Winter Wheeling tires

[esi]

take a look at a dean mud terrain SXT. They're not quite a mud  terrain but I've had customers that really like them in most conditions from mud to ice. I've also found that my MTZ's work amazingly in the winter, and grip ice alot better than they should (being a MT). The MTZ`s being run on a ZJ that had a 249 T-case during the winter. Toyo`s work good as well, or possible the toyo M55 if they have the size you`re looking for.

[cLAY]

i love BFG AT's as a ROAD tire.
i hear way more negative reviews of Truxus MT's than any other hyped tire. After much research, it would be a tire i would  never consider running.

What have you read? Gunther swapped out his almost new BFG MTs for these and has been quite happy. I would rate them on the trail as being almost as good as my IROKs but not as good in mud but MUCH better street manners. One other member in our club bought them as well as has been happy with them, his rig sees more street than trail use though. Gunther went with balancing beads on his so if you we 'were reading about them having balancing problems it could be his balancing beads did the trick.

A few years I convinced the boss at work to change over our light truck fleet to BFG ATs due to all the hype I was reading at the time. He still teases me about it. On our trucks, mostly 1/2ton and 3/4tons, they gave poor tread life and were prone to wearing funny, cupping, etc. Also didn't seem that great in the snow. We swtiched out to Nokians, mostly the Vativa's and haven't had any complaints on them. Oh yeah the BFGs would pick up up rocks and chuck them big time. A no-no on an airfield.

[w squared]

Not all BFG AT's are created equal. I've seen a variety in terms of plies / load rating. I've seen an entire fleet of F-350's used for geophysical survey work running BFG AT's. Yes, there were flats....but that's from boneheaded jughounds driving on top of slash piles.

Has anyone tried a studded M/T?

Oh...and ESI...I'm very familiar with the Toyo M55...probably the toughest AT tire that I know of, but I think that they top out at 33's.

[esi]

studded MTs should work good, the MT part should dig through the snow and slush, and the studds should grip ice.

[Spinalguy]

Clay,
the Truxus issues are indeed about balancing. They just do not seem to balance well for most folks. Of course Gun would like them over BFG MT's... as they suck 
As far as the AT's? i have them on my Dodge 2500 and will say they work well in Winter and Summer. i have had weird wear patterns but i think i finally have the psi dialed in. On light vehicles like Jeeps, Pajeros, Toy pick ups, etc they are my favorite.
PS, i am not a fan of IROKs. The tread depth is very weak compared to tires in the same category. They may state a similar depth but when i was on the hunt for a 37ish size tire, i was very skeptical of the visible tread depths of Iroks.
i went with the Toyo MT and never looked back. They will flat out perform the IROK, BFG, Truxus, etc. i have had the pleasure of cleaning obstacles that 'better built' rigs struggled on.

But as with any product, we all have opinions. Heck, i ran GY MTR's for a while and loved them on and off road except in MUD.

[cLAY]

Yes the tread depth on the IROKS is pretty shallow but they still seem to work fine. Even in the mud. I wonder if the shallow depth keeps them getting plugged up. For winter wheeling I haven't seen a tire work so well, they have a fair bit of siping to them and they as ways amaze me at what they'll do. Unfortunately the shallow depth and soft tread compound make them wear out fast.

[Asia]

My TrXus M/Ts work well on rocks, dirt, mud and snow.  They are marginal on icy roads and I drive accordingly.  They did take a fair amount of weight to balance (31" size) and I found that they are quite soft and will cut and lose chunks from the lugs if you climb rocks.  I run a manual tranny and rear auto locker and on icy roads the rear end will easily step out and you countersteer - all part of the fun.  Overall I'm happy with the tires (they are four+ years old now and the tread is becoming shallow) and they were a bargain compared to the other options when I was looking.

[Bnine]

What have you read? Gunther swapped out his almost new BFG MTs for these and has been quite happy. I would rate them on the trail as being almost as good as my IROKs but not as good in mud but MUCH better street manners. One other member in our club bought them as well as has been happy with them, his rig sees more street than trail use though. Gunther went with balancing beads on his so if you we 'were reading about them having balancing problems it could be his balancing beads did the trick.

