A few weeks ago I outlined my recommendations for the first ten things you should do before setting out on your first overland adventure (part 1; part 2). On that list was tires. In that vein I’ll to a multi-part series looking at tire tech a little more in depth
To kick off this article series I’m going to give you a look back at the tires I’ve run on the LJ since I got it.
Let me preface this article series by saying my goal isn’t to have you follow my process and come to the same conclusions I came to. I’m not expecting you to duplicate anything I do. Expecting you to choose the exact same tires I did would be like expecting you to choose the same favorite music artist and album I like (which is Eric Church’s album Chief by the way) or choosing the same favorite pizza topping combo (which is pepperoni, bacon, and pineapple). What I can do is tell you what I like and why I like it. I can also explain the process. So don’t get caught up too much in the end product but rather focus on the process.
2014 – Stock: 30×9.50R15 All-Season Tires
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The day the LJ followed me home. |
When I got the LJ in 2014 it was bone stock. The only modifications on it was the hardtop (although a factory option this particular LJ was not sold with the hardtop which meant it was swapped on at a later date) and different tires. The OEM tire for the LJ was the Goodyear Wrangler GS-A (which is currently no longer in production – thank god) but it was equipped with Firestone Destination LE 2 series all-season highway tires. These had to go. There was no way they would hold up to sustained off-pavement travel.
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These are a “P” rated passenger tire not suited to off-pavement travel. It wasn’t a hard choice to pull these off. |
2015 – 31×10.50R15 All-Terrain Tires
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2015 No Highways Tour – Monongahela National Forest, WV |
One of the first modifications I made in Phase 1 of the build was to add a 1″ body lift so the LJ fenders would clear 31″ tall tires. I did this mainly because I had a perfectly good set of 31×10.5R15 all-terrains sitting on my ZJ which wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. By holding off on new tires I was able to save a few bucks and make use of the nearly new tires I already had. Having run all-terrains for more than a decade I knew they would serve me well and work well both on-pavement as well as off-pavement. The other advantage to an all-terrain like the ones I was running is that have plenty of sipes to handle wet weather and are a pretty decent winter weather tire.
2016 – 255/75R17 Mud-Terrain Tires
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On borrowed 33×10.50R15 All-Terrains in Uwharrie National Forest, NC |
Selecting new tires for 2017
I’m not yet ready to reveal what tires I’ll be running next. I will say that I spent a lot of time considering what to run. The selection process was rather involved and I considered a lot of different options. In my next post I’ll go into more detail on the process. As I mentioned my goal isn’t to have you come to the same conclusions I came to. It’s more to just outline the process and give you some questions to ask yourself. That said, I think you’ll approve of the tires I selected and I don’t doubt you will start seeing them more and more on overland adventure rigs across the country.
In the meantime I’ll leave you with a few variables to consider in the tire selection process:
- On-pavement time vs. off-pavement time?
- Is the vehicle a daily driver?
- Does the vehicle see multiple seasons?
- What are the advantages of going up in load range and are they worth it?
- Is there an advantage changing wheel size?
Any upcoming plans for an overlanding trip? I live right outside of Philadelphia (King of Prussia) and I'm looking for another rig to accompany me. I have a 1999 Jeep Wrangler TJ and I'm pretty well equipped to go. If so I would appreciate the help and guidance in getting this started and having someone show me the ropes. Thanks!
Ryan
ryanduffy@comcast.net