Hey folks! I’d like to share my experience with the Nitto Trail Grapplers I’ve been running on the 100 for the past few years. I normally wouldn't bother the forum with another tire thread, but the wear I've had from these has been exceptional. I figure I’ll need new rubber before winter, so I thought it would be a good time to write the review. They are 285/65-18’s, and I rotate the spare through. I currently have over 67,000 miles on them! The have really been a great tire. I can’t believe the wear I’m getting out of them. They still measure over 5/32” at the thinnest spot I could find, and 1/4” elsewhere. I’m not a tire rotation nazi, but I do rotate them every 5-10k miles, usually closer to 5k when I change the oil. Here’s some observations for those who may be looking at these tires.
Noise
I’d say average or better than average for a mud tire. They do hum, but it’s a consistent hum, not the annoying wah-wah-wah you get with some mud tires. Doesn’t bother me at all, and I almost never have the radio on. Driving is my “quiet time.” My wife doesn’t love the hum, but she’s used to it.
Dry Handling
Good. Frankly, it’s a Land Cruiser. While I don’t drive like a little old lady, I don’t hit the VSC on a dry on ramp, either. The times I’ve had to push them, they were predictable, with good feedback and progressive roll- again, for a mud tire. They stay planted and grip without wallowing during quick “panic” stops.
Wet Handling
I’d say better than average for a mud tire. They are pretty secure feeling when the roads are slightly flooded due to the large channels between the blocks and siping. All tires will hydroplane, but with the weight of the LC and these tires I rarely need to slow down much in the rain.
Snow and Ice
I grew up in Michigan, so I’ve had plenty of driving time in winter conditions. These tires actually surprised me quite a bit in the Sierra winters. My past experience with mud tires has been less than stellar on ice and packed snow. These handle almost as well as any all terrain I’ve run in the past, but not as good as a dedicated winter tire. They’ve clawed through deep snow the few times I’ve gone through it, which was expected.
Rocks
Actually, nasty sharp rocks. These are everywhere around here, and the main reason I usually run such a heavy tire with deep tread blocks and heavy sidewalls. These babies have handled it all with ease. Chunking has been very minimal, more like “chipping” over the life of the tire. Much less chunking than the Cooper STT’s I had previously. I’ve never had a rock penetrate the tread or slash the sidewalls. I’ve only had 3 punctures total, and each was from some form of metal that would have punctured any tire (bolt, misc. steel piece, and a large screw). Even those times I had a puncture, I never got a “flat”. They held air enough for me to be able to top them up and make it home before making any repairs. One of the punctures was in Moab. I was able to finish the trip and drive all the way back to CA before pulling the tire.
Pressure
I usually run 35 psi on the road, and rarely air down off pavement. When I do I take them down to about 18-20 psi. When in Moab, we were pretty heavily loaded and the 20 psi we were running was too low. But, I was too lazy to air them up halfway down the trail. A couple of times I watched as the tire completely folded up over the outside of the rim when negotiating rocky trails. They never skipped a beat or burped air, but I think at least one of the tires suffered some internal damage. Now, when the tires are cold there is a pretty significant low frequency vibration until they warm up (5 min). My fault, not the tires. The only other thing to mention about air pressure is that they never leak air. Ever. I only check pressures when the temp changes drastically and before a long trip.
Wear
Incredible. As stated, they’re at 67k miles and going strong. I could easily get another 7-10k out of them if I wanted to run them to minimum depth. They actually would have done much better in the wear department, but due to an injury I’ve been dealing with I’ve been letting the tire shop rotate them. Even though I draw them a 5 tire rotation diagram, they rarely get it right. Amazing, I know
. One of the tires still has about 1/4” of tread. I know they skipped the spare or didn’t follow the diagram more than once.
Weight
Heavy.
Mileage
Crap. Nah, actually probably average for mud tires and some extra weight in the rig. I normally get 9-10 in the city/slow hills and 11-12 on the freeway at 75-80mph. Best mileage is in the mountains at 12-14 mpg.
