We are looking at a Earthroamer style camper (size and weight) which has Continental MPT 81's on it. We will do a fair amount of winter (snow) cold weather camping and wanted to see what the real-use opinions are on how these tires do in winter. When the tires wear out, I might look for alternative tires but would prefer to have to swap these right away. Anyone that has an Earthroamer - or similar campers - and uses them in winter months, would welcome your feedback on these tires.
Earthroamer Continental MPT 81 in Winter
- Thread starter supermoo
- Start date
DirtWhiskey
Western Dirt Rat
The main disadvantage of big lug tires is lack of siping. But you can air down too and it helps a lot. My MPT81s got me through the most epic snow year ever in Utah this year. I ran 30psi all winter. Much softer ride. Still might have them siped though.
charlieaarons
Explorer
My experience is that a big heavy vehicle like my U500 camper with 46” XZLs will claw through 3 foot berms of old snow and effortlessly through any depth of fresh snow.
I did drive it to work (8.9 miles each way) one winter. Not great on ice but it has ABS. I remember the ABS actually doing its thing exactly once that winter.
People and organizations that want to regularly use big MPT or Mil tires on ice put studs in them.
I did drive it to work (8.9 miles each way) one winter. Not great on ice but it has ABS. I remember the ABS actually doing its thing exactly once that winter.
People and organizations that want to regularly use big MPT or Mil tires on ice put studs in them.
wordofbabb
Member
On my ER my only option is to run the MPT 81s, but if I had a vehicle that was lighter, I would go for the Goodyear G275 MSA tires. Way less maintenance than the MPT 81s. Some of the older ER LTs have been able to successfully switch to them because their weight rating is about 400lbs less per tire, but in my case it makes too much of a difference. I currently rotate my tires every 2500 miles and it is certainly a chore. You get faster as you do it more, but it still takes it toll. I just air down my MPT 81s when in heavy snow. I had my Roamer out through March of this year going from PNW to Colorado in some heavy snows at Glacier and a few other areas along the way.
charlieaarons
Explorer
So, the rear axle load on an ER can be that close to full load capacity of the Conti 335s? That in itself is strongly suggestive of rapid tread wear and potential overheating.
That’s ~94-95% max load capacity of tire.
Perhaps, ERs need something like 385/65R22.5s? Of course they’d be even harder on front wheel bearings etc.
That’s ~94-95% max load capacity of tire.
Perhaps, ERs need something like 385/65R22.5s? Of course they’d be even harder on front wheel bearings etc.
lucilius
Active member
I'll quote myself from a few years back since it basically fits the OP's question and CA's comment above:
"+1 on charlieaarons’ comments. I don’t know if you are committed/restricted to a beadlock 335/80/20 on your 550 chassis (camper?) but another, easily sourced and maintained, option that Ive been using successfully is a 315/80R22.5. I have a custom leaf and coil suspension (Pohl Springworks in Spokane will build based on your rig’s spec and put it all together very professionally) on my F550 and use Continental 315/80r22.5 HDR2+ (summer) and HDW2 (winter). I have 8 Alcoa wheels I swap seasonally. They are relatively easy to find in stock, not too expensive new, very easy to order, try Pete’s tire store on the web. Performance-wise, the weight rating and speed rating of the Conti 315/80’s are higher than the 335/80 options (not that the 335/80 are inadequate in either respect on most rigs I’ve seen), the winter tire traction on snow and especially ice is excellent. I would be very interested to see much of a difference in offroad performance between my setup and another ~16-18k lbs 550 camper using a 335/80r20...given ~equal drivers, the suspension capability as well as vehicle weight/size might be more important factors limiting mobility: i wouldnt expect to see a significant offroad advantage either way, unless we are talking about unchained driving in snow/icy conditions where a softer compound siped-tire really works well."
