3 Days in the Maze with SL Rated Tires

The Maze in Canyonlands is high on my bucket list to do in the future. I already have done the White Rim trail on the stock Wranglers and had no issues. However, due to the remoteness of the Maze trails and my understanding that they are rougher, I would be hesitant to plan out a 3-day trip in the Maze (possibly on my own) with stock tires and only one spare.

I am currently in the middle of trying to figure out what to replace the stock tires with once they wear out. I have been waffling between a couple extremes:

A) E-load 255/85-16 which weighs around 58 lbs/tire (e.g. S/T Maxx)
B) SL-rated 265/75-16 that run around 41 lbs/tire (e.g. Cooper AT3 4S)

To be completely honest, my truck will spend more time on pavement than it will on jagged rocks, so keeping weight down is very important. However, I don't want to sacrifice access to remote areas by gambling too much on tire punctures. I should note that I play close attention to the trail when off road, and I generally don't drive any faster than prudent to be able to stop or steer clear of sharp rocks. I also don't rock crawl more than I have to, only as much as necessary to get from point A to B. As such, I am a pretty boring when it comes to wheeling. However, there is always that one time something catches you by surprise.

So to get to the point, would those who have been throughout the Maze feel comfortable doing it with a good quality SL-rated tire? I am not set on the AT3 4S, and would be open to another SL tire with better sidewall puncture resistance, or possibly even C-load tire as long as it is under 50 lbs. If the tire is over 50 lbs, I might as well just go with the larger 255/85 and the advantages on clearance the larger tire gives me.

 

To preface this I have no knowledge of the maze, but with that said the maxx are an excellent tire with a very beefy sidewall. A large part of why they weigh so much.

Regardless of which tire you get, airing down helps tremendously with puncture resistance. Think poking a balloon with a pointy stick. A fully inflated balloon will be much easier to pop than one filled up only 25%.

 

Just get a second spare.

 

I had really good luck with Cooper RTX sl-rated tires. Got me around a lot of Utah terrain I had no real business being in. That said, the Maxx tires will make your truck near indestructible. They do come at the cost of weight, and I def took a -2 mpg hit when I put them on. They do better than I expected on my commute, but my truck HATES the 80mph speed limits on the freeway.

 

I worry you might be getting in over your head a bit. Taking a 3-day solo trip into the Maze is already ballsy enough - but on cheap tires too? You have full recovery gear? InReach?

 

Thanks all for the replies, much appreciated. I am leaning towards the 265/75 Cooper AT3 4S at this point. I dont think going up to LT Load C version in the same size gives me any more sidewall durability as far as I can figure, just more tread depth, and the added wet/snow traction of the 4S is going to come in more handy.

I might invest in a second set of wheels and put ST Maxx's on them for the few trips I take off pavement. Just have to figure out the tpms sensor issue on that.

I do have full recovery gear, but no SPOT/Inreach. So maybe I talk some friends into going with me when the Maze trip does happen.

 

I have this little guy and it's well worth it for the peace of mind. Normally $350 so $280 is a great deal. The plans are cheap too and you can do "freedom" and only pay for a month at a time with no contract.

$350 Garmin 010-01879-00 InReach Mini, Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator, Orange

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Light..._2?keywords=garmin+mini&qid=1575816944&sr=8-2

 

Done the maze a few times. Get a tire with a solid sidewall. Can you get away with it, Probably. Personally though I would make sure you have a tire with a 3 ply side wall. First time I did the maze years ago a buddy of mine took bad advice from the tire shop and got some cheap tires with out a good side wall and mounted them on his nice Jeep Rubicon. This is before the days of 4 door wranglers. He punctured one after teapot and punctured a second on the way out. Luckily we had two other rubicons with solid tires and spares. So In short, don’t be dumb get good tires you can trust. My opinion 255/85s or a good LT 265/75