I have been thinking and thinking and thinking about new tires lately. I am tired of getting rather worried if my BFG ATs will get me through another wet spring hunting trip in WY (gumbo mud territory). I have only hung it up once, but there were many times that required some back-and-forth persuasion to make it up the two-track...out in the middle of a six square mile ranch with no cell service. The BFG's are a nice compromise, but I'm thinking a little more aggressive. I'm currently looking at the Goodyear Duratracs in a 275/70R18 for my stock wheels. Oh yeah, I also got tired of thinking that I needed to replace my stock wheels for "better" ones. Truth be told...waste of money. Most of the wheels that I like are an 18X9, so they will stick out past the fenders regardless of 6+ inches of BS. That would also require getting tires that are much wider than I really need (295-315 range). I would hate to have all that gumbo up on the hood and all over the sides with that tire sticking out. Anyway, my setup is currently a 2 inch AS up front with 1.5 inch Pro Comp long AALs out back, so fitting a 33 inch is no problem. I also upgraded from the 275/65R18 stock Wranglers to a 285/65R18 BFG about 40K ago with no problems. I have read a lot about the Goodyear Duratracs with only one common potential issue..."Dreaded Death Wobble". These individuals describe this sensation as a loose feel to the handling of the vehicle, particularly at higher speeds. Some individuals actually returned a new set of tires because of this sensation (Tire Rack reviews are a good source). They also reported unstable quick lane changes. Does anyone have this size of tire on their stock 18's first off, and does anyone feel the instability described by others? I am asking about the 275/70R18's because I think the instability would be greater with a taller sidewall. Any first-hand information would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.goodyeartires.com/goodyea...=Light%20Truck

 

trail grapplers.

 

If you're concerned about getting stuck, then the bigger the first number, the better. It's all about the width of the tire. How much rubber you're putting to whatever your trying to get across. That 275 is narrower than the 285. Get a 295 or 305.

 

If you want better mud performance than an AT will give you, get mud tires.

My Hercules Trail Digger MTs work great in Texas mud, but are kind of loud. You might try a set of BFG Mud Terrains and go from there...

Width is critical unless you are climbing over stuff, or aiming through deep goo, but for typical 2 track trail riding, you don't need to go super tall... 33x12.50 or the metric equivalent would work well for a levelled truck. Depending on your rims you could go 35x12.50s...

 

I wouldn't go with Duratracs either, BFG's are better offroad than they are. Go with toyo mt or nitto trail if you want a well mannered mud/road tire. Also its a truck, don't be scared of gettin mud on the truck, it washes off TRUST ME. A hunter aint a hunter if he's worried about getting his damn truck dirty.

 

I appreciate the advice, but there are some differences in prairie dog country. I have been hunting up there for around 8 years, and I have taken some advice from the locals. If you want to be able to power through the gumbo / grease, nearly all of the ranchers have a narrow tire from Newcastle all the way to Casper. They have found that the narrow tires squeeze the grease out of the way much better and allow the tire to dig down to the dryer stuff. The clay just simply soaks up all the water, so the top layer is the "frosting". Every well tender in the Thunder Basin area I talked to uses a narrow tire to make their rounds without hassle. Think of it as hydroplaning in the mud...which I have done before on a ranch outside of Douglas. Over the years, I have owned numerous mud tires (BFGs, Goodyears, and recently Toyos) on other trucks to only get 25K...if I'm lucky. I just cannot stomach dumping 250-350 bucks per tire only to get that kind of wear mileage. I have 40K on the current set of BFG ATs, so maybe just a little more bite would do it.

As for slinging mud up the sides...I don't want it. In 2007, we ended up digging our way out 2.5 miles to the hardtop after a thunderstorm caught us by surprise. I would say that the underside had about 600-800 pounds of gumbo in tow, and I did not have a hose to wash it off. Some of it was on the hood and windshield which dried to a nice crust after going back to town 10 miles (wind-dried). I took me about three days to soften the clay enough to get it off the underside after getting home...which also added 4-5 inches to the gravel driveway...and it's still there. It also took three washings on the hood to get the "ghost" dots to come out of the paint. If I had wider tires, this would just get worse. I do agree with a wider tire in OH mud years ago, but this WY muck is a different animal. I am also not afraid of getting into the mud, but this stuff becomes concrete after drying for only an hour.

All these things are just the way they are, but I would like to minimize the bad. Based on these things, I have decided that the Duratracs may be worth a try. Anybody else with Duratrac experience?