Ideal Tire setup on M35a2

[4x4 Forever]

I had my mind made up at one time and now I cannot decide and would like to pick minds and see about the options…

What I would like:
Larger sized tires than the 9.00x20.
Keep the trailering aspect of the beast.
Ease (relative) of changing tires by myself on the side of the road.
Availability of spares, not only around homebase but on the road as well.
The truck would be used as a travel vehicle, not just around town, possibly towing a fully loaded M105.

I had been set on the following: 11.00x20 (stock rims) on the back and 14.5x20 (or equivalent) on the front.

I have also been looking the MRAP wheels and 395/85R20.

Questions:

1. Has anyone done the MRAP/395 swap and towed with it after the swap?
2. What has the swap done to the powerband in regards to towing?
3. Other than looking REAL nice and better clearance, is there any OTHER reason to go with the MRAP/395 setup?
4. Is there any reason NOT to go with the 1100/14.5 combo?
5. Is there any other option in mounting the 14.5s on the front axle other than A3 or Custom rims? I’ve also read somewhere that A3 rims are not the way to go…

 

[Flyingvan911]

If you use 11s on the rear and 14s on the front you won't be able to use the 6x6 or you'll blow something up. Several of my friends are using singled 11.00x20. They like it a lot. I am keeping my 10-9.00's for now.

 

[jasonjc]

If you use 11s on the rear and 14s on the front you won't be able to use the 6x6 or you'll blow something up. Several of my friends are using singled 11.00x20. They like it a lot. I am keeping my 10-9.00's for now.

You are right in not using 14's , but he said 14.5's those will work. Like on my truck's I'm running 9.00's on the rear and 12.50's on the front. The .5 make them shorter.

 

[eagle4g63]

With the 14.5 only being .3" larger in DIAMETER I don't think anything would notice it..............we are talking only about a 1/4"......again in diameter, tire wear would give more than that.

It would be the way I am thinking of doing it the next time around......instead of the 395's I have now.

 

[4x4 Forever]

The 14.5s and 1100x20s are close enough to almost be twins. I've seen several set up with this and thought it was the cats meow! I know I have had several civvy GMs with 4.11 on the rear and 4.10 in the front, no problems.

Thanks guys!

 

[Flyingvan911]

I didn't know about the .5 sizes. Thanks for the info.

 

[eagle4g63]

Here is a chart of the military tires: Army Military Tires

 

[cbvet]

I'm very happy with 1100R20s with rears singled.

 

[4x4 Forever]

anyone, anyone, anyone...

 

[Castle Bravo]

If I had kept my deuce (Or if I get another) I had planned on doing 10 11R20 tires, probably the common G177s that are on most of the M939 trucks now.

I like having 10 tires, as you effectively have 4 spares if you're not loaded too heavy, plus the 1100s aren't too heavy to deal with by yourself or too large to fit in the deuce's spare tire spot. The radial tires should wear a bit better than the bias ply tires, and they're still tubed, so you could carry extra tubes and tools and fix flats yourself, so long as you didn't tear the tire up too bad.

If you wanted complete get-em-anywhere availability, you'd need to go to something 11R22.5.

 

[drgreg]

"The truck would be used as a travel vehicle"

There is something to be said for having 11 of the same tire/wheel combinations. I would run 11.00-20 radials or 11.00-20 NDCC for looks.

 

[4x4 Forever]

That is what I was thinking as well...As far as the NDCCs go, they do not last long...

 

[drgreg]

Nothing really lasts long on the front of a Deuce. The beauty of having all the same tires is you can rotate the fronts to the back and maximize wear.

 

[taylordc15]

I am running the MRAP/395 combo, I love it, looks great and the truck runs 60 MPH on the highway. I have not towed anything with it yet but my truck is a couple of thousand lbs heavier than stock. It is not an easy task to change them on your own and I do have a pyro gauge and the fuel turned up in order to get those highway speeds

 

[nk14zp]

Nothing really lasts long on the front of a Deuce. The beauty of having all the same tires is you can rotate the fronts to the back and maximize wear.

Id run the same on the trailer too.

 

[4x4 Forever]

I am running the MRAP/395 combo, I love it, looks great and the truck runs 60 MPH on the highway. I have not towed anything with it yet but my truck is a couple of thousand lbs heavier than stock. It is not an easy task to change them on your own and I do have a pyro gauge and the fuel turned up in order to get those highway speeds

They look GREAT but I have concerns about towing a fully loaded M105 with this setup though...If I am on the road, I do not want to toast a clutch or tranny...

 

[nk14zp]

They look GREAT but I have concerns about towing a fully loaded M105 with this setup though...If I am on the road, I do not want to toast a clutch or tranny...

That and 11.00s are easy to find at most tire shops.

 

[Csm Davis]

I would say run a full set of 11.00 x 20 Goodyear 177s but I am a little biased come on over and buy a set from me.

 

[3dAngus]

They look GREAT but I have concerns about towing a fully loaded M105 with this setup though...If I am on the road, I do not want to toast a clutch or tranny...

I just towed a fully loaded M105 to the Ga. Rally and back and the chase vehicle says I was going 70 and topped out at about 75. I'm running 395s on a bobbed deuce. I'll be checking with a GPS this week to verify the 70mph speed though I have total confidence in the observers in chase and am able to keep up with most traffic on I-75. Average speed down south of Atlanta on I-75 is about 75, in my 40 years experience driving it. Going up the longer hills slowed me down though.

There are no issue towing a fully loaded M105 with 395s on a deuce if done right.
The M105 is running 9X20 standard NDTs. It's all about the hitch, making it right, and keeping it level. I added a second lower hitch with adjustments for the 2" ball receiver/pintle combo underneath my normal deuce hitch so I can pull just about anything at just about any height. If you don't have it level, you'll have issues with any tires/wheels. I didn't even level it all out for the M105, but did it for another trailer so there is marginal room for error on the leveling.

 

[4x4 Forever]

I just towed a fully loaded M105 to the Ga. Rally and back and the chase vehicle says I was going 70 and topped out at about 75. I'm running 395s on a bobbed deuce. I'll be checking with a GPS this week to verify the 70mph speed though I have total confidence in the observers in chase and am able to keep up with most traffic on I-75. Average speed down south of Atlanta on I-75 is about 75, in my 40 years experience driving it. Going up the longer hills slowed me down though.

There are no issue towing a fully loaded M105 with 395s on a deuce if done right.
The M105 is running 9X20 standard NDTs. It's all about the hitch, making it right, and keeping it level. I added a second lower hitch with adjustments for the 2" ball receiver/pintle combo underneath my normal deuce hitch so I can pull just about anything at just about any height. If you don't have it level, you'll have issues with any tires/wheels. I didn't even level it all out for the M105, but did it for another trailer so there is marginal room for error on the leveling.

I'll be leaving the deuce as a tandem in the back...an extra 900# in tires and 1000# in axles and running gear compared to the bobber you have. I'd love to have the 70MPH but...wonder if anyone out there running a singled out deuce with 395s that tows and what it does with their EGTs, etc....

450# tire changes are also, uh, real fun on the side of the road...

With the rest of the above information and discussion, I am leaning back in the favour of the 1100's...