Do people still run the big 20 inch wheel surplus tires?

Defecater

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Got a build that I hope to be getting back to by January. I have been contemplating some 46 inch surplus tires for the affordability and rig will see a lot of pavement use. Seems that people dont really use them as much as they did in the past. Are they that bad?? I do recall there being some issues with certain Michelin varieties that would come apart.
 
I will be eventually.


From my experience/understanding: age is a YUGE factor in used military tires.


If you buy them new; you won't have any problems with them coming apart OR punctures. :smokin:
 
Just for perspective, the 16r20 xzl (53s) are 350 lbs, and rated to hole almost 15k lbs each.

So 1400 lbs just in tires :laughing: and sidewalls designed to hold up 60k lbs. So don't expect great performance on a trail rig.

I do think they're cool as hell on a big redneck mdt or something along those lines.
 
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I'm looking at these tires at the moment (41X14 R20s):

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IT's been a long time, but I don't think the tires changed much. I recall having to groove the sidewalls because if you were under 8,000lbs the side walls just did not flex at all.
 
I just sold a set that came with my Unimog build. They are big and bad ass ... also heavy AF.

What I learned selling them is that the year made makes a big price difference. I couldn't understand the big price difference in these at first until I talked to a few people inquiring about the ones I had for sale. People running these street legal rigs like Deuces, Mogs, etc need tires made int he last 10yrs for insurance to cover them ... so I'm told. Tires newer than 10+ years and the price really starts ramping up because of insurance.
 
Austin said:
I just sold a set that came with my Unimog build. They are big and bad ass ... also heavy AF.

What I learned selling them is that the year made makes a big price difference. I couldn't understand the big price difference in these at first until I talked to a few people inquiring about the ones I had for sale. People running these street legal rigs like Deuces, Mogs, etc need tires made int he last 10yrs for insurance to cover them ... so I'm told. Tires newer than 10+ years and the price really starts ramping up because of insurance.
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Interesting, what insurance company asks you how old your tires are?

As far as the millitary tires im running, I haven't done much testing yet, but I can allready tell you the sidewalls don't flex for shit. I've let all the air out and they don't really go flat. (4-5000lb rig) I don't consider this a giant issue because in all my years of wheeling, I've only aired down a couple times on my Broncos. (I'm lazy) In normal wheeling, the small gain in traction is not that big a deal. People don't like to hear it because it doesn't show, but the number one gain in traction is lockers.

If your building a "no holds bared" buggy, I would not recommend millitary tires. If your building a overland rig, I think they are a good option. They are allot of unsprung weight, so ride might be an issue. In my case, I'm on airbags and it doesn't seem to bad. But again, I haven't done allot of testing.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Well those are "only" 12 ply :laughing:​​​​​​

Why those over say a 40" nitto Mt?
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CDA 455 II said:
1) Not a big fan of Nitto's tread pattern

2) If I can get the Goodyear tire at close-enough price of Nitto; I'll take Goodyear.

3) Love the 'measly' 12-ply :grinpimp:
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Wasn't aware nitto had a 40 with a 20" rim? The goodyear is interesting, not a good year fan but those look interesting.
 
What are you going to be using the rig for? The military tires have a reputation for coming apart regardless of brand because people are buying them second hand after they have been sitting around out in the sun for 5+ years. There is a reason the government is selling off tires with 50-95% tread left.

I think the XMLs are the best military tire to run off road (MT/Rs if you are in the 37" market), although the Continental MPT 81s look like they could be decent (43" is as big as they go). As others have said, the military tires are super heavy and don't flex well unless you have a heavy rig or use super low air pressures.

I ran the 325/85R16 XMLs (~38") on a rig that weighs 4,000-4,500Lbs and I had to run them at 4-4.5 PSI. I didn't balance them, and they seemed pretty smooth on the highway. Each tire and wheel combo weighs ~140 Lbs. They are shitty on snow and ice without grooving/siping.

They flexed and hooked up a lot better after I grooved them and cut out the stabilizing ribs between the tread blocks:

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Here's what they looked like finished:

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The oldest of my tires was almost 9 years old and the newest was close to 5 years old. I gave them a few coats of 303 Tire balm, which seemed to help with the dry rot, but there is one that still chunked out really badly (oldest with the 2nd most tread depth).
 
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CDA 455 II said:
1) Not a big fan of Nitto's tread pattern

2) If I can get the Goodyear tire at close-enough price of Nitto; I'll take Goodyear.

3) Love the 'measly' 12-ply :grinpimp:
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Just depends on the use. A nitto or Toyo is going to last quite a while on the highway and still have decent traction offroad on a larger rig. Those good years are pretty cool for "big dumb heavy tires" and don't seem as ridiculous as the bigger ones. Buying them new should solve most of the issues that are being discussed here.

