Tire wear question.

[Wanderlusty]

Ok, up front admitting ignorance when it comes to tires designed as much for off road as on. Need guidance.

Here is the scenario. I have BFG AT 33x12.50's on my Jeep that I bought when it had 29K miles on it. By browsing the glove box, I know that the tires were put on by the original dealer when the truck was brand new.

So now they have 40K on them. Judging from the never-used spare, they are about half the original tread depth.

I have continued to not rotate in the spare because I did not think it was a smart thing to do with that much difference in the tread. The new set will undergo a 5 tire rotation from the get-go.

Anyway, so what I am curious of is that half of an AT like this is still a lot more tread than say, a car tire. But I know at some point, you would lose the benefits this tire offers off road with that little tread.

Also, it looks like despite being only 4 years old, they look like there is cracks in some of the tread, like dry rot, almost.

With a big trip out west planned for this fall, if I kept these tires on, by that time, they will most likely have 50K+ miles on them.

I have been pricing replacements. I plan on moving to an MT, most likely another set of BFG's...and have planned on getting them before the trip this fall.

Question is, am I on target with the amount of wear they have at this point, or am I jumping the gun?

I expect that the shape they are in, as they have worn amazingly well and are show no uneven wear, that I could probably get $200 or so for them for someone looking for tires for a hunting vehicle or an offroader on a budget, so I guess there are advantages even if I do jump the gun.

So just when is the right time to replace an offroad tire that sees fair amounts of offroad use?

 

[Pskhaat]

Or...drive them out West, buy some MTs here. No reason to wear in 3k of highway miles on some nice new MTs.

 

[devinsixtyseven]

What he said . The Big-O in Moab is very helpful.

Personally, if the trip you're referring to is the White Rim trip, I'd just keep 'em and get new tires afterward back in Arkansas, to save the highway wear on the new tires. I drove a set of Big-O XTs which were pushing the wear bars through the Maze...you don't need a real aggressive tread on the back roads, just a strong tire, and from experience the BFG AT is a very strong tire. Plus, the unused spare will be a bonus when you go to sell or trade them.

-Sean

 

[crawler#976]

IMO - if they are indeed dry rotting, I'd replace them prior to undertaking a long road trip. Tire failure is the last item you need to be concerned with on a vacation...

 

[Wanderlusty]

IMO - if they are indeed dry rotting, I'd replace them prior to undertaking a long road trip. Tire failure is the last item you need to be concerned with on a vacation...

I will see if I can snap some pics that show what I am talking about. I don't know if it is dry rot or not. Just some thin (hairline?) what best can be described as cracks down in the valleys of the tread.

 

[Wanderlusty]

What he said . The Big-O in Moab is very helpful.

Personally, if the trip you're referring to is the White Rim trip, I'd just keep 'em and get new tires afterward back in Arkansas, to save the highway wear on the new tires. I drove a set of Big-O XTs which were pushing the wear bars through the Maze...you don't need a real aggressive tread on the back roads, just a strong tire, and from experience the BFG AT is a very strong tire. Plus, the unused spare will be a bonus when you go to sell or trade them.

-Sean

That trip, yes, and on the same trip, the San Juans, possibly Chaco Culture. I believe Chaco is just down a dirt road. Not as sure what to expect in the San Juans, though I hear the trails I am considering (Imogine, Engineer...etc) are all fairly tame.

I know it would be a lot of hwy miles on new tires, but it would be a lot of hwy miles on old tires, too....so that may be another way to think about it...

 

[Wanderlusty]

And I also need to add that I may also be making a trip out again a month later or so, whenever they hold the ExPo Trophy. So that is even more highway miles, but it is also more offroad miles, guessing fairly challenging at that....

 

[SeaRubi]

"So just when is the right time to replace an offroad tire that sees fair amounts of offroad use?"

i'd venture to say that nearly as many off-roaders replace their tires well before they're worn down to the treadbars as ones who do. because of this, it means there are always lots of good tire deals floating around for less than half the cost of new if you're careful.

i'd say ... start shopping for a set of replacements. When you get 'em mounted, keep the old ones and put 'em up on ebay or craigslist and get some of your money back.

my last set of tires (before getting the rubi) was a set of half-worn BFG muds. they had lots of tread left on 'em, and hooked up well enough for the trail rig they were on. I paid about $250 for a set of 4 in 255/85. Before those, I had bought a set of 35x12.50 MT/R's for $500 that barely had the nubbies worn off. (I ditched 'em for 33's to save my humble rover ring 'n pinions after much consternation)

if you still have half tread on your at's, and they don't have any plugs or deep sidewall cuts I wouldn't worry about heading out west.

fwiw

 

[Wanderlusty]

Well, I know that at least one of them, I have found where it was plugged. But it has always held up for me, and I have not particularly tried to baby it.

Ok, school a newb on this one....where on the tire do I need to look for the tread bars that people are mentioning? That may help me answer my own question.

