A few questions on tires

[Kozmo]

My future Son-In-Law is coming out for a visit in a month. He does the commercial tires for Les Schwab so I was going to see if I could pry some ideas from him....but he's not a tire expert, he's a tire-changing expert kind of guy.

I know it's been covered superficially many times but I was wondering if there was any kind of final word on what looks great, wears well, and doesn't break the bank.

Also I was curious about the older-style military tires in general. They don't look all that "grippy" but maybe I'm wrong. Was there some specific benefit to that design? Tough as nails? Cheap and standard?

In any case, I'm just looking to be a little less ignorant when talking tires and seeing what he can do. Any comments are probably more than I know about tires at this point.

Original engine/tranny right now with goodyear 9.00-16LT xtra grips on it. They're getting close to "done".

From reading, I'm thinking going with 38 inchers....

[Ronner]

You can usually find killer deals on used Michelin XL's - they wear well and are pretty good all weather tread. There are similar mil treads - XML, XZL - that are all about 38.5" tall too. They are mil so they look right.

It really depends on what you want out of a tire. Rock climbing, street only, sand or whatever. There are lots of tire choices and a billion sizes

The NDTs that came on your 715 SUCK AZZ!! lol They are decent in deep snow or sand - kinda - but are horrible otherwise. Hard compound for no real pavement grip, no rain grooves so they hydroplane like crazy and in mud they act like slicks that throw a little muck for fun.

My $0.02

[Barrman]

The bias ply NDT tires are ok on dry pavement. They will scare the day lights out of you on wet pavement. Air them down to 15 psi and get in the dirt/mud. Then they are great. That is the cheapest tire you will find for the truck. They will sit forever and after a few miles in warm weather, round back out again.

Michelin XL tires are the mud tire of the military line. They are heavy, almost 200 pounds mounted on a rim. They are not cheap to find and they haven't been made in the 11.00-16 size in the US in a while. Air them down and you will be amazed at what you can climb/wallow through. 38" tall.

I like my XZL tires on the M715 better than the XL's just because they are a bit wider. They also are smoother at 1-3 mph speed while creeping along. They are useless in loose rock/gravel/dirt unless they are below 15 psi. Kind of the all terrain version for the line up. Getting hard to find as well.

I have XL tires on the Whistler M35A2 and love them. That truck goes off road more though pulling trees out of the ground and getting people stuck back to pavement.

All of the above I would recommend if you plan to drive the truck on road, off road and load it to full capacity. If you just want to play off road and don't care about load ratings or how it handles pulling a heavy trailer. Then just find something no larger than 13" wide and 38" tall. That is about the limit for a stock suspension to clear the frame and fenders.

Just be aware the front axle is not really up to a full lock throttle pounce on the big tires.

[randyscycle]

NDT's work well if you keep a couple things in mind:

Air them down when necessary.

Keep the wheel speed low in greasy stuff.

Michelin XL's and XZL's should be reproduced again. They are one of the best tires out there, but finding them now is tough and those who have them think they are worth a mint.

As far as breaking the bank? Pretty much any tire that is more than a passenger car, common size will do that these days.......

[Troop ISP]

The problem with most tires that tall is they are really too wide for the stock rim. When I purchased my truck, it had 38 inch Super Swampers. They call for a 16X10 inch rim. The tires were OK, but would have worn the centers fairly quickly running much on the road.

As said before, anything that size is going to run $400 plus per tire. You might watch Craigslist. Often times you can come by some good used tires at quite a price break.

There was a guy converting M715 centers to wider 16.5 rims. You might consider something like that to give you more options.

On the stock rims, I also like the Michelins. Good luck.

[MJCougler]

I like re-centered HUMMER rims and tires:

http://www.TrailWorthyFab.com

Pay the extra and get the OD powercoat.

[militarypotts]

I run Michelin 1100x16 XL'S. I think they look great on the truck. Go to my profile to get a look at them on the truck, or go to open discussion, page 3 and click on "new photos of my truck". Lot's of different choices out there when it comes to tires.

[Kozmo]

I'll wait and see what kind of "deal" my Son-in-law can swing and if he has any helpful advice and then do an earnest search for alternatives. I suspect it'll be over his head as the rims and tires are not something he deals with regularly.

In terms of "break the bank", I am not adverse to kicking some serious dollars toward good tires....it just seems a little off-kilter putting $ 2500 worth of tires on a $ 2500 truck. I have to adjust my mindset just like I did when I bought the beast in the first place...that it's about feeding a hobby rather than making a smart overall investment.

They say a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into....I suppose there are "land-based-holes" like an M715 too and you have to weigh the amorphous benefits like the laugh when your 5'-2" wife climbs aboard and straps in.

[zukhoob]

I looked around for a while for a good fitting cheap tire and it seemed xzl and xl were out of the question because they were just to rare, and the only other tire i found that had the right tall and skinny look was 38x11 super swampers. But recently I found these 38.5x13.5-R16 Pitbull Mad Dog radial, they seemed like they might be a good fit for our trucks. They do have a funky tread pattern, but they might be skinny enough to keep the stock rim??

[Beast]

I run a 36x12x16 Super Swamper on mine. Even thought it is listed as a 12 wide tire the book lists the tread width as only 9"s the same as the stock NDTs. These fit great on the stock rims and are about the closest to looks and overall size as a stock NDT as you can get in something modern.