Should I change tires on my Jeep toad?

Some folks are suggesting a trailer.

Here's the downside to that equation.
Trailer is added weight to the coach. Your coach may or may not be able to handle the extra weight.
Jeeps are heavy. Mine is around 4500 lbs. Add a trailer to that. Your getting close to 7000 lbs.

Cost and storage of a trailer at home. I don't have the space personally.

Storage of a trailer while at your campsite. Most parks won't let you keep it at your site.

Cost of owning a trailer. Registration, TIRES, routine maintenance, etc.

I say tow your jeep as you have been.

These are just my observations and opinions and I am not discrediting anyone who chooses to do the opposite of me. Just consider all your options first.

Byrogie wrote:
Do a cost analysis on buying a trailer to put the jeep on.

This is great advice. Anything you put on that Jeep that would be great for off roading will not be ideal for towing on road. Even in 100+ mile trips.

We towed a JKU with 37's cross country several times. No unusual tire wear and mpg not noticeably changed. Do watch out for front wheel bearings and ball joints, whether towing or not. Large tires = accelerated wear.

We bought our Wrangler (with Goodrich Mud Terrains) in September of 2015, hooked it up to our A, and drove. We drove from DC to Florida to Arizona to Alaska to Montana to Arizona then back to DC where we replaced them. We had put a total of 42,000 miles on the tires, with 22,000 of that on the jeep engine. The tires still had plenty of tread.

Typically, we rotate the tires every 3-5,000 miles. Unfortunately, we put over 10,000 miles on the tires in Alaska and on the return trip without rotating them (lots of gravel and dirt roads). When we hit Montana, we had quite a bit of cupping. We rotated the tires in Montana and then again in Arizona (3,000 mile interval) but the cupping was still noticeable. So we replaced them with Duratracs. We previously had Duratracs on our F250 diesel and they towed and went off road well, even after 60,000 miles when we sold it.

So, a 5K trip? No problem, just try to rotate them if the 5K is towing and you will adding non-towing miles.

bobkatmsu wrote:
I tow a 2014 Jeep Safari with fairly aggressive 35" tires behind my 2007 gas, Safari Simba. All the trips I have used it have been 1000 mile round trip or less. Now we are talking about a 5000 mile trip. I know a lot of people use their motorhomes to get to where they want to go 4-wheeling. What has your experience been, fuel consumption, wearing, etc. We are not planning on doing any 4-wheeling during this trip. Would I be better buying a stock set of wheels and put them on for this trip? Thanks for your help.

Ok,
If I'm understanding your post right, you say: "...a lot of people use their motor home to get to where they want to go 4-wheeling". So, I'm assuming you're going to use yours and still tow your jeep on your intended 5K mile trip correct? Well, in all reality, you'd be wasting a ton of money in purchasing a whole new set of tires and wheels, just for one trip. Yeah, you may use them in some other driving but, have you needed them up to now, probably not.

So, if you're happy with the ones you've got, then leave them on there and tow away. You'll not notice any difference in handling or wear on the tires on the Jeep etc. They're going to wear anyways so, leave them on and go on your trip and have fun. The money you would have spent on the new tires and wheels will now go to fuel and fun.
Scott

I'd recommend working in 4-wheeling during your long trip to use those tires. :)

Do you do heavy 4-wheeling now? If not, the next time you need tires tone down a bit. :)

To me it would depend on future usage.

Tires have a tendency to dry rot so tires sitting around unused is a bad idea.

Switching them back and forth means a set of rims so now its tires "and" rims so it becomes a cost of tires, rims plus the labor to swap and number of times a year I would need to swap.

I have original wheels and tires on my 2011 Sahara unlimited. The odometer shows 57000 miles and it's been towed over 50,000 miles and the tread still passes state inspection. I would get a set of highway tires and save your aggressive treads for when you will go off road.

Do a cost analysis on buying a trailer to put the jeep on.

I've run several Jeeps. Aggressive tires are usually more expensive and don't wear as well. Once half of the tread is gone they're usually not very good off of the road.

Different tires aren't going to help mileage at all. If you'll use the stock wheels again later to get your money out of them, then that's not a bad idea. If you'll never use them again, leave them sitting in the garage where they're in the way and eventually give them away, then no, run the aggressive tires and replace them when when needed.

Bill