Tire recommendations for SoCal desert and/or Baja

[BlurpleXJ]

Hi all. I did search around, and did not come up with much useful. I'll be moving to Barstow at the beginning of October right smack in the middle of the Mojave, and have read about sharp rocks being a common feature out there. Curious to get yall's opinions.

The rig: 4300 lb armored up XJ on 4" and 31s
Application: Daily driving, weekend wandering in the Mojave and most any place within a 4-6 hour radius. Also potentially later participation in a rally (navigation, not race type) on the Baja peninsula. Likely with a 2nd spare. Would have to not be dangerous for winter driving either (looking at you, KM2s)

My current Goodyear Duratracs did fine in Southern slop but northern Texas rocks punctured one sidewall and gouged another. I need something more durable. I want to be able to explore the old mine trails and whatnot. Tire weight and durability more of a concern than price here - I'd rather buy quality than strand myself.

I'm willing to tolerate MTs for daily driving, the jeep's already loud anyhow. What do yall run? Any recommendations?

 

[David_Bricker]

I've run BFG Mud terrains on several vehicles with very good luck. Never (knock on wood) had a puncture. I recall one time when my son was driving, and I was spotting that the sidewall was horribly squished into a rock, yet it survived.


My latest go with tires when I went to 35s was Goodyear MT/Rs. I don't have a lot of miles on them, but they seem to work OK. Comparing between 33" BFG and 35" Goodyear, in a way it seems like the sidewall on the BFGs are more flexible, especially when airing down, and potentially more likely to be able to cushion a sharp rock.


You will get, I'm sure, a huge variety of opinions on the subject of tires.


And yes, all my off highway driving is in the Mohave desert.


David Bricker / SYR

 

[Ronbo]

The Goodyear MT/R worked fine for me for years and I'd recommend it.
I switched to the Falken MT when I moved up to 17" wheels because MT/R's were nearly impossible to find. I have no real experience with the Falken but they have the Cal stamp of approval - lol

 

[victorfranko]

If you're at all interested, I have 5 BFG KO2 31x10.5x15 with less than 9,000 miles on them.
I recently moved up to 33's.

Are you a Marine or Army transferring back to the states?

 

[Royal Nonesuch]

I've done a lot of Mojave mine road exploring on my Cooper Discoverer STT Maxx 31"s, and they're holding up very well. Yeah, there are sharp rocks to be sure, as well as volcanic terrain. I usually air 'em down to 15psi, and I barely even have to enable 4hi for sand... its kinda boring :roll:

I can't speak as to winter driving with them, but they're great on-road and in mild SoCal "rain".

 

[BlurpleXJ]

If you're at all interested, I have 5 BFG KO2 31x10.5x15 with less than 9,000 miles on them.
I recently moved up to 33's.

Are you a Marine or Army transferring back to the states?

Army type, coming back from Korea. I am potentially interested, but won’t be in CA until 15-16 September then I’m on vacation out of state until 1 October. I’ll send you a PM.