Tires for Elk hunting

[zion zig zag]

There is a lot of great information, a lot of guys on here know their tires!

I am checking to see which of the many suggestions will fit my truck. Many of the tires mentioned have the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol. Do you still need to carry chains or are the tires with the symbol sufficient in the snow without chains?

IMO, the snowflake/mountain symbol makes it a good tire for snowy, paved roads but chains are for off road snow and mud.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Running KO2's on my F-150 great in the snow. I typically put on 40K plus per year and perform well on highway with manageable road noise. Did drop my gas mileage about 2 MPG vs the Good Years it came with.

 

[dukerugger25]

Not to derail the original ask, but I’m curious how low you’d go with a 10 ply tire and how you get pressure back up for highway driving if you’re in the middle of nowhere. I’ve considered this before but I’m looking at a 30 minute ride down the mountain highway to the nearest gas station.

Viair portable air compressor. Best $200 spent.

 

[dukerugger25]

Viair portable air compressor. Best $200 spent.

I drop down to ~22psi in an f150. Normal highway pressure around 40psi

 

[HuntNTag]

I drop down to ~22psi in an f150. Normal highway pressure around 40psi

Do you drop down to that psi when you hit every dirt trail or are you doing it when you hit some specific weather and or rocks? Looking to figure out when would be the best time to air down a bit as I’ve never done so before unless I was on sand.

 

[StopMakingSense]

The first problem with PSI is that if you own an HD truck the sensors, at least on my Ram, are set to 80 PSI. First, I run huge tires. The max I can even get my tires to are 65 PSI which would equal 17,200lbs of payload capacity for the vehicle, well beyond its stated payload capacity. The 80 PSI is rated for the small stock tires.

Now, even if I ran them at 65 PSI on all 4 I would have some very bald tires in the middle with deep lugs on the side because the tires are incredibly over-inflated. Doing a chalk test determined about 40 PSI in the front and 28 in the rear with an unloaded truck. These are my base values at a cold fill. The tires haven't been on the road yet, it's morning, and the sun hasn't also hit the tires either. Your tire pressure usually increases by about 5 PSI after running them on the road for a bit and is not what folks refer to when asked what pressure you run.

The first step to airing down is to understand what's the lowest your tire can go. You need enough air to support the vehicle's weight under normal load and stress you put on a vehicle. Look on the internet to figure this out as there are far more knowledgable people on this subject than me.

A simplistic way to look at it...
If my truck weighed say 8000lbs with 5k on the front axle and 3k on the rear. Go to a truck stop to get these weights, the factory is never correct.

The math works to be I need 2500lbs per tire in the front and 1500 in the rear.

At 65 PSI the tire is rated at 4300lbs which leaves me with 66.2 lbs per PSI (if you consider PSI to Payload to be a linear rate) would leave me with 37.8 PSI on the front and 22.7 in the rear. I would not run my truck hard offroad less than those values.

Now if I have snow or deep sand where you need all the flotation and traction you can get I judge it with my eye which is around 15-20 psi in the tires.

To air back up I have an onboard ARB twin compressor.

With all of that said airing down offroad on washboard and rutted out stuff just makes for a calmer ride and lessens that chatter. The tires conform better to the road and will help increase traction. Airing way down is reserved for sticky situations when you are absolutely stuck.

 

[DESERT ED]

Been running ST MAXX on 2 full-size trucks for years and years. Never had a flat, get 40k miles easy if you rotate and they’re not too loud. Always ran the e rated until my last pair. Ended up going with D because they dont make them in E. So far so good. The ride has actually improved on my 350 because of the flexier sidewall. Just went up over mountain pass yesterday and aired down to 40ish pounds and drove home on tbe highway no problem.
BFG AT aren’t what they used to be. Buddy has Falken wild peak ats?? And he loves them

 

[Geewhiz]

Nitto ridge grappler. 10 ply. Have them on my 3/4 ton and they have been good so far. Relatively affordable in the scheme of things.

