11x20 VS 395 offroad performance

[Gunwriter]

It's time for me to upgrade the tires on my Deuce.
But while I love the look of the huge 395 type super singles I really wonder about
how much clearance they have and how much less movement there will be in the suspension before they hit.

So I've been leaning towards 11x20 radials singled out in the back.

But I'd like to hear the pro's and con's of each by people who have actually used them off road. How do they perform? What type of terrain have you used them on? How has your truck been affected regarding handling, braking, power, mileage, top speed? How much of an advantage do you see compared to stock 9x20 duals....?

I know a lot of people are looking at upgrading their tires and there is a lot of interest in both these types.

Also, if anyone is running 11x20 NDTs please chime in!

I'm in Kansas so the terrain is pretty flat out here and I've never had a problem with getting my truck where I want it to go, but it's time to upgrade!

Also don't forget to state size and type of tires you are running!

 

[robr]

I love my 395s
pro: my top speed was upped by 10 mph
pro: 395s look better
pro: you wont slip as much in the mud

con: you will have to buy 6 new wheels
con: your mileage will go down
con: tires are alot more $$$
I have never had a clearance issue and if you don't have air assist they are very hard to turn on pavement
My M35 Tractor is going to have the 11x20 but its not going to see much mud

 

[gimpyrobb]

I agree with most of what he posted, except
"pro: you wont slip as much in the mud"

I don't think that is very accurate. I have been off road with many deuces and many different tires. There is not much difference between them when it comes to traction in clay like mud.

My 395s don't rub at all in the rear, the fronts however, rub on the steering drag link on sharp right turns. Also, if you get off road, the tires will smash into the inner fender. Granted, this is with stock rims. Other rims might not come into contact with these things, but mine do on stock rims.

 

[cranetruck]

My limited experience with larger (and heavier) tires has not left a good impression. I drove a 5-ton with 1600-20 tires across a field a couple of times and any speed, except for a crawl was a teeth shattering experience, the shake was so bad at higher speed that I could not even read the instruments accurately. In comparison, my 8x8 (xm757) is a world of difference, made for higher off road speeds. Highway driving should be fine, though.
The unsprung weight should be taken into account. For a moment I considered replacing the light weight, low profile, low pressure tires on my 8x8 with larger radials, but comparing them in real life was another matter. The radials were much heavier, the tire alone weighed more than the original bias ply tire with the wheel included! In addition, the CG would be adversely effected.

I also have a problem with the airing down of new radials. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read somewhere that when driving on sideslopes with the big radials, the tire pressure must be at highway setting. Makes it a little hard to drive off road in general.
The only good thing about new radials is wet pavement performance IMHO.

These are just my opinions and I rarely post anything when it comes to big tire mods, but looks shouldn't be the only consideration.

 

[robr]

I really didn't make myself clear (sorry)
on side slopes it doesn't slide as much going straight up a hill it doesn't really matter
I have never had a problem airing down my tires to 20lbs
it made my ride better offroad & Highway I keep mine at 40lb unless I have a load
at 100 lbs it is very rough
cranetruck has a very good point with the weight 1 wheel & Tire is 325 lbs
I have heared that stock rim will rub thats why I bought rims with the offset so I would not have that problem
I do think the stock tires are better in snow

 

[serial14]

I'm running 395's that where take offs from Ft Bliss on wheels from C & C Equipment on my Deuce. I love them! to me they are tons better than 9x20's.

I primarily do a lot of off roading in the deserts of NM. We find everything from sand washes, hard packed dirt, flat grazing fields for cattle and they perform well on every surface. The front tires do rub on the inner fender well at full articulation but it hasn't been bad enough to concern me. Also, at times the rear tires barely touch the bed, but again its not enough to concern me.

I can't say anything towards gas millage since I haven't been paying attention. However, I will say the handling and speed has improved for me.

 

[tm america]

i disagree with you saying a con is they lower milage they actually increase fuel milage. by lowering the rpm at a set speed or moving more miles for the same amount of revs of the engine .i have 15.5s on my truck and i get 14mpg on the highway pulling my m105 and i only got around 10-11 with the 9.00s.as far as offroad performance the 395s are best then the 15,5s then the 11.00s . at haspin last year strech tried to go through a hole with 11.00s he got stuck as soon as his front went in . then gimp went through with his 395s he made it all the way .then i tried it with my 15.5s i could go back and forth but couldnt quite climb out the hill on the other side .same hole all three different tires .three different out comes.it was pretty telling to me

 

