Off Roading How many miles on Swampers?

[HillCountrykid]

I have been looking for a mud tire with high load ratings, and came across the Super Swamper Radial 33/12. 50/16. 5 that has a 3525lb@65psi rating. Now I know these tires don't get very good wear, but how bad is it on these heavy trucks? And how bad do they ride and handle? Being that it's one of the smaller sizes I don't suspect balancing and other issues of that nature should be much of a concern, but I'm not positive.



I quess to sum it up, will I be able to tow with these (hay/livestock trailers mostly) and will they last at least 20,000 miles? Thanks in advance.



Brian

 

[bmoeller]

I have no personal experiance with them, but from off road mags, everyone seems to say to watch the PSI. If it's not right they don't wear well.

 

[HillCountrykid]

I'm a pressure watching freak . Once I figure out what psi to run, I check it every couple weeks. I also rotate every 5000, so that part will take no getting used to.



I know these would take some sacrificing, but I'm tryin to find out if it's going to take too much.

 

[GotDodge]

I've had SSR swampers since the truck was new. The first set was 35x12. 5x16 8ply. I got 36736 miles out of them. My next set 37x12. 5x16 10ply. I have 40823 miles on them write now and Im almost to the where bars. The trick is air pressure.

 

[HillCountrykid]

Thanks, that's a little reassuring. I figure that I need to get 25k out of these to make it worth while. Looks like they might do it.

 

[RO'neal]

The way mine are riding I hope I don't get that many miles out of them. I doubt I will ever buy another set of Swampers after these. I've had two sets of 40x17 Ground Hawgs (bias). I got 50k out of the first set and I'm still on working on the second. But I wanted a radial for the Cummins because it's my daily driver so I went with the 38x15. 50 SSR's... mistake. My GH's on their worst day ride better than these things. I'm going to add some more equal to them this week and see if it helps.



I talked to alot of guys before I made the purchase and heard nothing but praise. BUT they are all running smaller sizes, even the 37's are only 12. 5" wide. I couldn't find any info on the 38x15. 50's. Also, I tried to call Swamper to aske them a question about them and they wouldn't even let me speak because I didn't buy the tires directly from them. They told me I had to call the place where I purchased the tires and they could in turn call Swamper...

 

[Kalaehina]

HCK, I ran those exact tires 33x12. 5x16. 5 Swamper SSRs 10 ply, on 16. 5x9. 75, for 2 months, I took them off because I couldn't get them balanced right, tried 2 places then gave up. It shook the gearshift to the point I thought it was going to snap right off, switched to 33 inch Bridgestone Duelers A/Ts, much better. Too bad you're so far away, I tried selling my four for $400, 2 months used, but I guess there's not too many 16. 5 rim guys, mostly 16s, I paid $211 for one , now I'm just trying to get rid of them.

 

[fj40charles]

Super Swampers are not known for their mileage. I would expect to see someone get 20K to 30K if they're real aggressive about rotating the tires. I use Super Swampers on my offroad Land Cruiser (TSL Radials, TSL SX, and TSL). They don't balance well and the quality control can be somewhat questionable. If you were to buy 4 tires and need to find 1 replacement, there is a good chance it will not be the same dimension... This happened on a guy running some 42" swampers.



Tire balancing is not an issue on my offroad rig because I use beadlock rims and won't be going too fast on the road.

 

[HillCountrykid]

Thanks guys. I have never been too convinced about the Swampers for road use, but I'm having a hard time finding a mud tire in a 33/12. 50 size in any wheel diameter. Does anybody know of any rated at or over 3200 lbs. ? I may have to step down to the 285/75/16 size, as BFG MT and Goodyear MT/R have these sizes rated at 3195 and 3305. Thanks again.



Brian

 

[Dsul]

Have you thought about a 305/70R16? That's about exactly the same size as a 33x12. 5. I've got a set of 305 Maxxis Buckshot Mudders on mine. With about 5000 miles, I haven't noticed any abnormal wear. BTW, they are 8 ply, it's tough to find a 10 ply in the 305's. Have a good one, andy

 

[HillCountrykid]

Dsul, check the first post with my sig. I'm running that size, but they don't have a high enough rating, and are squirmy under load.

 

[Dsul]

Oops, I guess I should have read more in depth on the post. BTW, I tried the Swamper Trxus STS in the 33's. They made it about 12000-13000 miles before they were shot. I rotated at least 3-4 times while I had them. I should state that I had the bias ply's, maybe the radials would do better. andy

 

[HillCountrykid]

I'm leaning away from the Swampers now. I knew that their quality control and tolerances were'nt the best, but did'nt realize they were that bad. Oh well, the search continues.

 

[GSaltzman]

I have run many sets of superswampers on various 4x4's. I always had good luck with them but you must pay strict attention to air pressure. When I put a set on my 97 1/2 ton dodge I could not believe the problems I had. They were the 32x11. 50x16 sx's. I threw a lug when they were new and after that I could never get them balanced. Felt like my windows were going to pop out. I was really dissapointed because of the good results I had previously had. Took them off and bought a set of Goodyear MT/R's. I had 38,000 miles on them when I traded for my 03 Cummins. Since then I have put on a set of MT/R's. I put the 305's on and so far I really like them on this truck. The ride is very good for a mud tire and they are not very noisy. I still think the swamper is the best pulling mud tire but they just don't go well with asphalt.

 

[GSaltzman]

I should have mentioned that a friend of mine is running some 35" trxus superswampers on his F250 powerstroke. He had 30,000 miles on them last time we talked and he really liked them. I thought hard on trying them but could not get the bad taste out of my mouth from the problems I had with the sx's.

 

[fj40charles]

You definitely do NOT want to get SX's for the street. They are a bias ply and develop flat spots on the tire until it warms up. I'd recommend a radial tire for the street. SX's are great for the trail since they have very very durable sidewall. MTR's are great tires and are better than any BFG tires for street/light trail use. But again, BFG's and MTR's both have weak sidewall and is easily torn when taken offroad.

 

[tk064]

There was a thread on another forum which was speaking very highly of the yokohama geolander MT in the smaller sizes that you are speaking of. They were putting them on small fire brush trucks when doing diesel conversions. I don't remember what brand they were using for the over 40" sizes.



Allegedly balance great and are very true.

 

[HillCountrykid]

I have looked at those, but their load rating is too low @ 2755 lbs. and the directional tread limits the way you can rotate. Thanks for the help though.