 

[sneaky]

Been running ST MAXX on 2 full-size trucks for years and years. Never had a flat, get 40k miles easy if you rotate and they’re not too loud. Always ran the e rated until my last pair. Ended up going with D because they dont make them in E. So far so good. The ride has actually improved on my 350 because of the flexier sidewall. Just went up over mountain pass yesterday and aired down to 40ish pounds and drove home on tbe highway no problem.
BFG AT aren’t what they used to be. Buddy has Falken wild peak ats?? And he loves them

What size you running? They make a ton of sizes in STMaxx in E range

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[dukerugger25]

Do you drop down to that psi when you hit every dirt trail or are you doing it when you hit some specific weather and or rocks? Looking to figure out when would be the best time to air down a bit as I’ve never done so before unless I was on sand.

I air down as soon as I hit washboards to about 28/30 and then down to 22 when I get into the rocks (<10mph). It was nerve racking the first time I aired down to the low twenties, afraid I would pop a bead, but the ride definitely was better. I will stay low pressure in rain and snow

 

[SlimWhitman]

I’ve had 37” ridge grapplers on my f250 for a couple months now and love them. They’ve taken a beating but seem to be holding up well.

I’ve got a smittybuilt 5.65 cfm compressor and it does great.

If you know somebody at the dealership they can reprogram the tire pressure sensors. Mine are lowered to 60. I just deal with the low tire warning when I drop them down off-road.


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[cuerro viejo]

Toyo RT is my first choice, second is ATII XT

 

[Elkdreamer]

Have the TPM removed form your wheels. Put them in a pipe with caps on the ends. Drill a hole and mount valve stem in said pipe. Inflate to desired pressure. Throw under seat. Problem solved

 

[BFR]

If you’re changing tire size you need to recalibrate for correct speedometer readings. I used a ProCal programmer for that and recalibrating my TPMS down to 20 lbs.

 

[DESERT ED]

What size you running? They make a ton of sizes in STMaxx in E range

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315/70/17

 

[WRO]

Cooper ST MAXX These are great tires. The Cooper AT3's are also a good tire. Get the 10 ply!! And I suggest getting them siped.

View attachment 210018

I grew to hate mine on my Tacoma. They just wouldn't keep balanced..

I went over to General Grabbers and like them a lot better..

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[sneaky]

I've ran STMaxx on my Tacoma for the past 130k+ miles. Only regret I have is having the set I have on it now siped. Those sipes they added pick up a million more small rocks. Only set of tires I've ever regretted buying are those DuraTracs, should be called DuraTrash. I took them off with less than 10k on them, I'd had enough. Just shows how everyone's experiences and likes are completely different when it comes to tires.

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[slsplets]

I am on my 2nd set of 10-ply Dura Tracks on my 96 Toyota Tacoma. First set had 76K on the and still had tread left. Replaced them just because. I do notice they tend to become noisier when they wear down. All in all, I think they are a great tire.

 

[Azdon]

I ran BF Goodrich KO's for many years with no problems except tire life. Maybe 40,000-45,000 on a set. When they went to the KO2's. I started having problems with rock cuts and punctures. Here in Arizona elk country volcanic rocks are all over the place. Mud and snow can also be a problem depending on the weather.

I now run Faulken Wildpeaks, 10 Plys and I don't have the problems with rocks anymore. Several other family members and friends are also running the Faulken Wildpeaks and all have positive reports including very good tire life, 60,000-75,000 miles. They are great in the mud and seem about average in snow.

 

[LaHunter]

I have a set of

I ran BF Goodrich KO's for many years with no problems except tire life. Maybe 40,000-45,000 on a set. When they went to the KO2's. I started having problems with rock cuts and punctures. Here in Arizona elk country volcanic rocks are all over the place. Mud and snow can also be a problem depending on the weather.

I now run Faulken Wildpeaks, 10 Plys and I don't have the problems with rocks anymore. Several other family members and friends are also running the Faulken Wildpeaks and all have positive reports including very good tire life, 60,000-75,000 miles. They are great in the mud and seem about average in snow.

Are you and your family & friends running 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton trucks?
I have a set of the KOs on my 3/4 ton Duramax with about 51,000 miles and I'm probably gonna be swapping them out soon. I have heard the BFG KO2s are a little 'softer' than the original KOs.