[robr]

if the truck is used primarily for highway driving true overall MPG will improve with larger tires
but with lots of starts from dead stops, MPG gets worse with a larger tire
as it takes more power to start the big tires rolling
and they are wider and create more traction / friction which is not as big of factor but still will reduce gas mileage

so it just depends on what you use your truck for

 

[emr]

Facts are facts, the narrower the tire the better mud and snow performance rocks and sand preffer a wider tire, U will slip more in mud with a wider tire period. I have been mud boging and wheeling many trucks and tire set ups for well over 30 years, the best example I have is last year I drove 2 identical M813s , one with 1100 ndts, one with 1400s, In the deep wood situation, what I was in was a spectacular test side by side comparison in identical situation same driver, and there was no surprise at all to me, side slopes the ndts were much much better than the floating wide tires, pulling out was much better with the ndts than the floatong wide tire, all in all the ndts were superior in a climbing and desending oh yea decending on the floaters was a trip, i push my trucks, and that is why I say i will run 900 ndts on a deuce any where anytime, Because i have been there, as for the cool factor there is no comparison the bigger tires are whats it is all about, and on my 925 I run the 14s, but the 1100 ndts had much better on road performance also, there is a reason the military put the trucks on a national speed limilt of 40 mph with the 1400s when the guys started rolling and crashing them with the 14s. ...there are some guys here who run sand, they will get the true use of these awesome wider tires. as for mpg, if I thought there was anything worth mentioning I would , but I think that is the last thing I care about in these trucks, deuls are a safer tire set up all around, the military knows that too, thats why they went to in alot of units the G177s on the 939 series after they came out with the 1400s , now not all of them were changed for sure, but extremly active on road units got em, For alot of reasons it can also be said that it has been proved a single set up will go further in one direction than deuls, this is trus, but the widths of these tire test were done mostly with comparing a 1100 to a 900 . If U run a tire as wide as a deul set up I will drive my deuls farther.there is a give and take in all this there is no magic bullet for sure, u need to have on your truck what fits your image and belief, For me its mostly looks and the awe factor for the deuce and 925 , But my 813 is a woods truck only and that will always have 1100 ndts aired down to there max. People who run swamps and mud usually have a deep chevron narrow tire and as tall as possible. sand and rocks like i said like that wide traction....there are alot of varibles, driver ability is the most, spend a year driving what u have than switch or even sooner than switch back for giggles for a month, U will than have the eperience U are loking for, u will feel the changes right away...all the best...Randy

 

[emr]

The 395s serial 14 is running where he is is what his tires were made for, will excell in most of his climate and run good on everything else. A fast story of a unmog the big one with the big motor and huge wide tires , In the slimyest mud of Aberdeen past in the middle of a flat 4 to 6 inch slime fest on flat ground a Mog and I in came to a stop each to be nice and so the other would not get stuck, each of us felt the other would get stuck if stopped, He was running emty, I was running 900s and empty BUT I was pulling a freightliner with a loaded trailer of military stuff for sale all big stuff, so i had no added traction at all i was actuall towing a huge anchor, so I had less, here is what happend, i have been here many times, i politly waved em on and said to my son look at his tires in front of them , he will not go foward he will have to back up first, and the snow plow affect of the mud just like bogging had the exact affect, he spun and did not go foward, all whells spun, He backed up so he was not pushing a wall and then walked right thru, so then the pressure was on, i feathered my gas and clutch like ever before I am one with my truck when i drive I feel it, i ever so slowly pulled right out and pulled my load thru, it was the width of the tire at its extreme there, and it works. simply put there was not wall of mud in front of my narrow tire, in fact the Humvees stunk in it also and the only trucks doing well that saturday was jeeps and m37s with ndts...oh and belive it or not all little jap trucks with the narrowest street tires were getting thru also,....I pulled out over 35 trucks that day, and some were so heavy U would not belive it, It would never had happend with the wider tires in the mud, as for the hummers I saw 2 tied together just to get a box truck out and no lie an M37 pulling a truck right by em, it is all about the tires, I love tires...I always watch em out the side in the good stuff it does not get any better than that to me, to watch the tread go thru, and a dirrectional is the king for sure...

 

[rosco]

The comparison of one tire to another will go on and on...... The bottom line is that if you take the vehicle with "stock" NDT tires and chain it up all around, it will out perform ALL other vehicles in all Off Road conditions, until you chain those vehicles. And chained tires, are the only thing that performs half way predictably in wet clay type soils! I know this doesn't sound too glamorous and especially not Macho, but its the dirty truth.

