Mod Thoughts: Tires (But Probably No Wheels)

-

  Being as I'm a car guy, and being as this is a Jeep, there's no doubt I'm going to make some modifications to the vehicle. I will hold off on many of these until I get some miles under her and see what I like and what I want to change, but there are a few changes on my list that will need to take place relatively quickly. One of the first will probably be larger diameter tires.

As mentioned in previous posts, I intend to take the Gladiator off-road. Heck, it's one of the primary reasons we settled on Jeeps as our primary vehicles-- we need a reliable means of getting up to the family cabin on a regular basis. And as I also mentioned, the road to the cabin requires a very capable off-road vehicle, complete with high-ground clearance and excellent traction.

Stock, the Rubicon Gladiator comes with 33-inch LT285/70R17C All-Terrain (AT) tires mounted on 17-inch x 7.5-inch Granite Crystal Aluminum (standard) wheels.

These might be sufficient for getting to the cabin, but if past history making the trip in various Toyotas and Fords with 33-inch tires... well, I'll be surprised if we don't bottom out in a few deep rutted sections of the trail. Ergo, we probably will upgrade the tire size just for ground clearance reasons alone.

I like the look of the stock 17-inch wheels, and they are relatively strong, so I'd prefer not to upgrade them if possible.... but they are only 7.5 inches wide. What this means is if I go to, say, a 35-inch diameter tire, it may limit me to rubber that is 11.5-inches wide. Anything wider than this is not recommended due to "crowning" and sidewall "bulging." I.e., I'd like to avoid spending money on wheels if I can, but I worry this will limit my tire choices.

Now, some good news is that with the Rubicon, it's possible to fit 35 x 11.5 wheels without lifting the vehicle. I'm a little torn about this, as I like the added body clearance a lift provides, but again it's more money to be spent.

First up, however, (after the Jeep arrives at the dealer, of course), is to try driving up to the cabin in the stock configuration of the truck and see just how she does. Depending upon the results, we may or may not have to upgrade tire and/or wheels. Stay tuned...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holding Stuff Down - Cargo Net for the Gladiator's Bed

-
Image
As mentioned before in this blog, one thing I'm still getting used to with the new Jeep is how little cargo space there is. We're going up to our cabin this coming weekend, and we're bringing two full-grown adults to accompany my wife and myself. Four people are a tight squeeze in the vehicle's cab, which means all of our combined gear, cooler, etc. that normally would live in the back seat area will have to ride in the truck's bed. Combined with highway, bumpy washboard dirt roads, and of course rock crawling... well, stuff can leave the bed on its own accord if not properly secured. To address this issue, I purchased a heavy-duty cargo net that I'll keep in the toolbox and use in instances like this upcoming weekend jaunt. The unit I purchased was a Mophorn 50"x66" heavy duty cargo net that came with four tied down straps and carabiners. It's probably too big for typical loads (e.g., coolers and such) but I erred on the side of too big, rather th
Read more

First Offroad Shake-Down Run in the Gladiator

-
Image
 Took the Gladiator off-road for the first time this fourth of July weekend. Specifically, we drove up to our family cabin, which requires some pretty serious 4x4 capability (and, if I do say so myself, some driver skill). The route includes everything from mountainous 2-lane blacktop, to 65mph posted highway driving, to long washboard dirt roads, to deep sandy sections and wash-running, to steep & technical rock crawling and narrow single-track roads. 4x4 high, low, locked... you name it, it requires it. Very diverse and challenging..... and the truck handled it all with aplomb. On this inaugural run (literally, my first time ever driving a Jeep off-road), the things that stood out to me include: Nimble . Compared to the old monstrous F250 Crew Cab, this Gladiator feels like a sports car. It's much narrower and easier to maneuver in the tighter sections of the trail. Downright fun to drive. Sway-bar Disconnect.  Wow. The ride quality off-road once the sway-bar was disconnected
Read more

Stowing a Recovery Shovel

-
Image
An indispensable recovery tool every serious offroad vehicle should carry is a good shovel. I've only had to use a shovel once in an emergency off-road situation--but it was truly needed that time. Unfortunately, the shovel I had at the time was a tiny "fold-up" camp model that I kept in my truck's tool box. It was way too small for the job at hand, taking close to 30 minutes to dig us out of a sandy rut that should have taken, at most, 5 minutes with a properly sized tool. So... for the Gladiator, I decided it was time to carry a bigger implement for the (hopefully rare) times when I will need it. I chose a modest 36-inch model that we already had sitting unused in a shed. The bad news is that because of the constraints of the tool box size on the Gladiator, I can't keep it locked up inside. Instead, I have to keep the shovel in the truck's bed. The solution I settled on is to use a "quick fist" rubber tool mount that is screwed directly into the si
Read more