I personally wouldn't want MPT81 or equiv military beadlock tire for extensive snow/ice driving unless I was really wanting to run the "chains on/chains off" drill on a regular basis for a crossfit exercise. I will also add that Continental for the past couple of years has been struggling to supply tires in the US for some reason though apparently they are releasing a new/improved MPT81. I am likely switching to the following tire unless I see Continental fixing whatever supply/production challenge they're facing: https://business.michelinman.com/tires/michelin-xdn-2-grip. My 315/80r22.5 are L-rated (9090lbs and ) and 75mph speed rating. The 315/80r22.5's are very durable tires though they can't be run at extremely low air pressure like an MPT81. The weight of an ER (for a fully loaded trip on a newer ER, maybe round it to ~13-14k on the rear axle and ~5-6k on the front) doesn't come close to the load capacity of these tires which is where I prefer to be versus crossing my fingers that the MPT81 or equiv mil tire can handle the weight on and offroad. I will add that there are plenty of ER owners who use the MPT81 with success and they are the ones who really stay on top of the maintenance. These folks do quite a bit of offroad travel but I've never heard anyone speak much about the snow/ice capability of those tires. Note that the 315/80r22.5 are ~43". I don't know if this will work with ER's standard kelderman 6x airbag lift.
"+1 on charlieaarons’ comments. I don’t know if you are committed/restricted to a beadlock 335/80/20 on your 550 chassis (camper?) but another, easily sourced and maintained, option that Ive been using successfully is a 315/80R22.5. I have a custom leaf and coil suspension (Pohl Springworks in Spokane will build based on your rig’s spec and put it all together very professionally) on my F550 and use Continental 315/80r22.5 HDR2+ (summer) and HDW2 (winter). I have 8 Alcoa wheels I swap seasonally. They are relatively easy to find in stock, not too expensive new, very easy to order, try Pete’s tire store on the web. Performance-wise, the weight rating and speed rating of the Conti 315/80’s are higher than the 335/80 options (not that the 335/80 are inadequate in either respect on most rigs I’ve seen), the winter tire traction on snow and especially ice is excellent. I would be very interested to see much of a difference in offroad performance between my setup and another ~16-18k lbs 550 camper using a 335/80r20...given ~equal drivers, the suspension capability as well as vehicle weight/size might be more important factors limiting mobility: i wouldnt expect to see a significant offroad advantage either way, unless we are talking about unchained driving in snow/icy conditions where a softer compound siped-tire really works well."
I personally wouldn't want MPT81 or equiv military beadlock tire for extensive snow/ice driving unless I was really wanting to run the "chains on/chains off" drill on a regular basis for a crossfit exercise. I will also add that Continental for the past couple of years has been struggling to supply tires in the US for some reason though apparently they are releasing a new/improved MPT81. I am likely switching to the following tire unless I see Continental fixing whatever supply/production challenge they're facing: https://business.michelinman.com/tires/michelin-xdn-2-grip. My 315/80r22.5 are L-rated (9090lbs and ) and 75mph speed rating. The 315/80r22.5's are very durable tires though they can't be run at extremely low air pressure like an MPT81. The weight of an ER (for a fully loaded trip on a newer ER, maybe round it to ~13-14k on the rear axle and ~5-6k on the front) doesn't come close to the load capacity of these tires which is where I prefer to be versus crossing my fingers that the MPT81 or equiv mil tire can handle the weight on and offroad. I will add that there are plenty of ER owners who use the MPT81 with success and they are the ones who really stay on top of the maintenance. These folks do quite a bit of offroad travel but I've never heard anyone speak much about the snow/ice capability of those tires. Note that the 315/80r22.5 are ~43". I don't know if this will work with ER's standard kelderman 6x airbag lift.
The Toyo M920A appears to be available in that size.
"The M920A delivers superb all-weather traction and high mileage for year-round use in long haul, regional and urban operations. This unique tire features a Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake plus a wider tread width for even load distribution and improved stability. The deep tread ensures maximum mileage on pickup and delivery vehicles, while an N-speed rating matches OE specifications. Computer-optimized design, all-weather traction, and high mileage make the M920A the leading tire for pickup and delivery vehicles." from https://www.toyotires.com/commercial-truck/tire/pattern/m920a/
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.
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.
Attachments
Last edited:
180out
Well-known member
i run TOYOs 245/70-19.5. 110psi hwy 60-70 in the dirt. they work great in the snow. the duels just require a rock check after a run on a coble road. takes a few seconds to check while you air back up. tire chains are readily available and cables on the front. run singles chains on the rear and cables on the front, un stoppable. i run around in the eastern sierra and western Nevada regularly. truck is 17k pounds.
Alloy
Well-known member
What wheels are you using?. Doesn't look like Alcoa makes a 22.5" that fits a F550.
lucilius
Active member
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)