Swamper choices for stock rims (1 Viewer)

[RockDoc]

I am looking to pick up a set of dedicated off-pavement tires for my 62, and have narrowed it down to a few Swamper choices: 32x9.5x15 TSL’s, 34x9.5x15 TSL’s, and 34x10.5x15 LTB’s. I am leaning towards the 32x9.5’s, but would like to hear opinions, particularly from anyone who runs any of these.

This wagon is my DD, so I am not interested in modifying anything to accommodate larger tires. Most of the off pavement will be crude, unpredictable back-country roads, mud, snow and ice (with the aid of chains), no rock-crawling. On-road character isn’t too important, as they would only see pavement on trips out to the hills (I run 29” BFG AT’s on road).

I have an OME med-heavy lift (2.5"), and will mount the tires on a set of STOCK rims. The drivetrain is stock, with 4.11 (4.10?) gears and an A440F (currently turns ~2250 rpm @ 65 mph in OD with the converter locked up). I would like to keep a full spare in the stock location (will hold up to 35” from what I understand).

Here are the specs on the tires, and a few other common ones for comparison:

Tire________weight___tread dpth__tread wdth__overall dia___sect. wdt
32x9.5 TSL__50lbs ____26/32”_____8.5” _______32.3”_______9.4”
34x9.5 TSL__54lbs ____27/32”_____8.0”________33.8”_______9.5”
33x12.5 TSL_60lbs_____24/32"_____10.2"_______33.7"_______12.4"
34x10.5 LTB_58lbs ____22/32”_____9.25”_______33.6”_______11.2”

33x9.5 BFG AT________16/32”______?_________32.7”_______9.5”
235/75 BFG AT________16/32”_____7.9”________29.0”_______9.1”
33x10.5 BFG MT_______19/32”______?_________32.8”_______10.5”

Questions:
Are the LTB’s of lower quality than the TSL’s? By size, the LTB should be the most expensive, but it is the cheapest. Any comparison on how out of round and painful to balance the LTB’s are vs. the TSL’s? Durability?
Is a 33.8” diameter too tall for stock gearing? Or does the slushbox help me out here?
Rubbing with a 11.2” section width on stock back-spacing?
Too much lateral give in the 9.5’s?
Any other good choices to mount on stock rims? (I like the new Hercules Trail Digger MT’s, but no 15”s in appropriate sizes, and doesn’t look like they are available in Canada yet)


Curtis.

 

[agent orange]

I would go for the LTBs, they are a good tire. My truck pulled 34s just fine before i swapped in some 4.88s, youll be in third gear on really big hills and sometimes briefly on medium hills to maintain 65+, but other than that its fine. The torque converter makes the high gearing bearable on the trails, its nice to be lower but its no biggie.

The LTBs are a bias ply tire (im assuming your TSL choices are as well), so expect some flat spotting in the mornings and such. I dont think they balance really badly for a bias tire though.

 

[MDH33]

with only 2.5" of lift, I would lean towards the 32's. I think they come in a radial TSL as well, which will have a better ride and wear longer than the bias ply LTB's.

 

[boots4]

Go with 34s. Since it's for offroad you will want as much clearance as you can get considering your tire choices. If you aren't locked or planning on getting a locker then just use one of your street tires as a spare.

 

[Tapage]

Did you plan some towing . ? if not ..

One more vote for LBT on 34"

 

[akarilo]

I run TSL radial 33/12.5 on stockers. I was originally looking into a skinny swamper as well. You would be suprised how small of a 33 they really are. Look at their site and compare the tread width and diameter to a BFG 33x10.5. I run 25psi on the street and they handle and wear great. At least go try one on; that's what happened to me and I ended up going with them.

 

[RockDoc]

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like the LTB is working its way to the top.

I took a quick look at the TSL radials, but the obvious size (33x10.5) only has 7.9" of tread width, same as my street tires, albiet taller.

No plans for towing, but if that changes, that duty would likely fall to the street tires.

Akarilo - Any rubbing with the 33x12.5's? Never would have thought they would fit on a stocker! Seem to compare nicely with the LTB, but with a wider footprint. What do you run for a lift?

