Tire Advice

[DrivingTacoLoco]

I presently am running 4 BFG Rough Terrain 265 70 R17's that are pretty new and have many miles of life left in them. My spare is the original with the truck. It has never been used. While it's full of air I'm sure it's dry rotted. I have a tire carrier for a second spare and just purchased a used rim that matches the 4 on the vehicle. The underneath spare has a steel wheel.

Do I buy 2 more Rough Terrains so I have 6 matching tires. Or buy 2 KO2's as spares and put them on the rear when I go off road?

The Rough terrains are better on road than the KO2's but not as good off road.

Money is not a consideration. I only want to buy 2 tires now.

Eventually I will want 6 KO2's but the current tires may last 40 thousand miles or more.

I will mostly be using the vehicle on the road until the winter when I plan to have 1 long (maybe 2 week) winter trip and then I hope to take the Trans America Trail from NC to Oregon and then the northern route starting in the spring maybe end of March early April. That should be 8 to 10 weeks or more.

What do you suggest?

 

[Dave K]

Can’t say what you should do but I can tell you what I’d do:

1. Put the current tires up for sale to offset cost while they are still sellable
2. Buy 6 KO2
3. Buy one more matching wheel (if you are going to run two spares)
4. Start a six tire rotation cycle

I am not a fan of keeping spares out of the rotation. You end up throwing away a tire with lots or tread eventually. My other plan would be to buy two good used tires to use as spares and keep them out of the rotation until you use up the current tires. I wouldn’t buy new but that’s just me.

 

[The other Sean]

Do you plan on using any of these in the rotation? Are you really going to swap two wheels over every time you go off road?

When I upsized tires on my truck, since my spare is a steel wheel, I just had the tire shop install a new house brand AT tire on the spare.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

[?QUOTE="Dave K, post: 361875, member: 26652"]
Can’t say what you should do but I can tell you what I’d do:

1. Put the current tires up for sale to offset cost while they are still sellable
2. Buy 6 KO2
3. Buy one more matching wheel (if you are going to run two spares)
4. Start a six tire rotation cycle

I am not a fan of keeping spares out of the rotation. You end up throwing away a tire with lots or tread eventually. My other plan would be to buy two good used tires to use as spares and keep them out of the rotation until you use up the current tires. I wouldn’t buy new but that’s just me.
[/QUOTE]
How much could I get for the tires?

 

[Dave K]

$250 - $300? A bit more maybe? Based on a quick search in my local area. 40k left is a pretty dang good tire.

 

[Billiebob]

I'd mile out all the old rubber before mounting anything new.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

$250 - $300? A bit more maybe? Based on a quick search in my local area. 40k left is a pretty dang good tire.

That only covers about 1.5 new tires. I'll look for used. I like that idea.

 

[MidOH]

How are KO2's an off road tire in MD? Lot's of sand there? Look towards Cooper STT, ST Maxx, Maxxis Razor, etc.

I don't rotate in my spares, if they hold air, they're a spare. I don't mount expensive main tires to them usually.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

How are KO2's an off road tire in MD? Lot's of sand there?

Look towards Cooper STT, ST Maxx, Maxxis Razor, etc.

Forget MD I'm getting out of here in September. No offroading here. Moving to NC but my plan is to explore the rest of the country. I'm pretty set on KO2's.

 

[MidOH]

At least they make some sense in NC.

Mine were fine in FL, as long as I avoided mud and water like the debil. They were useless in mud.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Can’t say what you should do but I can tell you what I’d do:

1. Put the current tires up for sale to offset cost while they are still sellable
2. Buy 6 KO2
3. Buy one more matching wheel (if you are going to run two spares)
4. Start a six tire rotation cycle

I am not a fan of keeping spares out of the rotation. You end up throwing away a tire with lots or tread eventually. My other plan would be to buy two good used tires to use as spares and keep them out of the rotation until you use up the current tires. I wouldn’t buy new but that’s just me.

I like your other plan the best. Makes good sense and keeps the cost down especially since he has 4 good tires already. Unless Rich can change his own tires he is looking at an extra $35 per tire for dismount and mounting. Screw that !

