Some options:
Gah. Any thoughts?
Some options:
Gah. Any thoughts?
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Get some BFG ATs in the size you want and don't look back. The 35/12.5s are 7lbs heavier than your 33/10.5 47lbs vs 54lbs. For the amount of wheeling we do vs onroad driving we do they work great, just don't air down too far below 18psi. I have 33/12.5s on the caR50 and the trailer and didn't have any problems last year and not dealing with the tires was nice.
I'm a big fan of the Dick Cepek Mud Country tires....Tire rack has them priced reasonably. Same carcass structure as the other decent offroad tires - 5 ply tread / 3 ply sidewalls. Made by Cooper Tire. They're actually round and balance well, and they're not terribly noisy compared to other mud tires, and they're much cheaper than MTR's, etc, which can be tough to source in 35x12.50/15. I have 35s. Difference in truck height between 33s and 35s is only an inch for garage clearance. The meany just barely fits in my garage with the roof rack.
As for running AT's, yes, you'll probably be fine unless we get wet weather, which is impossible to predict. We will see some higher elevations that could have some snow as well, but then again, it could all be dry and nice. What I can say is none of the trails are overly technical when dry. Add mud and snow and that could be a different story, but like I said...impossible to predict.
After looking at the Swampers again last night, I think I'm going to stick with them. They're really still in pretty decent shape and... well, free.
Thanks for the link to the Cepeks - I don't know why those didn't show up in my search.
The other big thing I want to tackle before the run is refreshing my joints... all new ball joints, tierod, draglink, and trackbar ends... plus some more normal maintenance like packing bearings, changing diff fluid etc.
Luckily, the post I made on XOC listing the part numbers for the steering from way-back-when is still up!
I just have to figure out what size the heim joints are that came with the Calmini trackbar. I assume the D44 ball joints are standard.
Edit: There's also the radius arms, which have johnny joints on one end... I'm not sure how to check those to see if they are good - they're so beefy they probably won't budge if I yank on them.
I recently put the General Grabbers on the S-10, I like them a lot so far. Not as much traction as the Goodyears (which have more traction than swampers), except in gravel, in gravel they are better. However they aren't bad anywhere and they're supposed to wear really well for street use.
The bonus is that 35x12.5R15 tires are only $200 each at Discount.
I was having trouble with the Goodyear tires falling apart due to the desert bashing I was doing. I put big cuts (1"+) through 3 of the treads within a month, all while Goodyear had them on backorder so I couldn't replace them. Luckily Discount let me cert out the 3 bad Goodyears for the Generals so I only had to buy the one.
Personally, I wouldn't trust a 5 year old swamper unless you've been storing them indoors when they aren't on your rig.
Your ball joints are standard D44 for a 80 and later Grand Cherokee. I think yours came off an 84.
The J-joints should have a zerk to grease.
I swiped your steering upgrade info for the How to forum here so that info will be preserved on N4W.
Jeff's Bronco Graveyard has them for $55/side for the Spicer ball joints:
It turns out the kevlar Wrangler MT/R is available at Discount for the same price as the Dick Cepeks at Tire Rack - which makes them actually a lot cheaper because no shipping... anything bad to say about those?
That's oddly cheap for those. Queef said something about those being the old MTR's, but the kevlar ones are the current ones. Brent has been tearing those up on a regular basis and actually went to something else because the MTRs were hard to find in the 35" size, but if the tires are freshly date coded, it's a matter of preference.
Brent destroy tires?
I think I was running too low of pressure, but yea the MT/R Kevlars run about $220 apiece at Discount, not sure where you're getting your pricing from Andy.
The General Grabbers are $199 at Discount, plus they actually had them in stock. The Kevlars were back ordered for the last couple months of the year, they came back in stock on 12/24.
Thought they were more....
Swampers ..
TSL Bias
I like round tires...