BFG A/T vs Muds on dry/wet sand? (1 Viewer)

[Last Flight Out]

Given the same rig suspension, vehicle weight, wheel/tire size, air pressure and environmental conditions for wet or dry sand (50% sand driving and 50% crushed pavement)…is there a better choice over the other? A/T vs Muds. I’m assuming muds do better in wet or dry sand…just speaking to BFG here.

 

[1911]

I've run both, one after the other on my 40, first the MT then the AT (still currently on). The MT were great for pretty challenging wheeling (Poughkeepsie Gulch Trail, general Moab trails, etc.). They were noisy on the highway. Did well in wet conditions, OK but not great in snow, bad on ice. The AT's have much better manners, are more quiet, and do fine in general off-road conditions. We don't have that much sand here so I can't speak specifically to that but overall I prefer the AT's for most everything so far - but if I did Poughkeepsie Gulch trail again or similar, I would want some MT back on. Hope this helps.

The Wall on Poughkeepsie Gulch, with BFG MT's

 

[jim land]

AT will dig less and float on the top

 

[Last Flight Out]

AT will dig less and float on the top

Ha....and is that a good thing? Floating?

 

[thatcabledude]

BFG ATs are awesome on sand. I’ve had both and MT’s are fine in sand too, but the AT were amazing for me. They will be quieter and smoother (when worn) on pavement too.

I have had several sets of a very similar tire made by General that I preferred. The Grabber AT

 

[80t0ylc]

Given the same rig suspension, vehicle weight, wheel/tire size, air pressure and environmental conditions for wet or dry sand (50% sand driving and 50% crushed pavement)…is there a better choice over the other? A/T vs Muds. I’m assuming muds do better in wet or dry sand…just speaking to BFG here.

AT will dig less and float on the top

Ha....and is that a good thing? Floating?

On sand, yes, you want to stay on top. Tires with rounded shoulders will do better than the square shouldered M/T's in dry sand. Wet sand (like on the beach) it doesn't matter. Sand that has water oozed up from a water source from below, such as quick sand, stay away from - nothing will help. A/T's will do better in desert sand, say like Arizona, Nevada, So. Cal. and Mexico or any dune setting.

 

[Dumkid]

Here in the Arizona desert the important thing about sand is having a wide enough tire to not dig holes. 4/32 tread depth Michelin at2 and 6/32 cooper htp both work in sand fine, even aired up to 30psi. You don't need big deep tread in sand. You do need wide enough tires. Pizza cutters on a 8000lb Cummins don't work in sand very well.

Arizona sand usually has a bunch of gravel in it and is pretty easy to drive on but in the river bottoms the ATVs fluff it up and it's harder to stay on top.

You'll do fine on sand as long as you use 4x4 and start out gently. No clutch dump launches on sand. It doesn't always work.

 

[80t0ylc]

Here in the Arizona desert the important thing about sand is having a wide enough tire to not dig holes. 4/32 tread depth Michelin at2 and 6/32 cooper htp both work in sand fine, even aired up to 30psi. You don't need big deep tread in sand. You do need wide enough tires. Pizza cutters on a 8000lb Cummins don't work in sand very well.

Arizona sand usually has a bunch of gravel in it and is pretty easy to drive on but in the river bottoms the ATVs fluff it up and it's harder to stay on top.

You'll do fine on sand as long as you use 4x4 and start out gently. No clutch dump launches on sand. It doesn't always work.

You bring up a good point. Since almost all vehicles used off road today are equiped with auto trannys, gentle starts are so much easier to achieve. IMHO, if there were no auto trans, there would be a lot less people driving off road, let alone on the pavement. Very few more skills are needed to drive an auto trans than a video game or RC car. Yeah, I'm an old school retired 'ol fart...lol.