 

[agent orange]

Since you are going with a big lugged swamper design, i would get a bias tire. They are better to air down, are tougher, and typically have bigger lugs. If you are already gonna have a very non-streetable tire, you might as well get the most bang for your buck so to speak.

 

[RockDoc]

Yah, pretty much just considering bias tires. Cheaper, tougher, deeper tread....

 

[RockDoc]

Akarilo - Just did a search of your other threads. I see now you have 2", and the TSL's are radials - back to Interco's website for a bit more looking.

 

[akarilo]

Akarilo - Any rubbing with the 33x12.5's? Never would have thought they would fit on a stocker! Seem to compare nicely with the LTB, but with a wider footprint. What do you run for a lift?

I have long AAL's and +1" shackles. My stock leafs were in really good shape too. I'm also running 1.5" wheel spacers for track width, but really didn't experience rubbing prior to install.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

Swamper LTB is a nice tire i would have em on my truck if they didnt look so small on there. so im gettin Swamper BIAS IROKS now.

 

[DirtyLittleSecret]

I HAD a set of the 32" TSL's, and while I really liked the howling they proved to be TOUGH beyond comprehension. They were also extremely stiff, but back then I opted for the 10 ply tyre versions. That'd definitely change the handling!

I HAD the LTB's on my 07 FJ Cruiser. They simply sucked. Horrid in the snow/ice, and they wore incredibly fast. I'd expect to get 10k miles out of a set (if that). I hit 6k miles when I changed them out for some BFG MT's.

I've HAD/HAVE BFG MT's (5 different sets now), and have NEVER had ANY problems. Great in the snow, mud, and excellent on the street. Siped they are a better tyre for my purposes than any of the others listed here. Hands down.


If I had to choose between the TSL or LTB...I'd let my wallet decide, but would lean toward the TSL's honestly.


y'all!

 

[RockDoc]

And the TSL comes up swinging!!!

I had read in the 40/45 section that some people weren't very happy with the quality of the LTB's, this is the kind of first hand feedback I was hoping for.

(DLS - nice avitar by the way)

 

[RockDoc]

Agent Orange - Were your 34"s LTB's? How did they wear for you?

 

[agent orange]

Nope, they are trxus MTs, and i love em. They are wearing really well considering it was my DD for a long time and I drive it round trip every time i go wheeling (PA,NC, etc.).

They hook up really well as well.

 

[RockDoc]

Hmmm, those Trxus MT's look nice. Would be a real nice on/off road tire, especially with the siping, but I think I am sold on a bias ply rather than a radial.

Thinking either the 32x9.5 bias TSL or the 33x12.5 bias TSL if I can get away with it on the stock rim. Wish there was a 33x10.5.

 

[agent orange]

Yeah, considering the few road miles you will need them for i would definitely for for a bias tire. I was kinda stuck with a radial as i dont think i could make the 9+ hours to a place like tellico on a set of out of round swampers.

Whenever i get a trailer worked out for my truck, im going to grab a set of bias tires at least 38" tall and SOA the beast. Basically i want to get my truck as good as it can be with my current setup and tires, and when the tires wear out make the step to bigger meats.

 

[mtb_rider]

The "12.5 tire on a stock rim" debate has been had many times. Since they are going to be an offroad tire only, I would tend to lean toward's the 12.5. Is it recommended to run that wide of a tire on a 6" wide rim? No. Are lot's of people doing it with no problems? Yes. The biggest issue caused is that it makes the tread too round, and wears out the center of the tire. Again since it's going to be an offroad only tire, you may not be too concerned about wear, and you will probably be running them aired down anyway, which will flatten the footprint out and alleviate that issue to a certain degree.

I had a set of TSL bias ply's on an old chev 4x I once had. Great mud/offroad tire. Terribly on snow. Less than optimal on road characteristics (irrelevant to you in this case). But for what they were for, they were/are the best. This was before the LTB's were around, so I can't vouch for them.

 

[RockDoc]

Well, I started checking out prices on the 32x9.5 TSL's. Sure aren't like the prices from the big US outlets.

$135 US from national wheel and tire (don't ship to Canada)
$204 Cdn (~$219 US) from Kal Tire locally
$240 Cdn (~$257 US) from one of the 4x4 shops

Back to the computer to look around some more. If anyone knows of a good source north of 49, I'd love to hear.