Long Distance Driving

[4x4Hunter]

I live in NY and will be taking a trip to VA in the spring wiht my truck. I'm debating what to do as far as tires to get down there and back as the Bridgestone M/T's I have on now probably wont be the best for long distance/tread wear. I have a set of 235's BFG A/Ts that I could slap on for the run and have my M/T's inside the truck. I'd have to swap them over when I got down there but i dont see that as a huge issue. My other option is to buy some regular road tires in a 30 or 31 and put them on the old factory rims.... OR I can buy a set of cheap 16" rims and put them on a set of factory tires that came off my brother's full size chevy truck, which he bought M/Ts for after about 2 months. I guess I'm thinking that I should just get the rims .... maybe get some chrome nuggets which will run me about $30 a rim and have the 275's mounted up. I think they'll fit in there alright. What'a you think?

 

[CougarX]

its about a 1000 mile round trip right?

you would prob be fine to run your bridgestones down there and back. What little money you loose on tread wear on the MTs will be no where near the money for a whole new set of tires or rims.

 

[4x4Hunter]

2,000 Miles round trip actually. Its a 12 hour drive each direction. I just wonder if the tread wear and loss of gas mileage wouldnt be worth switching.

 

[dbarale]

I don't get it. You say you have a set of 235 and old factory rims. Why don't you just put those together.
You'd probably get a better gas mileage w/ 235 than 275. And it's sometimes usefull to have 4 spares instead of one.
The only thing is what are you gonna do w/ those while hitting the trails? Leave'em under the bed in the hotel room? LOL.

 

[4x4Hunter]

I'm giong to see my brother in VA. I can leave the 235's at his house. I was just concerned about being able to put 235's back on the truck w/ the 5.5" lift.

 

[dbarale]

If you don't have a body lift you should be fine.
FMExplorer is running 31's w/ 5.5"+ 3" BL.
It looks....interesting but it's not really an issue.
Unless of course you have 4.56 gears...

 

[donkey boy]

I'm doing between 30'000 and 40'000 miles a year and have BF Goodrich MTs as every-day tires. So I would say don't worry about the wear! What kills your tires is too much speed on the on/off ramps, the miles of cruising do not really harm them.

 

[4x4Hunter]

huh?

What do you mean? I dont follow. I thought that the long distance on the tires would wear them? I mean to say that since the M/T tires are traditionally a "softer" tire than say an A/T, after several hours of driving the heat of friction with the road results in the tires wearing faster.

 

[donkey boy]

Of course do the miles wear the tires. But city miles with lot's of acceleration, breaking and curves wear them faster than overland miles, where the tires basicly just roll. Just keep them inflated in a way that they don't heat up too much and you are fine.

Regarding me using MTs for my approx. 30'000 interstate miles per year: That's for sure not the smartest thing to do, but my personal choice. I once made the calculation, that the BFG MT cost me about 0.3 cents more per mile than the BFG AT. That's $30 per 10'000 mile, and IMHO, the better look is worth that extra money.

If you already have street tires and don't plan any off-roading during your trip, it might be a good idea to use them. But buying a new set of tires, or carrying the MTs in the inside of your truck and change them on place is - again in my personal opinion - too much of a hassle for just 2'000 miles. If your Bridgestone MTs wear the same fast as the BFG MTs, then you will spend $6 more in tires if you leave them on then when you use your ATs. Up to you to make the decision if it's worth it or not...

Just my 0.2 centimes

 

[Goober]

I shod my Exploder with BFG KO's a while back and drive it everywhere just like it is. My recent trip was to Orlando, Fl to Disney(8hr one way), and I took a trip earlier to see my parents in Ohio(11hr one way) over the summer. The tires have almst 40k on them and are showing wear, but no more than any other tire would by now. If I were to put 'street tires' on, it may save a few bucks over the long haul, but not enough to warrant purchasing the street tire and rims for.
I(just my 0.02) wouldn't haul the set of tires all the way to Va, just to switch back when you get there.

I'd say just leave them on and take the trip.

 

[4x4Hunter]

numbers numbers

Alright... well the numbers look good in both of your cases.... I imagine that I'll do just that and drive her down there with the M/T's The fact remains that i have a set of brand new factory General A/T s in storage... still pondering getting a cheap set of rims to run in the winter months so that my rims dont get crummy. However you have me 99% convinced that simply running the good tires and rims down rather than transporting them will be a good idea. Thanks for the input from everyone. I think its nearly 11 1/2 hours to where I need to be, so I just hope everything holds together.

 

[donkey boy]

Where in Virginia are you going to?

 

[4x4Hunter]

Suffok/Norfolk area

My brother used to live in Suffolk but he's since moved to the VA Beach area. Not sure of the exact location yet.

 

[donkey boy]

Re: Suffok/Norfolk area

Originally posted by 4x4Hunter
My brother used to live in Suffolk but he's since moved to the VA Beach area. Not sure of the exact location yet.

Nice! But you should better visit him in summer again.

 

[4x4Hunter]

I'm giong during my spring break actually. the weather here is usually around 30F, and down there its a cool 70 hehee, atleasts thats what all the locals down there said..that it was "cool out" heeh WAHTEVER ...I had a T shirt and shorts on... lovin it!

 

[JoshC]

I've got 31's on my 97 so they are a little easier to man handle, but I have BFG AT's on my aftermarket rims and i put a set of BFG MT's on my cheap factory wheels. I have an XL so i had the cheap steal wheels, which are great for offroading because i could care less if they get banged up. I just run my AT on the road and an occasional off road run, but i know i'm going for a good trip then i turn on my air compressor and get the gun out and slap the MT's on and i'm done in about 20 minutes. It's hunting season now here in WV and i tell everyone those or my hunting season tires. I have the MT's on now and i'll take them off probably in spring or so. Just depends on how i feel. The only reason i have 2 sets of tires is because i had 2 sets of firestones that were recalled!!!!!!!!

Happy trailes!