INTERCO tires for long distance travel.

[DEEZLPWR]

i am reading alot of i hate interco tires due to noise etc etc etc..... honestly they are not that loud/ not deafening/ and just cause they are on a rig doesnt make it a beater truck.

Lets give some honest opinions or real world reasons, not because your belltones are turned up too high.

good points to hit on
wear
handling on off road
water
traction
snow/ice

i mean hell did ya expect a tire that looks like supers wampers to be absolutely quiet?

 

[Wareagle]

I had bad luck with my swampers. They chunked, cupped, vibrated, howled, wandered, etc. Very poor choice for long distance travel.

 

[StumpXJ]

Ive told and written this so much, that I sometimes forget not everyone has heard my opinion.

They dont balance. I have tried to balance them myself on a computer balancer when new, I was a mechanic for 8 years with more tire experience than I care to admit. I have had two other shops (one in Germany, one here)try to balance them, with no success. I have used dynabeads, and they were worse than any of the other traditional balances. Im not talking a slight shake here, They ride rough. And every component on my suspension was brand new when I gto the tires, so I KNOW its the tires. The wheels have been checked as well for balance, they are good to go, and were purchased the same time the tires were.

I knew when I bought them that they are a mud tire, and not to expect a road tire ride. This isnt my first rodeo. But damn, it would be nice to use less than 4-6 ounces of lead per tire just to get them close.

They are noisy, but I dont care about that. Its an agressive mud tire, its going to be noisy.

Ok, balancing issues aside, they suck offroad. I have had Goodyear MTR's, BFG KM's, BFG AT's, Mickey Thompson Baja radials, Copper STTs, and Dunlop Rovers. The TruXus tires pack up way too easily in mud and dont clear out, are slick in the rain, chunk very easily on rocks ( I have huge chunks on the lugs), and with about 7000 miles on them, they are about halfway done. And, because of the lack of ability to balance them, they will just get worse with more miles. The ONLY thing I can think of that is good about them is they are decent in the snow, which now that i am in Atlanta, I could care less about.

They are cheap, and you indeed get what you pay for with these.

The Coopers were hands down the best tire I have ever used. Period.

As I mentioned, no more intercos for me. Alex, your post 'inspired' me to add a little more content to my post, thanks for leading by example.

 

[Abel Villesca]

I had bad luck with my swampers. They chunked, cupped, vibrated, howled, wandered, etc. Very poor choice for long distance travel.

Were they bias or radial tires? As stated earlier I've had a great run with TRXUS MT radials. I'd try the TSL radials next if they were available in 255/85/16 as the TRXUS are. There may be a significant difference in experience between the Interco Swampers and the tires they've designed with better road manners.

Are Interco tires just for rock crawlers? I don't think so, though I admit I purchased my first set of TRXUS radials for their aggressive pattern and rock climbing grip. I was looking for a compromise tire that provided rock climbing ability and was fully streetable.

Now that I spend more time overlanding I have found the aggresive tread pattern and tough construction combined with the 255/85/16 size to be a great combination. I've never had a puncture or a torn sidewall in thousands of miles. I've never lost a bead when aired down. They conform well to surfaces at low pressure and provide formidable traction in most off road environments.

I am not stating that they are the best tire for long distance travel, though they are certainly capable of that. I'm just trying to provide a report based on my experience with them.

Cheers,

 

[RedDog]

I have 31" Trxus MT's on the Jeep. Love 'em. Rotated every 5,000 km (3,000 miles). Watch pressures carefully. Excellent winter tire in my location. No noticeable noise issue on the highway and very pleased with light, recreational trail duty. When the time comes I'll replace them with the same.

 

[java]

i ran bias ply 36x12.5 r15 TSLs on my truck, they were loud but once warmed up and the flat spots were gone they rode great, best mud tire i have ever ran. did lots of road trips with no problems, i live in seattle, we get alot of rain and it never bothered me. they did wander a little if you didnt pay attention. never tried the radials tho.

 

[DEEZLPWR]

my 34's balanced perfectly fine, still are. i rotate them about every 1000-1500 miles to ensure even wear. I will continue to run interco tires, in fact my next set are 37" truxus 12.50x16. i guess if you want a tire that you dont have to put a little bit of effort into with keeping them up to par, dont get them.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

I have Truxus MT's and there great. I have put on well over 25K and there still at 50%, for a softer compound I'm very happy with that. The tires have never been loud, there quieter than the BFG muds they replaced. I have done a few 2500+km trips with them and no one complaint. I have also had them in everything from sand dunes to deep north west mud and they have out performed the BFG KM's in every element. In the snow they have been great as well, much more traction then my friends MT/R's same size same truck.

