mud tires in sand

[FDNYMOPARGUY]

Almost time to reshod the truck. I was thinking of going with mudders, but am concerned how they would perform in sand - particularly when pulling my camper on the beach. Anyone out there with some comments? I was thinking of going with either BFGoodrich or Dunlops. Thanks.

 

[911RAM]

Mudders are terrible in the sand,and really bad since these trucks are so heavy,unless you are running 38 inch x14. 50 wide good luck

 

[JDinterman]

Mud tires are fine you just have to let more air out before driving on the sand I had goodyear mtr's on mine and it was fine.

 

[Rman]

We've found that those worthless Interco Thornbirds actually peform OK in the sand. Other than that though those tires are completely useless. Worst tire out there in my opinion. If you take a lot of the air out mud tires can do well in the sand, wider is better, but wider has its disadvantages elesewhere. It's all a big tradeoff.

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Ran my truck out at the race point (Provincetown Dunes) at the cape with mine. I aired down the fronts and a lil bit in the rear duals (They provided enough floatation by themselves) and the truck handled just fine. Going again in the REAL soft stuff created some chassis flex but nothing terrible.

 

[mbaston]

Mud tires "dig" more. Usually, in soft sand, you want something with more flotation. Airing down will help. Do you really need mud tires? I don't care for them on a street rig but run them on my 80% off road jeep because it spends most of its time in mud or snow.

 

[PRout]

I love my Dunlop muds. Have been in pretty good sand and never had to air down, even with the heavy truck. What you need in sand is enough torque to keep them turning in the heavy stuff without spinning too fast and digging in. We have the perfect motor for that.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

On the dunes all terrains work the best. Mud tires work ok but not as good. Shortshift - if you aren't having to air down then you aren't on much sand. Hit real dunes and I guarantee you'll have to air down! There's a sign at the entrance to the dunes here in Michigan that says max tire inflation 15 psi. Lots of newbies don't air down and get stuck within the first few hundred feet of the entrance road.

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

You guys back east don't even know what real dunes even look like. Heck most of you haven't even seen a real mountain. In the dunes you can run any tire you want. Big dunes like Glamis and dumont suck the live out of any car or truck. I have seen 4 guys in a 55 Chevy and 10 psi in there tires go anywhere. Were they running MT's? AT's? dont think so. I have run BFG 35/12. 50 MT's on the biggest dunes in the west. Dumont has dunes over 40 stories tall. I climbed to the top and over the other side with 25 psi in my tires. MUD TERRAINS!!!!! They work the best, hands down in the desert, dirt, sand, rocks, mud, snow... That is what they are built for. If you want 50,000 miles of trouble free tread wear, go for the AT's. They work great in the sand too. Just let out your air and you will be fine. I have had my AT's down to 5 psi and drove around all day anywhere I wanted. It is all about what you like the best.



Greg

 

[jkern]

i would think that mud terriams would work great in the sand because of the basic paddle type design of the mud type tire. i have run my cooper MT in sand at about 20 psi with no problem. the biggest problem the we have is the truck is just too heavy for good sand running unless you have a tire that is about 2 feet wide!!!!

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I've lived out west Greg and I've been to Pismo and Glamis. We do have "real" dunes here in MI. Granted they aren't as big as Pismo and Glamis acreage wise and we don't have the bowls you do, but they are a lot bigger than most people think. We do have a number of climbs that are freefall steep (not sure how to word it, but where the sand is as steep as it can get because of gravity). Here's a picture of test hill which approximately a 1/4 mile from the base of the climb to the top (this picture is taken from about a 1/2 mile away):



#ad




jkern - our trucks do great on the sand as long as you have enough power and air them down low enough. I run 18 psi in the fronts and 12 psi in the rears at the dunes. Here's John West and I at the top of test hill:



#ad




My comparison of mud tire versus all terrain tire comes from my last truck. I had 31x10. 5's on a GMC Sonoma. I had mud terrains that I ran in the winter and all terrains that I ran in the summer. I tried both sets of tires at the dunes back to back on the same day and the all terrains performed better. JMHO

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

Wow,

I guess We need a smiley of a guy with a foot in his mouth. That hill looks great. I need to go to the east. Looks like fun... .

