6-Ply Jeep Tires

[PTJeep]

Hello to all of you iRV2 Jeep drivers,

I am going to be looking for new tires for my Jeep toad in 6 to 12 months, and Although I tow my Jeep a lot, I still get off road with her as well, I want to get 6-Ply's next time around because of their added toughness. I have standard Goodyear Wrangler SR-A's right now but I want ones that arent going to be horrendously loud when we are driving on pavement, but tough when we are out doing trails and climbing small to moderate rocks as well, I've had some tire dealers tell me that a lot of the trail tires dont do well when being towed behind the coach. So is it possible to find some 6-Ply's that will hold up and provide some longevity also say in the 50K to 60K range or more if possible. Thanks in advance for any and all info.

Cheers !!!

[vsheetz]

6 ply is not the requirement for a rugged off-road tire. The most common off-road tire failure in is the sidewall - cuts and punctures by rocks, trees and brush, etc. In fact a 6 ply truck tire will typically provide an unduly stiff ride on a [light-weight] Jeep.

Then there are basically two classes of off-road tires - AT (all terrain) or MT (mud terrain). AT tires are typically quieter, ride better, and wear longer than MT tires. MT tires have a more aggressive tread and traction capabilities. Unless your Jeep is modified for more rugged off-roading vs. trail riding, the AT is probably your better choice. Do be aware that not all tires that are marketed as AT necessarily have the beefier sidewalls desired for off-roading.

[PTJeep]

Originally Posted by vsheetz

6 ply is not the requirement for a rugged off-road tire. The most common off-road tire failure in is the sidewall - cuts and punctures by rocks, trees and brush, etc. In fact a 6 ply truck tire will typically provide an unduly stiff ride on a [light-weight] Jeep.

Then there are basically two classes of off-road tires - AT (all terrain) or MT (mud terrain). AT tires are typically quieter, ride better, and wear longer than MT tires. MT tires have a more aggressive tread and traction capabilities. Unless your Jeep is modified for more rugged off-roading vs. trail riding, the AT is probably your better choice. Do be aware that not all tires that are marketed as AT necessarily have the beefier sidewalls desired for off-roading.

Hi Vince,

I agree with you as far as the sidewall cuts and would probably like to find an AT with Kevlar side walls, and I am quite sure that I would have a difficult time with my wife going with 33's or 35's . I used to run AT's on my pickup before I finally sold it to go FT in the coach. I plan on keeping the Jeep stock since we use it for everything we do outside of the coach meaning from getting groceries to going out and seeing things from a dusty trail.

So I am curious what type of tires are you running on your Rubicon ? Mine is a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X

Cheers !!!

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by PTJeep

Hello to all of you iRV2 Jeep drivers,

I am going to be looking for new tires for my Jeep toad in 6 to 12 months, and Although I tow my Jeep a lot, I still get off road with her as well, I want to get 6-Ply's next time around because of their added toughness. I have standard Goodyear Wrangler SR-A's right now but I want ones that arent going to be horrendously loud when we are driving on pavement, but tough when we are out doing trails and climbing small to moderate rocks as well, I've had some tire dealers tell me that a lot of the trail tires dont do well when being towed behind the coach. So is it possible to find some 6-Ply's that will hold up and provide some longevity also say in the 50K to 60K range or more if possible. Thanks in advance for any and all info.

Cheers !!!

Well Sir,
After owning, building and towing seven different Jeeps for over 25 years, I've had my share of different tires for them. And, we've jeeped all over the western U.S. We did the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab UT for 14 years in a row. I've used All terrain, and mudd terrain on those trails and quite frankly, with the jeep setup correctly, that is, selectable lockers, a nice lift for good ground clearance, correct gearing, a good-flexible suspension and, of course the CORRECT TIRE PRESSURE, I've found out over years of those trails, that for the most part, mudd tires are no better in performance for general trail operations than all terrains.

Mudd tires do have their place. But, it's PRIMARILY MUDD. For just about anything else, ATs will do the trick for you just fine. So, with that being said, we've had multiple brands of ATs. And, I'm not one of those "Whiners" that trailer their jeeps because of POSSIBLE "excessive" tire wear. We've towed them for thousands and thousands of miles and, there's no more tire wear from towing them driving them.