Overall, I’ve been extremely happy with these tires. I’m struggling with the decision whether to replace them with the same or try something else. With 2 little ones in the family now the cruiser sees more family wagon duties than before, so perhaps a switch to an all-terrain wouldn’t be a bad idea. But, knowing the Trail Grapplers will easily go 70k is a pretty enticing proposition. For those of you looking for a trail tire, they are hard to beat. And they look good.
Cheers!
David
Noise
I’d say average or better than average for a mud tire. They do hum, but it’s a consistent hum, not the annoying wah-wah-wah you get with some mud tires. Doesn’t bother me at all, and I almost never have the radio on. Driving is my “quiet time.” My wife doesn’t love the hum, but she’s used to it.
Dry Handling
Good. Frankly, it’s a Land Cruiser. While I don’t drive like a little old lady, I don’t hit the VSC on a dry on ramp, either. The times I’ve had to push them, they were predictable, with good feedback and progressive roll- again, for a mud tire. They stay planted and grip without wallowing during quick “panic” stops.
Wet Handling
I’d say better than average for a mud tire. They are pretty secure feeling when the roads are slightly flooded due to the large channels between the blocks and siping. All tires will hydroplane, but with the weight of the LC and these tires I rarely need to slow down much in the rain.
Snow and Ice
I grew up in Michigan, so I’ve had plenty of driving time in winter conditions. These tires actually surprised me quite a bit in the Sierra winters. My past experience with mud tires has been less than stellar on ice and packed snow. These handle almost as well as any all terrain I’ve run in the past, but not as good as a dedicated winter tire. They’ve clawed through deep snow the few times I’ve gone through it, which was expected.
Rocks
Actually, nasty sharp rocks. These are everywhere around here, and the main reason I usually run such a heavy tire with deep tread blocks and heavy sidewalls. These babies have handled it all with ease. Chunking has been very minimal, more like “chipping” over the life of the tire. Much less chunking than the Cooper STT’s I had previously. I’ve never had a rock penetrate the tread or slash the sidewalls. I’ve only had 3 punctures total, and each was from some form of metal that would have punctured any tire (bolt, misc. steel piece, and a large screw). Even those times I had a puncture, I never got a “flat”. They held air enough for me to be able to top them up and make it home before making any repairs. One of the punctures was in Moab. I was able to finish the trip and drive all the way back to CA before pulling the tire.
Pressure
I usually run 35 psi on the road, and rarely air down off pavement. When I do I take them down to about 18-20 psi. When in Moab, we were pretty heavily loaded and the 20 psi we were running was too low. But, I was too lazy to air them up halfway down the trail. A couple of times I watched as the tire completely folded up over the outside of the rim when negotiating rocky trails. They never skipped a beat or burped air, but I think at least one of the tires suffered some internal damage. Now, when the tires are cold there is a pretty significant low frequency vibration until they warm up (5 min). My fault, not the tires. The only other thing to mention about air pressure is that they never leak air. Ever. I only check pressures when the temp changes drastically and before a long trip.
Wear
Incredible. As stated, they’re at 67k miles and going strong. I could easily get another 7-10k out of them if I wanted to run them to minimum depth. They actually would have done much better in the wear department, but due to an injury I’ve been dealing with I’ve been letting the tire shop rotate them. Even though I draw them a 5 tire rotation diagram, they rarely get it right. Amazing, I know
. One of the tires still has about 1/4” of tread. I know they skipped the spare or didn’t follow the diagram more than once. Weight
Heavy.
Mileage
Crap. Nah, actually probably average for mud tires and some extra weight in the rig. I normally get 9-10 in the city/slow hills and 11-12 on the freeway at 75-80mph. Best mileage is in the mountains at 12-14 mpg.
Overall, I’ve been extremely happy with these tires. I’m struggling with the decision whether to replace them with the same or try something else. With 2 little ones in the family now the cruiser sees more family wagon duties than before, so perhaps a switch to an all-terrain wouldn’t be a bad idea. But, knowing the Trail Grapplers will easily go 70k is a pretty enticing proposition. For those of you looking for a trail tire, they are hard to beat. And they look good.
Cheers!
David