 

[bighammer]

I'm sort of curious to see what my 315 BFG's will do in sand.



(Maybe Sleeping Bear one night..... hehe )

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

Big Hammer,

I will let you know tomorrow.

 

[PRout]

QUOTE]Originally posted by Steve St. Laurent

On the dunes all terrains work the best. Mud tires work ok but not as good. Shortshift - if you aren't having to air down then you aren't on much sand. Hit real dunes and I guarantee you'll have to air down! There's a sign at the entrance to the dunes here in Michigan that says max tire inflation 15 psi. Lots of newbies don't air down and get stuck within the first few hundred feet of the entrance road. [/QUOTE]



Steve,



I've been going to Glamis sand dunes in So. Cal for over 20 years. Raced MX for over 15. Had a mud truck, pulled toyotas out of Azusa canyon when some were bogged down to the floorboard, and had water to the drivers seat. No biggie, just like others here. Dont enjoy tooting my own horn, but establishing some experience. I am familiar with sand.



I have run A/T tires on this truck for 60k miles (BFG of course), and now have Mud tires (Dunlops), for 42 k miles. Had gumbo monster mudders on a previous truck.



Have been to glamis numerous times w/ this truck, also my property in Az.



Now the point:



The A/T's were slightly better in sand due to they dont sink in as easy. The Muds do tend to sink in easier, but with enough torque to keep them spinning slightly faster than your speed, they dont sink that bad.



The loss in the sand is far outweighed by most other types of terrains, where the muds will eat up the A/T's in soupy mud, climbing hard pack desert terrain, loamy dirt, snow, and some say ice (I cant say there). Also, the muds, dont fling rocks all over your truck like the A/T's do, and I have found in the rain, that my A/T's were no better than the muds on the street, in fact, the muds seem to be better in rain, and they track better over the rain grooves on the freeway better than the A/T's did.



Bottom line is the question was about comparing the 2 tire types w/ an emphasis on sand. My response is the Muds are not a slouch in sand, and much better overall than A/T's IMO.



Which tires are on hummers in the desert sands of Iraq? I believe they are may be Michelins, but they are aggressive like muds, not A/Ts.

 

[juicedcummins]

Mud terrains are Way to aggressive for real sand. They dig straight down on the first spin of a wheel in sand and silt. The best ticket are the all terrains aired down and the bigger the better.

 

[FDNYMOPARGUY]

Great responses everyone, keep 'em coming. To comment on this debate, I will say that with 285/75R16 BFGoodrich AT's, I've never been stuck in the sand, pulling my 7000 lb. TT or otherwise. I go out to the ocean beaches on Long Island NY and the sand there is very soft. I have, however, been stuck in mud with AT's. On dry and wet pavement they are great. Treadwear is great too, more than 50% left with 24000 miles on this set. I find snow traction to be marginal - unless i'm in 4wd. The same applies to grassy areas. Has anyone towed with mud tires? Both on and off road?

 

[Bob4x4]

"Which tires are on hummers in the desert sands of Iraq? I believe they are may be Michelins"

Hummers run on GoodyearsThey work very well in the sand,but the hummers don't have the power to have fun in the sand. Just cruisen'



Greg,I've had my 315 BFG's at Glamis many times... they don't do as well as my old D/C 18. 5x40s Fun Countrys. They will get you any where you have the guts to try if your willing to bury that pyro



Bob

 

[PRout]

Originally posted by FDNYMOPARGUY

Has anyone towed with mud tires? Both on and off road?

Yes, but...



If you do alot of towing, I'd consider the A/T's instead mostly due to heat. I tow a fifth wheel, but am concerned about the tires getting hot in the summer. I make sure they are at 65psi, so they arent flexing and heating up as much, and check them regularly. Have not had any problem, and they dont run all that hot, but not the optimum setup.



Its been awhile, but I think both the BFG A/T's & the Dunlop Mud Rovers had about the same weight rating of about 3300 lbs per tire (285/75r16). You should double check the ratings though.