Wanted - Continental MPT 81 tires
- Thread starter Tomadoggy
- Start date
kcshoots
Active member
I've seen some for sale at one of the auction sites that sales US Government/military parts and vehicles such as GovPlanet. Also think Stazworks sells them; possibly TireRack (but would need to call) and some of the Unimog parts suppliers can get them. Turtle Expedition may have info on where to get since they now use that tire.
danneskjold
Active member
Any commercial tire shop should be able to order them, what were the freight charges for the ones on eBay?
The key is you need to go to a COMMERCIAL tire shop…think semis and tractors. Continental has a list of dealers on their website and just find one that is a commercial tire shop.
If you were in WA, OR or CA I could give you recommendations but it looks like you’re in CO?
The key is you need to go to a COMMERCIAL tire shop…think semis and tractors. Continental has a list of dealers on their website and just find one that is a commercial tire shop.
If you were in WA, OR or CA I could give you recommendations but it looks like you’re in CO?
danneskjold
Active member
Are you sure you saw US military surplus MPT81s for sale? To my knowledge there is only one vehicle in use by the US military that uses those tires and it’s exceedingly rare.
Fadeagray
Member
Check with Expedition Imports
Tomadoggy
Member
Freight quotes I have received from Ebay are $388 (to a business with a forklift/dock to >$550 to residential) I am in Colorado and best I can find so far is shipping from VA, so certainly expensive! Have called every commercial vendor for a huge radius, best I found was $850 per tire, nearly 2X the Ebay cost.
Tomadoggy
Member
Thanks for the suggestion, Looks like they have them for $525, Shipping to business with dock/forklift Total for 5 = $3,014
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kcshoots
Active member
Was a while back and may not have been that exact size and they were used.
danneskjold
Active member
$510ish is retail, and I wouldn’t pay over that unless you were in a bind. I bought a tire last week through them because I got a flat and was in a bind.
If you’re willing to drive then Parkhouse tire (closest location to you would be Victorville, CA) and Industrial Tire Service in Seattle can order the tire for you. I personally went through Industrial Tire Service and paid retail with no shipping charges.
Buckstop in Prineville, OR also carries them but they want $675 each, but there’s no shipping and no sales tax.
You might also try Earthroamer (which is in CO), or DBL Designs (TX).
Tomadoggy
Member
Called Earthroamer (is only about 35 miles from my house) but even though the receptionist was nice...they won't in any way shape or form assist anyone that is not an Earthroamer customer, not a bad suggestion thought.
OverlandFT
Well-known member
I don't think you're going to find a better price than Colony Tire on Ebay, unless you find a "one off" deal. Everything is more expensive right now. Colony Tire had the 335/80R20 MPT81s at $400 last year when I was looking (now $450). I paid $280 for terminal shipping on 5 tires from VA to AZ... gas prices are also up now too.
If price is a big factor, check out Pirelli PS22. I have a few thousand miles on mine and no complaints. They're less aggressive than the MPT81s, but run smooth and quiet on the highway. I bought 5 shipped for $1358 last year.
Tomadoggy
Member
Thanks to all for the feedback. Going to go with Colony Tire and the PS22's in 335/80R20. After reading and talking to a number of sellers of this tire, good reviews overall. Yes the date stamps are technically out of date...but these tires apparently have been indoors all their life and in my experience the only issues come from rot due to element/ozone exposure, so I am willing to take the gamble. Only other semi-nervous thinking is availability of replacement tires in the event of blowing through the spare while down in South America....guess that is also a gamble I am worth taking.