Tires get harder and harder as time goes on. The natural softness just evaporates the longer and longer you have them. So, a good, semi-soft tire for good off roading and soft, low pressure quality jeeping, will eventually get harder and harder and not as flexible as time goes on.
So, just how long you want to make them last may, just may conflict with how well you want them to perform as they age. That doesn't mean you have to buy tires for your Jeep once a year, it's just some experience we've noticed over the years of Jeeping.

Jeeps ride like a rock anyway, and, get lousy gas mileage, in comparison to a zillion other capable toads out there. But, Jeeps are more versatile too. They go more places, are less susceptible to damage, are like tinker toys in the fact that you pull parts off like doors and roofs and then, put them back on again, are great for exploration and more.

Now, when purchasing my sets of tires for our jeeps, my main concern was how the sidewalls were made/protected. Not necessarily for amount of plies. When the Rubicons first came out in '03, a very large percentage of the true Jeepers that bought them, canned the brand new tires due to the fact that they were "cement truck" tires. You could almost let ALL the air out of them and they would not flex. Stiff as rock. And, they (including myself) purchased larger, softer, more forgiving tires for quality off roading and a better, quieter ride on the streets. I don't even know what the plies were and how many in them. They just rode like a rock.

So, just some info for you to ponder.
Scott

[PTJeep]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Well Sir,
After owning, building and towing seven different Jeeps for over 25 years, I've had my share of different tires for them. And, we've jeeped all over the western U.S. We did the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab UT for 14 years in a row. I've used All terrain, and mudd terrain on those trails and quite frankly, with the jeep setup correctly, that is, selectable lockers, a nice lift for good ground clearance, correct gearing, a good-flexible suspension and, of course the CORRECT TIRE PRESSURE, I've found out over years of those trails, that for the most part, mudd tires are no better in performance for general trail operations than all terrains.

Mudd tires do have their place. But, it's PRIMARILY MUDD. For just about anything else, ATs will do the trick for you just fine. So, with that being said, we've had multiple brands of ATs. And, I'm not one of those "Whiners" that trailer their jeeps because of POSSIBLE "excessive" tire wear. We've towed them for thousands and thousands of miles and, there's no more tire wear from towing them driving them.

Tires get harder and harder as time goes on. The natural softness just evaporates the longer and longer you have them. So, a good, semi-soft tire for good off roading and soft, low pressure quality jeeping, will eventually get harder and harder and not as flexible as time goes on.
So, just how long you want to make them last may, just may conflict with how well you want them to perform as they age. That doesn't mean you have to buy tires for your Jeep once a year, it's just some experience we've noticed over the years of Jeeping.

Jeeps ride like a rock anyway, and, get lousy gas mileage, in comparison to a zillion other capable toads out there. But, Jeeps are more versatile too. They go more places, are less susceptible to damage, are like tinker toys in the fact that you pull parts off like doors and roofs and then, put them back on again, are great for exploration and more.

Now, when purchasing my sets of tires for our jeeps, my main concern was how the sidewalls were made/protected. Not necessarily for amount of plies. When the Rubicons first came out in '03, a very large percentage of the true Jeepers that bought them, canned the brand new tires due to the fact that they were "cement truck" tires. You could almost let ALL the air out of them and they would not flex. Stiff as rock. And, they (including myself) purchased larger, softer, more forgiving tires for quality off roading and a better, quieter ride on the streets. I don't even know what the plies were and how many in them. They just rode like a rock.

So, just some info for you to ponder.
Scott

Hello Scott !!,

Thank you for the info and your years of experience. Now my wife and I arent out there looking for the biggest baddest rocks we can crawl up, we dont have a Rubicon, and probably wont get one either, of course thats hard to say, miracles sometimes happen, we dont have selectable lockers, we are stock all the way, no lifts, we do have a transmission cooler and a fuel tank skid plate, this is a 4-door JK, what we want to be able to do is go out and get into places where 4-wheel low is required and see the things you just cant see from any kind of pavement at all. I know there are places where it can get intense, and I will probably never do that with the wife in the Jeep cause she just wont do it. This Jeep is our toad , because it can be flat towed, and thats why we have it, so it wont be trailered at all.

I would be interested in you views on CORRECT TIRE PRESSURE as well, I have always been of the position that knowledge is power.

As far as the Jeep riding like a rock, I will beg to differ with you there I actually like the way ours rides and although it doesnt get 25mpg, I didnt by it for gas mileage I bought it so i could drive it off road and geo cache, and go hunting for ghost towns and if the trails that go to these places get to the point where there are rocky 12% grades or greater I know I have a vehicle that will get me up those grades or rocks as the case may be, with a bit of care and careful planning.

