BFG AT 30x9.50-did I make a mistake ?

Okay, here's the deal:

My '91 Navaho with extended radius arms and small susp. lift needed new tires. The 31 x 10.50 on stock wheels were getting pretty bare. Trying to turn "full lock" in either direction would rub the tires against the beefed-up portion of the ext. rad. arms.
I figured I had 2 choices:
1) New wheels w/3.75" back spacing along with new 31's 'might' cure the problem.
2) Skinnier meats.

I am in construction, with land development as a part of the job. My 'wheeling is 85% street , 10% jobsite, 5% the occasional foray for the heck of it.
On limited finances, I didn't want to buy wheels and tires, so I looked around and found that BFG makes a 33" AT that is a 9.50 profile.

Hmmm.. taller tire, smaller width, no wheels needed.... free 1" lift, less rolling friction, no rubbing on ext. radius arms....ding ding ding !!

Ordered them from Costco, $ 135.00 ea, mounted, lifetime balance and lifetime rotation included.
Now they are on the truck 12 hours , no rubbing, they ride well, but.... man are they skinny !!
Did I sacrifice too much in mud /snow flotation ? Will they dig a hole right down ?
Will those tall, spindley-looking tires add to interstate instability as the big rigs blow by me ? :roll:

Opinions, experiences, please !! :thumbdwn:

Thanks

 

[Bwana Bob]

Well, in mud you can always air them down to get more flotation. I think the narrower tires will actually do better in snow. In snow its better to bite into it than try to float over it. The guy at the tire store where I got my latest set of LTX/MS actually recommended airing up in the winter time. It makes sense. You want the sipes to open up and bite into the snow. If the tire is aired down, the sipes will be forced closed. This assumes that the tire has decent siping.

I have no experience, but my guess is that the new tires will be just as good, except in deep mud.

BTW my callsign is WB2VUF.

73,
Bob

 

[bates]

That would be skinny lookin! But I think my 11.50's are skinny lookin for some reason.

 

[dman726749]

so are they 30's or 33's

 

[VAHAM]

Was my mind elsewhere ?

I guess work was on my mind... I was in my truck at the jobsite when I posted the first message....

I bought 33x9.50 BFG AT KO, but the tread width is only about 7" lug-to-lug.
TRHe people at Costco were real friendly, if I exclude the fact that I had deliver the old rims and tires to them in the back of my other ex-they would not install them on the vehicle, but they will honor the rotation-and- balance.

I guess they are removed from any "rollover" liability if they do not install them on the vehicle.
CLH

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Vaham, you know this already, but you've decreased the highway stability of the rig. Those tires give a higher center of gravity, while effectively narrowing the track. Not a good combination. Be very careful when driving at interstate speeds.

 

[FROADER]

Those tires will be just fine for anything you need to use them for. I have had numerous friends that put those tires on their trucks and have had no problems. They wouldn't make them if they were bad. From your frist post it sounds like you're happy with them except not sure about the mud or snow part. Bwana Bob was right about driving in the snow so the only thing you have to worry about (don't really have to worry either) is the mud thing. If they don't work that good in mud then just push the pedal a little farther down and you might make it. You'll be just fine with you decision.

 

[nissanboy]

skinnier tires in mud are good unless you are going extremely wide. Think how wide a tire you are gonna need to float 5500lbs or metal. most the time you hit bottom or pull through b4 you hit bottom of a mud pit. the skinnier tire will actually help in shallw mud by cutting through it to solid ground.

 

[old mechanic]

Narrower tires are always better in snow unless you have a huge amount of snow then you need to air down just like you do in the sand because the narrower tire will just keep digging down and get you stuck. Narrower means less stability. A higher tire means you are more tip over prone tho not much with a mild height upgrade. And higher and narrower is not good for highway rides.

 

[Jefe]

The only time I've seen a 33x9.5 is as a spare on a jeep, and I just started busting up laughing it was so skinny.

Now as for your worries, I think looks are the biggest concern