Oh nope. Very fair question.
Just seems the discussion is mostly around ATs in here, and very occasionally someone will get some km3 or stt pro going.
But I've already got some mild AT and am testing the hypothesis that maybe that 3rd set can be the opposite.
Its just a thought experiment at the moment.
Well, when it comes to the terrain you are in, yes, you will be amazed at how much better wheeling is with a real mud terrain like a swamper. They just offer insane traction in the soup.
And despite how much more mainstream tire manufactures like to say their mud terrain offer mud traction with road manners, it’s just not the case.
But... here’s the compromise: all that massive space between lugs, along with deep off set lugs (like don’t compare BFG of Nitto mud widths to these things. The third lugs stuck out crazy far and will beat on the frame. You need to plan for thinner than a 12.5”), and the compound. Oh the compound. Makes for terrible road driving.
when I run swappers of trepadors on the road. I plan my trips off time of day and season. Is it hot out? Is it noon time? Yep, then I’m gonna have to accept them melting a bit. They are so soft that you’ll maybe get 20k out of them under a 200.
They’ll howl and bounce you around. It will actually leave a slight ringing in you ears after a long drive. They right at home with solid axles, a tube cage, and raw fuel from a big block. But they get a bit old when you have an IFS, luxury SUV.
But as Dr Seuss said, “Oh the places you’ll go.” The traction is out of this world. What wheeling in Moab is to every tire. Just great traction and makes things super easy. Swamper give that to actually hard wheel surfaces.
So you have to ask yourself are you actually wheeling this truck pretty much all the time to warrant the negatives?
For the thought of switching a tire set out for your aggressive shoes. What I’ve seen is that gets real old, real quick. When you just want to go and enjoy yourself on a weekend. It’s not going to be something you’ll want to do and eventually, you just won’t.
for you last question, about when does a sticky tire become too much? Well, I’ve got front and rear air lockers. And on STT Pros I had some great traction, but I would still get bogged, and if still loose traction when on severe angles.
Now this is where the internet can hate a bit, but I’m gonna day it anyway. There’s no where I could go on STT Pros, of KM3, or Nitto Muds that I couldn’t go on KO2.
But there are absolutely places I could go on some Interco SX IIs (on the front axle) and Boggers (on the rear axle) over any of those road friendly muds.
In my small opinion, stay with a three ply side wall all terrain. If you run a lot of gravel roads. I have to be honest, the KM3 does that pretty well. Much better than the STT Pro in my opinion. But the STT Pro is better on everything else, so I’d choose STT Pro over a KM3 or any excessively heavy Toyo/Nitto.
If you just want to feel the grip, then experiment and have fun. They’ll be great at first in the road. They’ll still be round, and you’ll be excited.
But if you don’t have front and rear lockers, then you’re wasting you time putting real muds on your truck.
The thing with all muds, is you need to spin tires to clear them. I can pack boggers with red clay here in NC easy. They just take much less spinning to clear them over a road friendly common mud tire. But they still need to spin. And CRAWL doesn’t do that, and open diffs don’t care how good your tires are.
So that is the order. Get fully locked, then slap some gnarly boggers on, then have the intestinal fortitude to push hard and use that traction. If you plan to drive easy, and expect road like driving but when in that PNW mud, you’ll be greatly disapointed. You’ll still need to be heavy throttle and get used to banging around on the trail to use that traction.
It’s kinda hard to explain, it’s something that is only understood once you have that equiptment. You’ll look at wheeling and traction differently. And rocks, sand, and snow will begin to leave you bored. Which is a good thing, ‘cause your capability will jump much higher. As long as you don’t wreck you’re truck in the process.
Edit: I would recommend the Interco IROK ND. It’s one of the more tame of the swampers and they have a 33x12.5 for either 17 or 18” rims. Remember, you’re not fitting an Interco 35 under a 200 without cutting fenders. I’m not talking plastic, I talking metal. These 33s will be like a 34-35. Their 35s are more like 36-37s.
www.intercotire.com