The only down side is the chinking on shale and rock. I have taken some bits out of them and put a few cuts on the tread blocks. I would not consider this a problems though, BFG's were better in this re guard but they were also rock hard and sucked in most other areas. Never had a flat or puncture though.

Once these tires are worn out I will replace them with the same tires maybe just 255/85 16's.

 

[Monstero]

I run 34Ltbs and absolutely love em. They are WAY quieter than my Pro-comp Xterrains ever were. Like someone has said already, once they are warmed up and flat spots are out they are a good running tire. Here where I live in the TN mtns they are hands down the best tire to run, and the monty goes where its pointed much easier.

 

[Larry]

I have been running Q78X16’s bias ply Super Swamper TSL’s on my rig for the past 7 years (2 sets in 7 years). Granted this truck doesn’t go all over the world like many other expo rigs but it does make long journeys all over Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. What I like about the tall skinny Swampers is they actually have decent road manners and still perform very well at everything I throw at it….snow, sand, mud, dirt roads, and even the highways to get there. Air them down to 12 psi on a heavy truck like this and you have yourself a Cadillac ride off-road.

Road noise….Oh yeah, plenty. Actually, it sounds a lot like a turbo prop airplane going down the road but if you are an avid off-roader, noisy tires are part of the package. Deal with it.

Swampers certainly do not fit everybody’s needs but they fit my needs perfectly and I wouldn’t have anything else on this particular truck.

New set of Q78’s

7 year old Q78’s just before I got new ones this past July.

Did I mention they work great in the snow even though these tires were born on the bayou...

Youtube of a snow run a few years ago..
http://www.youtube.com/user/DirtyLarry2#p/u/12/H3jl9YOUd8E

One more Youtube in the snow.
http://www.youtube.com/user/zoomad75#p/u/11/BvXf-_gmC5o

 

[b jeepin]

ok, here it goes

i have had several jeeps that i have run swampers on in the past. in my opinion the interco line offers some aggressive options that are more than street able. it all boils down to compromise. anyone running boggers and hoping for on rode performance is in for a big dissapointment. i ran a set of 33/12.50's on a 94 cherokee for about 6k miles, they wore surprisingly even and handled fine on dry roads, and yes they were LOUD! as for the tsl line i have run a few different sizes 31's to 35's. i have found these to be allot more rounded performance, still only a choice if your using the vehicle primarily offroad. if you think you want to go this aggressive please consider having them siped for better wet traction. i was again more than happy with the performance of the tires after being siped. living in michigan i get to experience all the wonderful seasons with plenty of wet and snow.

2 cents more:

i actually prefer to run bfg all terrains on any truck i drive daily, enough traction to get off the road as well as good road manners. i currently have a set of 265 75 16 bfg mud on my rover and a set of 36" swamper tsl's on my jeep. can you guess which one i daily drive?

anyway i just wanted to add my 2 cents and also point out that ss sidewalls are tough as nails, and just remind everyone that the interco line is a more off road tendered company. just use good judgement and pick a tire based on your preference and driving style!:victory:

trucks:

yeah i like to look at the pictures!

 

[xcmountain80]

I have run them on many vehicles and they are a no compromise tire. The SSR are my weapon of choice and I would buy them again if the need arose. We used them for hurricane restoration work because of there (4runner's) go anywhere capability. They wore well on the road for what they were (extremely aggressive offroad tire), balancing was a trick but doable. Noise? Yes they were noisy and you could feel the knobs when you slowed, but my God it's a no nonsense go anywhere tire!

A

 

[Pskhaat]

Interesting M class.

 

[xcmountain80]

Interesting M class.

Yes that was, he had some imported lift as it was four wheel independent susp. with a 4wd similar to A-trac, Running the Interco 285 SSR's (33.9"), there were not many places it wouldn't go.

A

 

[Lumberjack]

Um one thing I found with swampers is that cutting the tread blocks in half and having them siped makes a world of difference. Did this to both my Q78's TSL and 33" SSR's. Like night and day on the rocks and in wet conditions. Balancing them can be a chore for some, but a grooving iron can help:sombrero:
Also, very interesting driving q78's w/ 3 psi in them down the highway, turn steering wheel, wheels turn, tires still follow their own path:Wow1: but after 3 days of driving them like this I finally got the carcass to break in and give me some flex.

Dennis

Edit: Even though I love my swampers, I would never own Interco tires for a daily driver, there are way better options out there.