What to Know About Off-Road Tires

The best way to enjoy your time on the trails is to have the right equipment, including the off-road tires that are ideal for your vehicle.

You’re not going to get to the deepest parts of the wilderness unless you have everything you need in your vehicle. Street tires don’t have the traction necessary to take you through the mud and the muck, which means you need the right tires. Let’s learn a little bit about what rubber you should ride on and what ratings to look for when getting your off-road vehicle ready to go.

What Do All-Terrain Tires Offer?

For tires to be rated as all-terrain models, the need to include specific features and qualities. These tires come with a stronger bead to hold the rubber onto the rim better. You’ll also have tougher plies which gives you stronger steel mesh and fabric in the rubber. You’ll also have much thicker rubber tread on the outside of tires. This tread gives you the grip needed when you want to ride through snow, dirt, mud, or sand. If you have all-terrain tires, you’ve got the best tires for your time away from the paved roads.

Larger Tires Isn’t Always the Best Solution

Certainly, if you want off-road tires that can go over anything, you want larger tires. Larger tires lifts your vehicle up, can handle riding over obstacles easier, and look cool in the process. Unfortunately, larger tires also reduces the efficiency and power of your vehicle. Everything changes when the tires get bigger or smaller. If you want to have a set of tires set aside for only when you head out on the trails, that could be a solution.

How Much Load do You Need?

The load capacity of your tires is a huge factor in how much air you should have in them and where you can go. Some tires might look like they would be great on the trails and yet, they aren’t. Pay attention to the loads and various measurements of the tires to find out which ones will work best when you need to lower the tire pressure for your slow trail-riding experiences. This could mean the difference between a fun time on the trials and a flat tire.

How Should You Handle Your Off-Road Adventures?

Once you have the off-road tires figured out and you know which ones to put on your vehicle, it might be time to understand what you should and should not do on the trails. If you’re a novice to off-roading, it’s a good idea to buy a starter rig before you go to something much more challenging. If you’ve been off-roading for a long time, you probably don’t need to read this article, but it might help. Let’s look at some tips for your adventures in the wilderness.

Don’t Get Too Macho

It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, you could get too macho on the trails. If you don’t have a lot of experience driving on trails, through sand, across mud, or over rocks, be honest with yourself and your skills. The drive will be slow, rough, and bumpy; expect it. Keep your expectations in check and take things easy while going out on the trails. You’ll be glad you were patient with yourself in the end.

Where are You Allowed to Travel?

Don’t assume others are taking their off-road vehicles to places where its allowed. Check out the regional forums and Facebook to find out where you can head out for some fun and where you need to avoid. Going to the wrong place at the wrong time is a good what to have your off-road tires shot out. That could be the least of your worries in that situation; its smart to make sure you’re on a legal trial for off-road vehicles.

Don’t Go Alone

You can be the only person in your vehicle, but make sure you’re with a group, or at least one other driver and their vehicle. A great way to make sure you have a group to travel with is to join an off-road club. This gives you some people with the same interests as you to hang out with in the wilderness on the weekends. Its also a great way to lean more about how to use the equipment that makes driving on trails a lot more fun.

You Need Tools and Education

Off-road enthusiast are some of the most skilled mechanics in the world. Experienced off-roaders know how to put a rig back together enough to get it back home while on the trails. You need a good set of tools in your truck and you also need to know everything about your vehicle. You will experience some unexpected events, but when you know what’s going on, you can adjust and understand what you need to do. Its more than just changing off-road tires when you’re on the trails.

Where Does the Money Go

Setting up and driving an off-road vehicle is an expensive undertaking. In fact, something you’ll have to come to grips with right away is the fact that you’ll spend most of your money on parts that no one ever sees. That’s ok, your off-road vehicle has what you need to make sure you can get across a muddy lakebed, over some rocks, or through the sand without going around these obstacles. All of this is thanks to those unseen parts you spent a lot of money to buy.

Choose the Right Tires

Yes, we are back at the off-road tires part o the conversation. This is one of the most important parts of going out on the trails. If you’re lucky, your tires will be the only item touching the trails while you drive. A set of Mud-Terrain radials is a pretty good choice for most 4WD vehicles. You’ll want to know how to ensure you have the right size and load to have the most fun out on the trails you drive.

Are you ready for your trail-riding adventures? With the right off-road tires and some of these tips, you can have a lot of fun out on the trails.