Also, those vehicles with the oversize fat tires exclude themselves from chaining, because they obiviously don't have the necessary clearance. Chaining up is not glamorous, but when things get boggy, I'm the one that gets through, slow and steady, without tearing anything up! This is 40+ years of experience talking with 6x6's and a M37.

Lee in Alaska

 

[tm america]

i.ve never seen anyone chain up for mud before.and there is a good reason the mud tires are wide and have agressive treads.every tire does different things good. if the mud has a bottom narrow tires will get it done if it doesnt a narrow tire doesnt have enough contact patch to keep the truck from sinking and high centering.the same goes for snow and sand.ice is a different thingi in sand snow and mud a wider conact patch =more traction and less sinking in snow and rain wider tires = less traction and more sliding.ntds do poorly in rain and ice because of the continuous center rib .running duals in mud causes them to float once they get mudd between the duals.this is how good ndts do in mud

 

[tm america]

everything has a trade off do your reseach and choose the tire that works best for how you use your truck everyday.i had dual 9.00s on my truck they didnt work for me i singled it out with ndts they didnt work for my i'm really happy with the 15.s but think the 395s would be better in mud but they wear faster and dont hold as much weight so they dont work for me either .if you live in alaska you'll probably be chained up most of the time .hear in the mid west we need tires that are more versitile sinc one block can be snow while the next is ice then its dry .and then next day its raining and muddy chains dont work to good around here for most people

 

[emr]

In WW2 chains are what got us thru in not just the snow and ice, But in all the climates hot too, I agree chains kick em all....

 

[emr]

tmamerica... that may just be a little bit more than just mud , that is some SWEET six wheelin...The axles and frame are fighting the mud too for sure...Man I love that stuff...I think the only tires to get that thru was on another BIG truck to help out......oh and that looks tough in pics, i have found pics usually do not do it justice, thats good stuff right there...

 

[tm america]

i have never used chains .i havent seen any trucks in the top truck challenge chaining up.i'm not saying that a set of chained 11.00s wouldnt be better in mud or snow and ice then the 15.5s or 395s but in everyother situation the the 15.5s and 395s are so much better that the govt runs them now and ndts are all out of service

 

[tm america]

i went right throught the same hole a week later with the 15.5s i was able to stop in it and everythingit took a tri axle sitting on pavement,a blazer on 44s with a 12000lb winch three snatch blocks and a 1/2 ton chevy on 36s to get me out of that hole

 

[emr]

A week can make a big difference in the wetness of the base, just sayin, that truck was stuck, and the ruts were made and could have dried enough, and the higher ground clearance on just a little bit hard under stuff would make it a very different ride...just sayin.......ever so true about ndts, they ndts are dinosours. we are also fighting in sandy rocky climates and are expected far into the future, where these wider tire excel. we are fighting where these tires were designed to be and it is the right thing to do, the size of the trucks and horsepower /torque are all also to be figured into these tires, one needs to be able to push big rubber and the trucks of today are doing that better than before, But this is a whole new topic......As for longevity the NDTs have more than proved themselves as the longest tire tread to be used for sure, in all parts of the world for many wars and years, We won because of not only our Men and Woman but the vehicles we love so much, and it can be said an NDT is one BIG part of that. I have never found a fault with them, I do believe people over drive them and over inflate them though...Loggers use chains because they are in the MOST severe conditons one will ever get into and it costs money to get stuck, cant run a business in the mud and have stuck machines pulling logs, Chains are hands down the best and it is more than opinion, But for tires directionals are next, I never saw a skidder without chains, why Like lee said above. there is nothing better. but that is way well a little of the topic now i guess, but i like it hope no one else minds, This is good truck talk to me...

 

[wldrbob]

i dont think you can use chains in competition somthing to do with safety i think i read that somplace could be wrong . i chain up for bush work great traction and you can usualy go slow way less strain on every thing . i dont run my deuce through anything like some of you guys do .guess i just hate breaking stuff for no reason . some of the places you go sure look cool though. a few minuts with a chainsaw usualy gets me around .happy new year everybody

 

[tm america]

lets all put it to a test someone bring some chains to haspin this year .i just want to see the difference between chained 11.00s and aired down 395s or 15.5s. i agree with matching the tires to the vehicle and how you will be using it thats why i say to do research on what tires do what best. chains or not is another subject all together.since its obvious that chains added to any tire will help in snow and mud.thats a no brainer yes there is no room to chain 15.5 or 395s on a stock deuce but they make the xls,zxls,zmls and other tires in other sizes that will fit on the deuce with room to chain up