With all that being said, which AT's would you consider for your Jeeps ? I will be the first to admit that I am a novice Jeeper and what we have done so far have been some basic runs and we've had a ball doing them. I'm just trying to get great tire info.

Thank You,
Jeff

[Rich and Cork]

Personally I have 35 inch GY MTRs on my Rubicon. They are quieter than the 32 inch BFG that came stock on the Rubicon. I am a rock crawler type of guy and I am happy with them. You do have to lift the Jeep about 2 inches to clear, but if you don't want that size, go with 33s.

By the way, a good tire to look at is the Falken Wildpeak A/T. A couple of my friends are into off road racing and they support them and they have had very good results with their stock tires.

[daveshan]

Jeff,
I am a big fan of the good ol' BFG AT/KO all terrain for a general purpose Jeep tire, I'm running 33x10.5/15s on my Cherokee and it handled Behind the Rocks and Golden Spike (including double whammy) with ease last time out. I run the same tire on my TJ in a 35" flavor for a winter tire and have had good luck with them on rocks also (BFG Krawlers are its usual footwear).

They cost a bit more than most all terrains but IMO they're well worth it. They wear well and are good in snow and slickrock.

As for pressures, I run 10-12 on the Cherokee off road, ~24 for daily driving and pump it up to about 28 for towing.

[Redridge]

our 2013 Rubi use BFG MudTerrain T/A (32") 255/75 17". It is very quiet and has hold up well to 5000 miles of towing... not sure how it will hold up to 50K-60k miles though. This Rubi is quieter and drives better than our BMW X5... in comparison, it drives like a Cadilac.... Ive had jeeps of the past, but this new Jeep JK is on a totally different level, Its a very plush ride.

[KIX]

I've had BFG TA/KO's on several Jeeps. They run quiet and are very durable. I use the 35 x 12.50 version and have been very happy with them. On previous 2 door Wranglers I've run about 25 on road and about 10 off road. We currently have a JK 4 door Rubicon.

[PTJeep]

Hello Rich, Dave, Redridge & Kix,

Thank you for your responses to my thread, I dont mind spending a bit more for tires that are going to perform well for me both on and off road, I know its not all that expensive to lift my JK the only real place I'll have grief about that is with the wife cause she's short and will have a harder time getting in and out. Ours is the 4-door Unlimited X model, its a fantastic Jeep, I had always wanted a Jeep when I was a kid, and then I worked for a major auto manufacturer for 30 years and drove what supported me and that didnt include a Jeep product. But now that I have entered my second childhood, I got what I wanted and that was a Jeep. So Im just trying to do my research and ask those of you that are currently living the lifestyle of Jeepin and have the knowledge that I have as yet to aquire. I dont have lockers on this model, I do know they can be put on though, my question is do I need them if Im not really climbing those really aggressive rocks? in all reality Im looking for tires that are going to hold up sidewall wise against all those sharp rocks that always seem to come out when they catch a whiff of rubber nearby.

Thanks for all the info so far, I consider it all a big bonus

[KIX]

My wife is short too. When in Colorado last July we had Tomken install a rock slider. We found it's ideal as a side step too. Tomken is in Buena Vista, CO and will either ship it to you or install it at their shop. It's quality made and Jeff is a real pleasure to deal with.
On the Tires BFG TA/KO's will do a good job for you all around.

BTW....the avatar pic is an older Jeep and not the new JK.

[PTJeep]

Originally Posted by KIX

My wife is short too. When in Colorado last July we had Tomken install a rock slider. We found it's ideal as a side step too. Tomken is in Buena Vista, CO and will either ship it to you or install it at their shop. It's quality made and Jeff is a real pleasure to deal with.
On the Tires BFG TA/KO's will do a good job for you all around.

BTW....the avatar pic is an older Jeep and not the new JK.

Hey Kix,

I figured as much with the pic. Currently on our 4-door JK we have the chromed side bars, I call them nerf bars, I know they're hollow and I'm not sure how tough they are, but I havent dented them yet, surprisingly enough even though we have gone over some good sized rocks I have been able to pick my way through them I havent even touched the pumpkins yet, came close though, I saw some rock sliders made by Smithbilt that looked pretty heavy duty but they were on a 2006 2-door CJ I think. Are the TA/KO's 33's or 35's ? .... By the way I have 17" standard wheels

This photo from Schnebly Hill Road in Sedona, AZ it was a very mild drive but you just cant see this Arizona from the highway.