A few years I convinced the boss at work to change over our light truck fleet to BFG ATs due to all the hype I was reading at the time. He still teases me about it. On our trucks, mostly 1/2ton and 3/4tons, they gave poor tread life and were prone to wearing funny, cupping, etc. Also didn't seem that great in the snow. We swtiched out to Nokians, mostly the Vativa's and haven't had any complaints on them. Oh yeah the BFGs would pick up up rocks and chuck them big time. A no-no on an airfield.

Someone going from BFG MT's to TRxus is not much of a testimonial Clay.

This club easily trashed 10 or 12 Trxus the first season they were out. You will notice none of the frequent weheelers here run them anymore because honestly, they are one of the junkiest radials in production.

Yeah, they have slightly better traction then a bfg MT, but that isnt saying much considering the BFG mt is honestly one of the worst MT's ever built when it comes to offroad traction.

Most quality radials have better traction then a trxus and as an additional bonus can hold a sidewall, and dont need have the rim covered in lead to try and get a balance.

I would recommend just buying 1 set of tires and running them. Toyo would be my first recommendation every time.

My 38 toyos keep up with 42 and 39" irocs all winter long. Irocs are one the most popular hardcore winter wheeling tires around because of their soft compount and extensive tread siping.

You really dont need a dedicated winter tire. A quality tire combined with low pressure will certainly do the trick. Anything needed beyond that you should be chaining up due to safety concerns anyways.

Good luck

[JohnB]

This club easily trashed 10 or 12 Trxus the first season they were out. You will notice none of the frequent weheelers here run them anymore because honestly, they are one of the junkiest radials in production.

IME, that opinion is based on a bad run of those tires that happened for only a few years.   I ran some very early ones (before they could be bought locally) and have never lost a sidewall and have never run with ANY balancing and they run smooth...  I have friends that have bought in the last few years and have had the same experience.  I think this is why you seem to see a real black and whiteopinion of those tires.  Somepeople bought in that "bad" period and think that is still the case.

[esi]

I think that now for what the truxus MTs cost you can get a way better tire for the same price.

[w squared]

Well...lots of interesting viewpoints here. I didn't expect to spark this much of a debate.

Thanks to everyone that contributed and made suggestions!

I've been looking long and hard at Toyo MT's for my "summer" tire for quite a while now, and I think that with what I'm reading here, they'll work well enough for me as a winter tire as well - especially if I get them siped.

I've learned first-hand that siping does make an MT work well enough on ice to keep my happy, and it sounds like the Toyos work just peachy for snow wheeling. I've seen Toyo AT's stand up to obscene levels of abuse in the oilpatch, so I have a lot of faith in the way they make tires.

[WhiteOut]

Good choice.  Theses are going to be my next set as well.  I've run then on site through mud and then on dry road, wet road and ice.  Awesome tire.

[Mudhawg]

i got my winter tires 35x12.5R17 MTZ's for the price i got em for ill make them fit haha

[Bnine]

IME, that opinion is based on a bad run of those tires that happened for only a few years.   I ran some very early ones (before they could be bought locally) and have never lost a sidewall and have never run with ANY balancing and they run smooth...  I have friends that have bought in the last few years and have had the same experience.  I think this is why you seem to see a real black and whiteopinion of those tires.  Somepeople bought in that "bad" period and think that is still the case.

Thats crap.

I've run with people on Trxus recently, and they were still a crap tire. I had a guyon 35's spin out and almost roll trying to climb double this summer.

I've spotted rigs on almost every other tire out there and had them walk that cutline.

The same guy that almost rolled on trxus made the climb last week on boggers, and anyone that knows boggers knows they are a lousy tire for loose climbs and rocks.

I've seen lots of trxus on the trail, and to say I am less then impressed with them is an understatement.

[w squared]

You think this starts debates... try electric versus hydraulic winch!

There's no debate possible on that. Everyone that's ever ventured off the pavement knows that no electric or hydraulic winch could ever surpass the power and speed that youi get from the combination of a "Come-a-long" and hi-lift used as a winch. Just make sure you bring lots of stretchy tow straps with you. They work great with the hi-lift.