FLU tires

[peakbagger]

Well I guess I am in the tire market. My SEE tires all had evidence of sidewall cracking/dry rot. I managed to drive over a sharp stub and it punched the sidewall. Time to bite the bullet and get a set of 4 new (or new to me ) tires.

My 1300L has the same size tires which are Continental Military Tires (MPT MIL). I like them for on road use, unfortunately I called a Continental commercial tire dealer and they are unavailable even to order (even though they list them).

I am leaning towards Michelin XZLs which appear to have a better rep than the dreaded XLs XLs.

I haven't heard any glowing reviews of the Pirellis. Past experience is they can make good tires but QC was generally poor so better chance of getting a bad tire.

 

[The FLU farm]

If you don't care about road use (but I think you do), rtrask recently came across a nice and affordable AG tire. Naturally I don't remember the name of it. Too tall for my liking, so I didn't even try.

Haven't tried the Swampers in snow yet, but the Pitbulls did better than the stock Michelins with chains.
For general use in dirt, there's no comparison. I'd say that the Michelin's traction in 4WD is roughly equal to the other two in 2WD. And that they're better on pavement (the little I've driven) should come as no surprise. But you already knew I'd say this, right?

 

[peakbagger]

Yes, I do need some on road use capability as I need to drive over to another property about 10 miles away on occasion. I am pretty well resigned to buying skidder chains for off road use so off road capability without chains is a lower priority. Since I may mix and match with my 1300L I need to keep the high speed rating.

 

[The FLU farm]

Can't say that speed rating ever entered my mind when picking tires for a SEE.

 

[peakbagger]

My 1300L routinely is run up to its governor limited speed of 57 MPH, I have had it going faster on downhills but the steering tends to get a bit "vague". Goodyear made a G275 mil spec tire with self sealing capability rated for 88 MPH but I think they are out of production and not readily available surplus.

There has been a lot of discussion on MOG forums on the cause of a fatal crash of a BLM Unimog several years ago, a tire blew at speed and the Mog rolled over at speed. It didn't have a roll cage. There have been several fatal accidents with military Mogs worldwide due to roll overs. I expect the ROPS addition was not optional for the US military. Unfortunately, Mogs are designed for the frame to flex and bolting a solid roll hoop to a flexible frame is probably not real easy. The SEEs frames have been reinforced so they don't flex so its not an issue.

 

[The FLU farm]

Well, I think I'd rather drive "fast" on a fresh ag tires than on old radials. At least as I recall, that was the case with the BLM incident.
Besides, keeping in mind that the speed rating is based on max load for the tire, and sustained speeds, most military type tires could probably be driven quite fast with only a SEE on top of them.

My concern has been more with the load rating, having only a few hundred pounds of margin, and made much worse by me running less than half the max inflation pressure.
Still, I'd prefer to drive "fast" on the under inflated Pitbulls or Swampers over correctly inflated old Michelins. The Pitbulls or Swampers may blow out, but I'm fairly certain that the Michelins would. It's only a matter of when.

Luckily, so far you and I have only lost Michelins while slow poking. Let's keep it that way.

 

[Pinsandpitons]

What about these;
[h=1]16.0/70-20 BKT AS-504 I-3[/h]Anyone know anything about them or run them? The load rating looks right, G, 9000 lbs per single according to some web sources. The cost is higher than I'd like for sure and the on road manners are probably worse then the XL. Thoughts?

 

[The FLU farm]

Looks nice. I'd definitely consider those once I win the lottery.
As far as road manners go, ag tires usually only have one manner on pavement: wear.

 

[Pinsandpitons]

Yes and yes. Also I just noticed that mine are marked Michelin X not XL. Same same or different?