Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey,

My old man has a troopy that is quite kitted out for Grey Nomad Touring - pop top, full camper etc (must be almost 4 ton).

Currently he is running Cooper 33 x 12.5 x 15 STT's but has had 2 fail with cracks and just had one completely explode taking out brake lines and locking on the handbrake. They have about 50% tread left.

So we are looking for the best touring 33" tyre (probably all terrain) that can handle the weight and last the distance without resorting back to the good old split rims!!

What has anyone had godd experiences with??

Thanks,

Alec

Tyres get cracks when the rubber begins to perish over time. I wonder how old they were? (Just because they still have heaps of tread it dosen't mean they are new. All tyres have a manufacturing date stamp on them)

My advice is to speak to a tyre shop and get their advice on what load and speed rating your next set would need to be. After all they do it all day every day.
And then when you find out what speed and load rating you need you can just shop around to get a tyre that suits your needs for a fair price!

My STTs (285/75R16) are from the first shipment to Australia in 2005 (that's right - I don't drive my 4wd that much ) and they're still holding up the Paj.

I suspect your father's problem is due to this:

My old man has a troopy that is quite kitted out for Grey Nomad Touring - pop top, full camper etc (must be almost 4 ton).

33 x 12.5 R15 tyres have a load rating of 108, which means they are only rated to 1000kg each. At maximum inflation, the four tyres on your father's troopy can carry exactly 4 tonne between them. That's presuming perfect weight distribution, and leaves no margin for error.

In reality, I expect the rear tyres will be carrying significantly more weight than the front tyres. If the troopy really does weigh nearly 4 ton, then I suspect the rear tyres will be overloaded at their maximum inflation pressure, and worse if the pressures are dropped. I suspect this is the root cause of the tyre failures.

I suggest your father bite the bullet and convert to 16" rims, and fit 285/75R16 (roughly 33" x 11.2"). These have a load rating of 122, or 1500kg per tyre.

Good tip on the 16" rims Scott. Thats a worthy upgrade.

The tyres are only around 3yrs old and havent worn well since day one.

By the sounds of things, it would be worth taking the troopy over a weigh bridge, only costs about $20 and you can get front and rear axle weights to be more accurate in the load rating on the tyre you need.

FYI there is a difference in load ratings between some AUS delivered tyres and US spec tyres, example of this is TOYO tyres 315/75/16 M/T, in AUS it is only rated at 121(1450kgs), but in the states they are rated at 127 (1750kgs), thats a huge difference. It may be worth investigating importing direct if you can't find what you need here.

4T wow. I would have thought it difficult to fit that much into the back of a Troopy, they are about 2.3T off the floor.

Has it been modified to carry the extra weight, could well have done as the pop top etc would all have needed engineering? if not its about 700kg overloaded, maybe ok for a once off trip to the concrete recyclers but I would be concerned about damaging the chassis, suspension etc etc on a long trip especially anywhere rougher where you would be inclined to take a troopy. I'm not trying to be smart just genuinely concerned. If it was mod plated for the extra mass I would have thought it would have a listing in the mods for the rating of tyre it needs for the new gvm.

I would definitely be checking out a weigh bridge so you can judge which tyres you need.

Plus pics it must be amasingly set up to weigh so much.

Put some Toyo Open Country M/T's on it LT285/75R16 126P 1700kg per tyre, slightly smaller than what he has now. Or go up to the LT315/75R16 121P 1450kg per tyre. They are very very tough tyres. Popular with heavily loaded/over loaded rigs that see little tar or even roads.

thehanko wrote:4T wow. I would have thought it difficult to fit that much into the back of a Troopy, they are about 2.3T off the floor.

My folks set up 7x cruiser + camper trailer fully loaded with 2 fridges, solar w/ 4 battery's, 2 spare tires, tinny on trailer. 215ltrs fuel. 100ltrs water Plus basically all their personal belongings came in at 5.2t

You will need 16" rims for the LT rating
Run mtz's
http://www.mickeythompsontires.com.au/i ... p?page=MTZ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LT285/75R16 (33/11.50R16LT) 8 122Q 7.5-9 841
LT305/70R16 (33/12.50R16LT) 8 118Q 8-9.5 841

122 3307LBS @99MPH
118 2910LBS @99MPH

shakes wrote:

thehanko wrote:4T wow. I would have thought it difficult to fit that much into the back of a Troopy, they are about 2.3T off the floor.

My folks set up 7x cruiser + camper trailer fully loaded with 2 fridges, solar w/ 4 battery's, 2 spare tires, tinny on trailer. 215ltrs fuel. 100ltrs water Plus basically all their personal belongings came in at 5.2t

5.2T......

Holy crap. What sort of fuel econ were they getting??

Towing 2 trailers is pretty impressive as well........ I always said Toyotas can do anything...

It's a heavy mutha. Thats packed to the hilt though when they are "moving house" so to speak.

The old man wouldn't comment on the economy, only mentioned when they got gas it made an amazing difference to it (4.2diesel with after market turbo)

and the tinny was on a from on the camper trailer.

Well the Troopy went over a weigh bridge, 3.2T empty.... no food, beer, fuel, missus, water etc etc, just the fit out and the Old Man.

Turns out Cooper listens to feedback. The old man wrote to Cooper telling him his woes, and that the 33 x 12.5 x 15 hasnt the right weight rating for his Troopy and the dealer should have pointed this out when selling them, so they have tossed two 265 x 75 x 16 ST Maxx tyres his way for nothing and appologised for the inconveinience the failed tyres have caused him.

So we bought some 16" rims and a couple more ST Maxx tyres. Be interesting how these new ST Maxx tyres perform, get them fitted tomorrow.

Surfin Alec wrote:Well the Troopy went over a weigh bridge, 3.2T empty.... no food, beer, fuel, missus, water etc etc, just the fit out and the Old Man.

Turns out Cooper listens to feedback. The old man wrote to Cooper telling him his woes, and that the 33 x 12.5 x 15 hasnt the right weight rating for his Troopy and the dealer should have pointed this out when selling them, so they have tossed two 265 x 75 x 16 ST Maxx tyres his way for nothing and appologised for the inconveinience the failed tyres have caused him.

So we bought some 16" rims and a couple more ST Maxx tyres. Be interesting how these new ST Maxx tyres perform, get them fitted tomorrow.

wow good work cooper!