 

[njtaco]

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/tp/tp2823/rotation.htm

Check this link--down towards the bottom of the page-- but don't wait 'till the wear bars show...it is too late by then, IMHO.

(Especially since you are a new dad...)

Also, many wear bars are indexed with a small arrow, or triangle, on the sidewall to point them out.

 

[njtaco]

FWIW, if the plug is near or on the sidewall, junk the tire. If it was plugged from the inside, with a patch, I'd have more confidence in the tire than an outside plug. Only if it is in the tread area, of course.

 

[SeaRubi]

FWIW, if the plug is near or on the sidewall, junk the tire. If it was plugged from the inside, with a patch, I'd have more confidence in the tire than an outside plug. Only if it is in the tread area, of course.

:iagree: for sure if there's an actual plug, either have it replaced or repaired with a proper patch. I've not had a problem with wheelin' on a patched tires, but old skool tire plugs (where you can see it sticking through the tread) are bad news.

if you can, take a couple pics of the tread face for us. If you need help posting them up, PM me and I can have you email them to me and I'll host 'em somewhere.

Should you decide to replace and don't want to go the used route, I might interest you in the Yokohama Geolander A/T +II over the BFG's- these tires have superb traction for an A/T, are tough, and have a fabulously smooth and quiet ride over the road. They are also an inexpensive tire compared to the BFG A/T. If you have a Discount Tire in the neighborhood, check prices on Summit Racing and then get Discount to match, and pay for the replacement warranty.

Right now, 33x12.50's are going for $119. P/N YOK-01149

I'm still really tempted to replace my stock MT/R's with a set of these Yokos in 285/75. I ran one of them as a spare on my rangie (same diameter as 255/85) and was shocked at the tread depth, and how good it looked on a steel rim. I will most likely be upgrading to a set of Maxxis Bighorns MT's, though.

A good friend of mine runs these tires on a Discovery II in 265/75 (32") and, with just the factory traction control, kept up just fine with my old RRC on the BFG muds with a detroit / truetrack combo. *cough* i have to fess up that his rig actually skooled me pretty hard on a couple obstacles

just another option to toss out there. the only downside is that the sidewalls are relatively lightweight. He's had a couple replaced due to cuts but in the past 5 ~ 6 years or so that we've been wheelin together, I haven't seen one damaged enough to have to replace on the trail ... and we tend to run really rocky terrain when getting further to the east part of the cascades.

hope this helps

 

[Wanderlusty]

The plug is in the tread, nowhere near the sidewall, but is one of the old-school plugs.

As for pics, waiting for daylight and then I will snap pics of how much tread, and the plug, assuming I can find it again.

As I said, they have not let me down yet, though now I think about it, the one with a plug in WAS a little low a few weeks back....

Anyhow, if I stay with an AT, I am really pretty pleased with the BFG's. But I am really focused on moving to an MT, as I think that more and more, this vehicle will see off road action about as frequently as on road action. I was pondering a JK, but lately have felt that I just don't want to take on another 5 years of payments. I think I am going to pick up something cheap (already kind of have a line on that...) for every day use, and pour money into modding the Jeep for more offroad than on, which the MT's would fit.

But I honestly have no complaints with the AT's either...so I may in the end just get a new set of those...

 

[Wanderlusty]

Ok, got some pics. I warn you, I am not so good with the camera. Either that, or the camera is not so good.....

Anyway, tried to get snaps of the wear bars, which I still have a way to go on those, and also tried to capture the cracks I was talking about in the valleys. I could not find the plug I know I have seen before, but I might have found a nail :yikes: gotta get that looked at. Looks like it has been there a while (rusty).

Anyway, take a look and see if you can decipher anything. I also did the 'coin in the tread' deal, both on the tires on the truck and the never-used spare, for comparo.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Sell them NOW!


Off road tires loose a lot of grip once they are 50% worn. I have been very successful running MT's and AT's till they have about 50% tread left. I can usually sell them for around $200-250 for a set (where new they would be around $600) and put that money back into a replacement set of tires. Once you get them past 50% they take a big dive.

The Set I have on my truck now was a nearly new set of 33x12.5’s. The guy wanted to go bigger. Sold me 4 nearly new (as in the nipples are still on the tread in some places…maybe 2k on them) plus one REALLY good spare and a second Ok spare for $350.

As for what to get…..analyze your needs carfully. A mud tire stinks in the rain, ice and snow under 6 inches. A mud tire only purpose is Mud. If it is dry an AT like the BFG will usually do as well if not better. The only big down side is the Muds will take a little more abuse.

I ran BFG muds on my dedicated trail truck. They were great at Tellico and other places like that where mud was a given. They were a handful on wet roads.

That drag a second set with you and change at the trail head idea…. More hassle then its worth. Everybody that I know that tried that gave up after a couple trips. Nothing brings the suck like trying to change a muddy tire in the dark. Multiply that times 4 for the ride home and it really brings the suck.