Thanks,

[FIRE UP]

PTJeep,
I really didn't try to incinuate that you build a top notch Rubicon. Jeeps, even in bone stock configuration are fairly capable. But, in the bone stock setup, they can get you into trouble too by getting you into something that, it's possible you can't get out of, without help. Rubi's are expensive, no matter what year. But, Rubis come from the factory with almost as good of a set up as you can get.

But, that's not really your concern. You'd just like to get from point A to point B, hopefully without issue. You asked me about tire pressure. Well, first off, on all seven of our well built jeeps, I ran 15" x 8" wheels. I ran anywhere from 31 x 10:50 to 35x12:50s on those same wheels.

Now, on the 15" wheels, there was what's known as a "safety bead" built into those wheels. That safety bead was/is a lip, just inside the outer bead that sort of "holds" the tire in place. It's not near as good as a bead lock but, it's always worked for me. And, in having that safety bead, I trusted having the tire pressure bled down to around 9-10 lbs. for quality off roading. By running the tires that low, you enhance the tires ability to "grip" the terrain/rocks/ruts/obstacles easier/better. It's kind of like running your fist over a base ball (high-road pressure) or, griping the baseball with your palm (low-off road pressure).

And, the ride off road is greatly enhanced due to the low pressure. Now, I, and all the folks I jeeped with over the years, all setup our jeeps with engine driven air compressors. We were never without air. So, at the end of a trail, and at the roads edge, we'd all air back up to street pressure and head back to the barn, (or motor home to be more specific).

Now, as far as brand of tire is concerned, back then, in the 15" series, the dominant tire was the BFG All Terrain. That was several years and several jeeps ago. The tire, in it's early years, was a good tire and somewhat dependable. But, the last time I outfitted one of our Jeeps with new skins and chose them, I went through two complete sets of them before I could get one tire that was "Round".

As is so happened, BFG had contracted to have many of their tires made over seas and the quality control took a serious dive. So, I told Discount tire to take all their BFGs and shove'm. I then chose Yokahamas and, not only were they perfectly round, they required very little weight for balancing. They did very, very well on the toughest trails in Moab, and all of the trails in Ouray CO which, are not nearly as tough as Moabs trails.

But, that was a while ago. All the folks running the JKs and the 17's or 18" size wheels, I have no idea what those Jeeps come with since I never owned one, must have better ideas of what's a good/dependable/quiet tire now. I will say this, mud terrain tires of today, are manufactured with considerably better materials and are better in ride quality than they were several years ago when I purchased some 33x12:50-15s for my CJ. Those were nice, FOR ABOUT 5,000 MILES, then, they got progressively louder and louder with every mile that was added to them. That's not uncommon for mud terrains to get louder.

You see, the treads are farther apart and have tendency to "Slap" the street as the rotate. Well, in that slapping, they develop a pattern and, that pattern gets more and more pronounced as they age and get miles on them. But, again, that was back then, I have no idea just how well a set of worn, aged, mud tires made in todays world are lasting and how they sound.

And, I have to be honest here. I've never even been in a JK. Our last Jeep, an '04 Rubicon was setup with a "Full Traction, 6" lift, 35" Toyo all Terrain tires, Bilstein 5100 series shocks and sway bar disconnect. Now, that jeep went everywhere I pointed it, even some places I didn't. So, the ride, was simply accepted as part of the game plan.

But, as I understand the newer JK models do have a nice ride. One day I'll have to take a short drive in one just to see how they ride and feel. But, in any case, have a ball in your exploration, it's a lot of fun, and to see what's around the next bend in the dirt road/trail etc. is always exciting. The wife and I have conquered all the ruts, hills, trails, obstacles, mountains, dangerous predicaments, and much more, a zillion times over so, after 25 years, it was time to take a break from it.

Maybe someday we'll venture off into the "outback" again. Who knows? Be careful out there. And, if and when you're venturing off to a new and unknown situation, it's always better to travel in pairs or more. Below was our last setup with a Jeep. Of all the Jeeps we had, I was most proud of building that one.
Scott

[KIX]

To run wider tires and taller ones on the JK you'll need to change wheels too.
Look at Rock Hard bumpers and skid plates too.
If you're a FMCA member the FMCA 4 Wheelers is pretty active in the West. Take a look at their site at fmca4wheelers.com