ALT-4 Buyers Guide to off Road Truck Tires
Selecting the right tires for your off-road vehicle is one of the most important decisions you can make concerning the drivability and trail handling abilities of your rig. The first factor in determining the right tire is how you will use your vehicle. Will it be a highly-modified trail-only rig, or a daily driver that may only see trail duty on weekends?
Once you decide how you will use your vehicle, the next step is to figure out what type of terrain you'll be using it on most. There are different tires for mud, sand, rock-crawling, and just general trail use. After that, you need to consider how big you want to go, not just tire size, but wheel size as well. You may want to ask around 4x4 shops and tire shops to see what works best for your rig, most will be able to relay their or others experience with a particular setup. Some options require suspension lifts, body lifts, trimming of body panels, or even more.
Once you have decided on your perfect setup, there are usually many tire options available. Let's say you have decided that you want to put a set of 31-inch tires on your daily-driver that will only see trail duty on weekends, and you want to keep your stock rims. You will want to have a set of all-terrain tires that aren't too soft and don't produce too much road noise. Most shops will have many tire that fit this bill, from very expensive down to a no-name budget tire. I'll go over some of the common setups that work well for different situations.
For daily-driver vehicles, I suggest staying close to a stock tire size with a fairly mild tread pattern. On most 4x4s a 31x10.50r15 will do the trick. This will provide a good ride, good drivability, and fairly low tire noise for highway driving, while not requiring a lift on most setups. You can also avoid having to upgrade your drive-train, as the stresses will not be much different. The best tires for this setup are BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO or Goodyear Wrangler, both of which are reasonably priced and provide decent performance for both on- and off-road driving.
For a rig that will be used in mud or mild rock-crawling, with a little street use, as in driving to and from the trail, a larger and more aggressive tire will usually be required, probably a 33" or larger mud-terrain or rock-crawling specific tire, depending on which you'll encounter most often. Mud tires can handle rock crawling well, so if you plan on encountering mud, they may be the better choice. Tires this big will require a suspension lift or a body lift on all but the biggest vehicles, and may require body trimming and wheels with a different offset to prevent rubbing while turning. The vehicle will also require new gearing to cope with the change in effective ratio to keep the engine in its power band. Depending on how strong the factory axles are, you may also need to upgrade them as well, same with the transmission. You can easily find this information by asking around local 4x4 shops and other people that 4-wheel in similar vehicles to yours. Tires for this situation include the BF Goodrich Krawler T/A KX for rocks, the BF Goodrich Mud Terrain KM for mud, and the Pro Comp XTerrain. All three are good for both street and trail use, while handling mud and rocks well. These offer a good compromise between drivability and trail-handling ability.
For a full-blown custom trail rig, you don't have to compromise between street-ability and trail-handling, so there are many more options, including non-DOT-approved tires. In this situation, the only limit is your budget, as many modifications are required to take advantage of larger tires without causing serious damages to the vehicle. Some of the options include:
Super Swamper Irok - Excellent for general trail use, mud, sand, and mild rock crawling, but for more aggressive rock crawling, you should choose a different tire.
BF Goodrich Baja T/A - Considered a race-only tire, but work well for sand and rock-crawling as well, and have 4-ply sidewalls to resist tearing while aired down.
Dick Cepek F-C Kevlar - Features a polyester and Kevlar bias-belted design. Very strong tire, fine for mild mud use, but excels in the sand and rocks, while not too aggressive for the street. These tires are limited to 36x16.50 and 38x15.50 sizes in 15- and 16.5-inch wheels.
Mickey Thompson Baja Claw - This is one of the toughest tires available. The polyester and fiberglass bias-belted design puts up to six plies in the sidewall, and the tread wraps most of the way around the tire, offering traction and extra protection at any angle. These tires are great for rock-crawling, and can put up with most anything you can throw at them.
Super Swamper Bogger - Another very strong tire, these are excellent for mud and sand, but it's rather hard composition and lack of siping provide poor traction on smooth rock. On jagged rock and on ledges, the big, wide lugs of the Bogger act like hands to grab and pull your vehicle up and over.
There are many other options available, including much lower-priced tires. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for in tires like these, lower priced tires offer lower performance, high-wear, and are more prone to damage than better built tires. You don't want to be stranded in the middle of an off-road trail with a hole in your sidewall, or have to replace your tires every few trips.
As with most things in this hobby, the only limits are your imagination and budget. Before selecting your tires, decide what you're willing to put into the vehicle and ask around to see what works well for others that have similar setups and use the same trails as you. You don't want to spend a lot of money just to find out that you can't do what you want with your rig.