 

[Dave K]

Gonna have to pay for it some day. Just a matter of when. If budget is an issue my second plan is the way to go. You can shave a bit more by only running one spare. In the US most people simply do not need two. My opinion anyway for whatever that’s worth.

 

[Todd & Meg]

Can’t say what you should do but I can tell you what I’d do:

1. Put the current tires up for sale to offset cost while they are still sellable
2. Buy 6 KO2
3. Buy one more matching wheel (if you are going to run two spares)
4. Start a six tire rotation cycle

I am not a fan of keeping spares out of the rotation. You end up throwing away a tire with lots or tread eventually. My other plan would be to buy two good used tires to use as spares and keep them out of the rotation until you use up the current tires. I wouldn’t buy new but that’s just me.

This...

Look on CL or Facebook market and see what used tires go for in your area. It is crazy what they go for in the PHX area.

We just got new tires on the Jeep. We had 4 KO2’s and the factory spare that was never used. Go a screw right at the sidewall. Had we been doing a 5 tire rotation with all KO2’s we would had options. Only option was new tires. Still had 20-25k left on them. They will go on the teardrop so not all lost.

We switch to Maxxis Razors this time. I saw two KO2 that have totally come apart, I hear they do not hold up well to our high temperatures. I also don’t like how rocks get stuck in the treads and then get thrown all over. We also pull a trailer and AT’s are useless in mud.

So far we like the Maxxis (2500 miles) but they are much louder than an AT tire.

Todd

 

[RJCanyon]

have to agree with Dave K as well

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

I like your other plan the best. Makes good sense and keeps the cost down especially since he has 4 good tires already. Unless Rich can change his own tires he is looking at an extra $35 per tire for dismount and mounting. Screw that !

I have a good mechanic for mounting and balancing. What I really want is a gas tank that fits where the factory spare stores. This thing sucks the fuel.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I have a good mechanic for mounting and balancing. What I really want is a gas tank that fits where the factory spare stores. This thing sucks the fuel.

Look for a Volkswagen gas tank in wrecking yard. They are compact and strong. They are flat as well. They have a flat flange that runs all around the top of the tank and easily mounts.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

Look for a Volkswagen gas tank in wrecking yard. They are compact and strong. They are flat as well. They have a flat flange that runs all around the top of the tank and easily mounts.

I've been looking for a video of someone installing one.

 

[Desert Runner]

This...

Look on CL or Facebook market and see what used tires go for in your area. It is crazy what they go for in the PHX area.

We just got new tires on the Jeep. We had 4 KO2’s and the factory spare that was never used. Go a screw right at the sidewall. Had we been doing a 5 tire rotation with all KO2’s we would had options. Only option was new tires. Still had 20-25k left on them. They will go on the teardrop so not all lost.

We switch to Maxxis Razors this time. I saw two KO2 that have totally come apart, I hear they do not hold up well to our high temperatures. I also don’t like how rocks get stuck in the treads and then get thrown all over. We also pull a trailer and AT’s are useless in mud.

So far we like the Maxxis (2500 miles) but they are much louder than an AT tire.

Todd

A new contestant in the field is the Patagonia MT tire. A softer rubber=less overall useful tread life, so these would not be for a everyday DD. They ride better, and are quieter than many AT tires on the road. Pros=inexpensive upfront purchase price compared to name brands, way cheaper/big sizes. Cons= the lower tread wear mileage penalty. Lite-Brite, You-Tube, just put 40's on their Jeep, and it was quiet in the cabin. They were doing a pod cast on the hwy, and you could'nt hear the tires. However you could hear the pickup overtaking and passing them from inside their Jeep at 70 mph. They are too new to get long term evaluations yet, but people who have installed them seem happy with their performance. My BFG's big downfall were/was HEAT CHECKING of the sidewall.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I've been looking for a video of someone installing one.

I'm pretty sure you can buy one a whole lot cheaper than this guy did. I bought one for $10 at a u pull it yard.

volkswagen gas tank installation - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[Billiebob]

I'll look for used.

New or used, mounting & balancing costs the same. Some tire retailers even charge more if you don't buy the tires from them. Cost per mile is always better with new tires.