One nice thing about the nitto and Toyo (or other similar) is availability on trips. Say you run over a chunk of rebar on the highway, where are you going to find a good year? 4wp or Americas tire will be able to get one usually fairly quickly and offer replacement warranties on top of that.

Weasel said:
Wasn't aware nitto had a 40 with a 20" rim? The goodyear is interesting, not a good year fan but those look interesting.
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20 is the new 15 :flipoff2:​​​​​​

Are 20s a requirement? I'll admit the aluminum mrap beadlocks look pretty decent and maybe aren't "too" heavy.

Edit: Google says 65 lbs (I'm guessing that's sans run flat) pretty good for a 20x10. I'm sure an adapter will add a fair amount of weight, but again. Nothing 20x10 and double Beadlock is going to be super light.
 
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YotaAtieToo said:
One nice thing about the nitto and Toyo (or other similar) is availability on trips. Say you run over a chunk of rebar on the highway, where are you going to find a good year? 4wp or Americas tire will be able to get one usually fairly quickly and offer replacement warranties on top of that.

Are 20s a requirement? I'll admit the aluminum mrap beadlocks look pretty decent and maybe aren't "too" heavy.

Edit: Google says 65 lbs (I'm guessing that's sans run flat) pretty good for a 20x10. I'm sure an adapter will add a fair amount of weight, but again. Nothing 20x10 and double Beadlock is going to be super light.
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Are any 40" tires available on trip? If you put up in a hotel you can get anything I guess.

I have one of the MRAP wheels. I think you could probably lighten it up if you got a lathe that could spin em. (Might not be bullet proof after that) mine weighed 70 lbs. with the runflat/double beadlock.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
20 is the new 15 :flipoff2:​​​​​​

Are 20s a requirement? I'll admit the aluminum mrap beadlocks look pretty decent and maybe aren't "too" heavy.

Edit: Google says 65 lbs (I'm guessing that's sans run flat) pretty good for a 20x10. I'm sure an adapter will add a fair amount of weight, but again. Nothing 20x10 and double Beadlock is going to be super light.
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For most MRAP wheels, yes. 95lbs is closer to the weight iirc.
 
welndmn said:
IT's been a long time, but I don't think the tires changed much. I recall having to groove the sidewalls because if you were under 8,000lbs the side walls just did not flex at all.
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This ^^^ we grooved the shit out of the sidewalls and then pounded our rigs down trails with the valve cores out for a day, then 3-4psi was "OK" on a 5k lb rig...
 
arse_sidewards said:
Nobody asks. Tire age bullshit is the new "hurr durr beadlocks are illegal on the street" urban legend that's going around all the idiots on Facebook/Insta/Reddit who don't know shit but like to act like they do.
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Insurance doesn't ask, but there also isn't a tire store near here that would mount or service a ten year old tire.
 
FC4X4 said:
Insurance doesn't ask, but there also isn't a tire store near here that would mount or service a ten year old tire.
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I guess I'm from the south, but no tire man here would even check the tire age. They might get refuse to mount them because their big heavy SOB's, but more likely, they would just charge you more.
 
One time I brought in a bunch of Desert Dogs that I had run (they wore down super quick and lost a few chunks of tread but were otherwise fine) and the old guy called all the techs over to look at them since most of them had never seen a tire that old. :laughing:
 
FC4X4 said:
Insurance doesn't ask, but there also isn't a tire store near here that would mount or service a ten year old tire.
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Discount tire or one of the chains won't, but if you head over to your local mexican or redneck ran tire shop they will. The less english on the sign or the more rotting vehicles out front the better LOL!! That's what I had to do when I wanted to mount a 15yr old AT onto a steel wheel for a spare and discount told me to fawk off.

I guess that's all moot anyway if you are mounting MRAP tires haha!!
 
Slander said:
Discount tire or one of the chains won't, but if you head over to your local mexican or redneck ran tire shop they will. The less english on the sign or the more rotting vehicles out front the better LOL!! That's what I had to do when I wanted to mount a 15yr old AT onto a steel wheel for a spare and discount told me to fawk off.

I guess that's all moot anyway if you are mounting MRAP tires haha!!
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In my area:
Goodyear Tire Store won't touch a tire older than 4 years.

Big-O Tire's policy is 10 years old or older.

Ma&pa used tires; don't give a fuck.
 
Ok, because of this thread, I decided to heck the dates on my military tires. Looked all over them, no luck. Looked at my DD tires, no luck. Looked on another car I own, no luck. How do you know the date of manufacture?
 
WaterH said:
Ok, because of this thread, I decided to heck the dates on my military tires. Looked all over them, no luck. Looked at my DD tires, no luck. Looked on another car I own, no luck. How do you know the date of manufacture?
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Its on every tire if you know what you are looking at. Maybe try Googling it? :homer:
 
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