Is Offroading in a SuperDuty Really That Bad?

Mack M

Member
I call BS on the Ford says part. They should have just said their numbers were an industry range without getting into specifics.

Best to check with the mfr of the particular part you are questioning. Surprising more folks dont seem to do that.

You made a good call !
Completely agree!
 

Mack M

Member
Yes, 18x8


And also correct they come 285’s, which are ~11.5”.

So I’m not sure why Ford would unnecessarily put out a statement that 7” rim would work. I’m guessing it was hearsay from a friend’s cousin’s second nephew who worked as a parts runner at a Ford dealership.
Sorry, just to be clear, it was Discount Tire stating that they receive that information from the vehicle manufacturer, in this case Ford.

I asked specifically (I called Discount after speaking with Falken) "So Ford says it is ok, but the actual tire manufacturer, whose product you were putting on my vehicle, says this is not safe, and you guys feel this is OK?" To which they replied, yes. Pretty messed up in my opinion on Discount Tire's part.
 

Montereyman

New member
The problem is with the width and the turning radius of such trucks. My various Toyota mini pickups had roughly the wheelbase of my friend's Jeep CJ7 and could go anywhere. Many forest roads are cut by Cat tractors that can turn on a dime, unlike a pickup truck.

What has been happening in recent years is that full size pickups are little better than a AWD minivan for off road use. Most models do not have Hi/Low transfer cases or limited slip rear differentials and so are little better than a Subaru. With Ford for example the models with the transfer case start at around $95,000.

Most have tiny fuel tanks as with the GM 1500 trucks that come with a 23 gallon gas tank and no options for ordering a larger tank. I bought a Ford F-150 so I could get the 36-gallon gas tank. When exploring in the past I used a third of my fuel to get to an area and another third exploring and had a third to return to civilization. With my Willys that meant having two 5-gallon jerry cans attached to the sides to provide enough range.
 

toddz69

Explorer
Discount is not the company it once was, that said, they've never scoffed at mounting anything I've brought them, including setups they likely shouldn't have lol.
In my experience, Discount really changed course about 20 years ago after the Explorer/Firestone tire kerfuffle. I had an '01 Super Duty with larger tires mounted on the stock wheels by a previous owner. One of the tires went bad so I went to Discount for a replacement (probably in '04?). They wouldn't mount the larger tires - saying they were too large for the wheels. OK - how about one size larger than stock? (285s). Nope! So I went to Big O and had them do one size larger - no problem and no questions asked. And I still run the same size tires on the truck. I've not done business with Discount since. Prior to that experience, I had used Discount exclusively for about 10 years, which included mounting larger tires on my Bronco wheels than what some would consider "proper".

Todd Z.
 

toddz69

Explorer
I guess putting tires larger than stock is store or employee dependent because I’ve never had them refuse me on that. But inconsistency isn’t acceptable either.
You're very fortunate if they'll do that for you. I'm in the Phoenix area so maybe they are more gun-shy here due to the heat. Or maybe it's our proximity to Discount's headquarters.

Todd Z.
 

TexasSixSeven

Observer
In my experience, Discount really changed course about 20 years ago after the Explorer/Firestone tire kerfuffle. I had an '01 Super Duty with larger tires mounted on the stock wheels by a previous owner. One of the tires went bad so I went to Discount for a replacement (probably in '04?). They wouldn't mount the larger tires - saying they were too large for the wheels. OK - how about one size larger than stock? (285s). Nope! So I went to Big O and had them do one size larger - no problem and no questions asked. And I still run the same size tires on the truck. I've not done business with Discount since. Prior to that experience, I had used Discount exclusively for about 10 years, which included mounting larger tires on my Bronco wheels than what some would consider "proper".

Todd Z.
I go through 1-2 sets of tires a year. I have Discount mount larger tires every single time. I’ve used multiple locations without issue. As long as they’re approved for the rim width they don’t give me any issues. I typically go one size larger than stock, but in my 250 I go a couple sizes larger.
 

TexasSixSeven

Observer
The problem is with the width and the turning radius of such trucks. My various Toyota mini pickups had roughly the wheelbase of my friend's Jeep CJ7 and could go anywhere. Many forest roads are cut by Cat tractors that can turn on a dime, unlike a pickup truck.

What has been happening in recent years is that full size pickups are little better than a AWD minivan for off road use. Most models do not have Hi/Low transfer cases or limited slip rear differentials and so are little better than a Subaru. With Ford for example the models with the transfer case start at around $95,000.

Most have tiny fuel tanks as with the GM 1500 trucks that come with a 23 gallon gas tank and no options for ordering a larger tank. I bought a Ford F-150 so I could get the 36-gallon gas tank. When exploring in the past I used a third of my fuel to get to an area and another third exploring and had a third to return to civilization. With my Willys that meant having two 5-gallon jerry cans attached to the sides to provide enough range.
$61,880 for an 7.3 F-250 XLT Tremor. Can I have some of that good stuff you have?
 

TexasSixSeven

Observer
Holy crap! How come? Lots of miles or because of the terrain chewing up tires?
I go through 1 set a year in my company truck. I use it for personal and work. Lots of miles. Some years north of 80K. I get 2-3 years out of tires on my personal truck (still sees 15-20K a year), and 3-4 out of tires on the wife’s 4Runner. So consistently buying tires every year for my company truck, and about every other year for our personals. All 3 vehicles see a fair amount of time off road, so all 3 vehicles get good tires. KO2s on the company and 4Runner, and my 250 is wearing Mickey T Baja Bosses. When these wear out they be replaced with the same.
 

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