Earthroamer Continental MPT 81 in Winter

[IdaSHO]

I’m no Overlanding Adventure Man (TM) that combs the great white north deep into the winter months…. That being said, I took my rig on a 10 day elk hunting trip in the Eagle Cap mountains of NE Oregon last Nov. We were about 20 mi deep into the mountains that is primarily dirt access roads that get narrow, steep and twisty in many places.

When we arrived there was a few inches of snow fall from the previous week and it was starting to snow again. The first 3 days it snowed about 2 feet. Since we were hunting and not in a hurry to head back down the mountain, we didn’t think much about the drive back. However, after day three and no sign of elk (we believed the snowfall pushed them to lower elevations), we started thinking about making the trek back down.

I’ll be honest, we were nervous to make the drive down. Especially after hiking back to camp one of the days and seeing multiple freshly fallen trees across the snow covered access road we needed to return on. It was remote and our only comms with the outside world required use of our Garmin Sat messaging devices.

Anyhow, long story longer…. I brought a set of chains just in case, but never used them. The MPT 81s worked amazingly. We had to take an alt route down the Mtn that was about 30 mi. At one point we had to do one of those super tight Austin Powers u-turns and I managed to get the front end of the truck off the side of the road and into a fairly deep snow ravine. With TC enabled, the tires hooked up and climbed out.

As you can see, i opted to use a Northern Lite camper, so it’s not very light load. But again, the tires did great and was able to keep the chains in the bag for this trip.

Looks good.

No surprise deep lugged tires worked great in deep snow.
Id be far more concerned about travel on hardpack and icy roads with such tires.

 

[Alloy]

Alcoa 22.5. I have a ~5-6" lift (custom rear leaf, front coil and king shocks along with some other parts to deal with the height difference)

Are the Alcoas 10 @ 225?

 

[lucilius]

Are the Alcoas 10 @ 225?

Alcoa
Product Part Number 89U63x (my newest wheel is an 89U631, they've changed the #'s a bit over time)
Wheel Size (in) 22.5" x 9"
Mounting System Hub Pilot
Bolt Holes 10
Bolt Circle 285.75mm
Bolt Hole Diameter 26mm
Hub Bore 220.1mm
Approx. Weight (lbs) 48 lbs
Outset (in) N/A"
Inset (in) 3.12"
Max Load (lbs) 10000 lbs
Max Cold Infl. (psi) 130 psi
Valve Stem TR555E

 

[Alloy]

Alcoa
Product Part Number 89U63x (my newest wheel is an 89U631, they've changed the #'s a bit over time)
Wheel Size (in) 22.5" x 9"
Mounting System Hub Pilot
Bolt Holes 10
Bolt Circle 285.75mm
Bolt Hole Diameter 26mm
Hub Bore 220.1mm
Approx. Weight (lbs) 48 lbs
Outset (in) N/A"
Inset (in) 3.12"
Max Load (lbs) 10000 lbs
Max Cold Infl. (psi) 130 psi
Valve Stem TR555E

Do you have 10x225 to 10x285 adapters?

 

[lucilius]

Do you have 10x225 to 10x285 adapters?

Yes. The SRW conversion required wheel adapters, the name of the manufacturer escapes me. I believe they are no longer in business. There are a few companies out there doing custom wheel adapters esp. given the growing number of SRW 550/5500 trucks/campers/brush rigs/etc. Perhaps the ideal route would be finding a new rear axle but I haven't looked that hard and found one that is compatible and, though even fully loaded I am always well below GAWR, can handle more weight than my current one (Dana S110) to justify the cost and complexity of a swap. I am sure there is a better axle solution for the F550/5500-type chassis trucks, esp. if your weight is approaching GAWR, but I haven't found one. A key feature that would be worth finding is a locking differential(s), which to my knowledge is not available for the 550/5500 as configured.

 

[charlieaarons]

Yes. The SRW conversion required wheel adapters, the name of the manufacturer escapes me. I believe they are no longer in business. There are a few companies out there doing custom wheel adapters esp. given the growing number of SRW 550/5500 trucks/campers/brush rigs/etc. Perhaps the ideal route would be finding a new rear axle but I haven't looked that hard and found one that is compatible and, though even fully loaded I am always well below GAWR, can handle more weight than my current one (Dana S110) to justify the cost and complexity of a swap. I am sure there is a better axle solution for the F550/5500-type chassis trucks, esp. if your weight is approaching GAWR, but I haven't found one. A key feature that would be worth finding is a locking differential(s), which to my knowledge is not available for the 550/5500 as configured.

http://graphicvillage.org/meritor/SP1869

Air locker standard, NoSlip (Detroit) and LSD available, “CTIS ready”.
Cost:unknown, but undoubtedly not cheap.