Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

up Lippincott and a right turn at the top. Not even a half miles distance I believe from the iconic Lippincott sign.

 

stopped a top lippincott. homestake over to the right in that hole can't see it though from here

 

Quick question! Should I run SL or LT tires for DV?

 

i hear LT is the way to go, But, how fresh are the OEM tires that came on your truck? just go with them, see what happens...should be fine

 

17k Miles. They have some slight cuts in them due to previous trips. I just want some insurance lol.

 

..cuts...dang, im a fan of cooper ST/Maxx, real good sidewall/casing,ATMO, but for a given size, they are 'heavier'. there are lots of tires I know nothing about, and people have favorites they buy again. I bet you could get by on your OEM's, but...why not buy new tires of your choice. dont think about how good they'll be as a daily driver, or how loud or harsh they might be. if you want the insurance on sharp gravel corrugated DV roads that are often graded into dust hiding rocks...you need the stronger casing

 

I'm debating to get some wildpeaks or KO2. the KO2 ($780) are $100 more than the wildpeaks ($672) being LT. I feel like I can get away with my OEM tires but I heard 265/75/16 gives me a little bit of a lift!!

 

You’re buying 5 tires right (full size spare)?
The desert isn’t the best place to try and “get away” with something.

 

I've been thinking about a 265/75/16. seems a good size. I've decided that the 285/75/16 cooper ST/Maxx are just too heavy for my needs, I currently have a set of 255/85/16 cooper ST(discontinued). I'm thinking the 265/75 would give good volume, and be slightly lighter overall than the 285/75. I'm thinking a 255/85/16 ST/Maxx, or a 265/75/16 ST/maxx..or KO2.
check DVexile's build philolsophy on tires, IIRC, he has a 235/85/16...lift might be over-rated

 

Shoot!!! I wonder if I can trade in my full spare and pay the differences.

 

..hmmmm...
when I bought FIVE cooper ST, the dealer gave me back my five rugged-fails...and I gave those 11000 mile tires to a used tire dealer. eventually I ended up with SIX cooper ST, broke a sidewall on one, now with five, going to try and use them up. I have six wheels on the truck now, that's two spares, one is an odd size 285, but if i broke two tires, I could at least keep rolling, even if mismatched...

 

I was planning on taking my family to Titus Canyon for a day trip since we live in Vegas. I would love to explore more of DV but am only running the stock tires on my ‘17 TRDOR. They only have 5100 miles on them, should they be ok from Titus Canyon to Racetrack? I thought that would be a fun full day of driving for Them.

-M

 

my money is on your truck is capable of getting you there and back...because your carrying your family, and your driving at reasonable speeds, and your not chewing off too much distance for the time you have. people drive prius out there to racetrack. racetrack road feels really longer than it is because it just goes on and on for ever. you have to drive reasonable for the comfort of your passengers. Take it easy on those gravel roads, give your self time to see it. being in a hurry is not fun.

 

Thank you sir. Yeah I did Titus Canyon on a bike a couple years back. Like the Beasty Boys day “slow and low is the tempo,” I’m all about seeing things instead of blowing by stuff.

I feel like I just got this truck but am afraid to drive it off road because it doesn’t have burley AT tires. They did fine around the backroads near my house but I have been to DV and don’t want to get my family into something I am not 100% confident in.

Cheers!
-M

 

That's going to be a long "day trip" but you should be ok with stock tires.

 

Underrated-common sense, careful driving, proper air pressure, and emergency communication....I would think you would be ok.

for the record I’m e rated bfgs.

 

Has anyone been out there the past week, specifically Titus? DVroadconditions page says ice, just wondering how bad the ice is. TIA!!

 

Ran Titus yesterday. No ice anywhere, road in very good condition.

 

I did Saline, Lippincott, Racetrack and some other miscellaneous roads with my truck and stock tires and didn’t have a problem and then slashed one near home on a graded gravel road. You just never know when or where you’ll have tire problems. Best bet is to make sure you have a good spare and a tire plug kit with a compressor.

People put too much thought into tires but then don’t have any backup plans. Good LT all terrains are going to be better than stock tires but they’re not a guarantee to not have tire problems.

Also if you do have to swap to the spare it’s usually a good idea to cut the trip short and head out to get a replacement or home. Heard of too many people that throw the spare on and then head deeper into no mans land just to blow another tire and be much worse off than if they turned around.

 

thank you.