumping back and forth to and from OD.
These are less aggressive but still M+S rated.
All scavenging stays roadside rather than following power
lines thru the forest cutouts.
maybe I'll get a nice full sized 4WD someday........

If this is the scroungemobile, and the daily driver, I would have gone for easy on, easy off tire chains.

 

[EJP1234]

I've had good luck with BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's. If you find yourself in a rough spot air down or chain up. For reference these are 285/75/16 (33"). Quiet on the freeway, E load rating, widely available and great in the snow (snowflake rated).

My philosophy on tires... All of the engineering put into suspension, ABS, steering, stability systems etc, comes down to where the rubber meets the road. If you have to skimp on something do it elsewhere.

Just shy of of 300k miles on the old cruiser.

View attachment 218282 View attachment 218283

I have run those on all my trucks, best darn tire made in my opinion... I use and abuse them, and I know it, and they just keep on getting on. I put them on my fleet vehicles at work too, amazing tires....

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

I go for off road hauls with our gator. I do typically run it in 4wd low when in the woods. The Maxxis Tires that come stock are perfect for just about any condition. If you can see here, the rear tires are wider than the front ones but have the same diameter and traction pattern.

 

[gabenson]

hankook dynapro atm. . . best tire for the money

I'm thinking of getting these (broken link removed to http://4wheelonline.com/Hankook-Tires.223222) for my F150. How's their handling and road noise? A lot of gravel roads around here so I'm looking for tires that can perform well.

 

[Ashful]

I'm thinking of getting these (broken link removed to http://4wheelonline.com/Hankook-Tires.223222) for my F150. How's their handling and road noise? A lot of gravel roads around here so I'm looking for tires that can perform well.

I put Hankook ATs on my last truck, after my dealer switched from Toyo to Hankook. No issues to complain of. Snow traction and highway might not have been as fantastic as the Toyo M410s I ran previously on the same truck, but we’re comparing a heavier highway tire to a all-terrain, so all things considered they were pretty good.

 

[Sodbuster]

Hankook, sounds American made to me, not.

 

[Ashful]

Hankook, sounds American made to me, not.

That is very small-minded. Pirelli doesn’t sound American either, and it’s not, but they own one of the largest tire manufacturing plants in the US. Same with Yokohama.

Meanwhile, Bridgestone and Continental sound very American, but they’re Japanese and German.

 

[lost in the woods]

i really like my hankookies . my job basically ever since college is to purchase standing timber for the lumber company. . . so yeah I am def. doing a bunch of highway miles AND tons of off-roading to get into these timber tracts. I would recommend the Hankook dnyapro ATM . this is my 2nd set. most of the foresters and logging crews run these tires here in central PA. it seems to be the best tire for off-road that you can get a bunch of highway miles out of also.

 

[xman23]

I've had good luck with BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's. If you find yourself in a rough spot air down or chain up. For reference these are 285/75/16 (33"). Quiet on the freeway, E load rating, widely available and great in the snow (snowflake rated).

My philosophy on tires... All of the engineering put into suspension, ABS, steering, stability systems etc, comes down to where the rubber meets the road. If you have to skimp on something do it elsewhere.

Just shy of of 300k miles on the old cruiser.

View attachment 218282 View attachment 218283

Zack, Real nice country up in Bend OR

 

[T-roy_]

I believe Mastercraft are American made

 

[T-roy_]

Made by cooper....