Forum Discussion

storm37's avatar
storm37
Explorer
Oct 01, 2018

Tires for towing

Just curious, are mud tires like Mickey Thompson Tires***Link Removed*** be used for towing?
  • Tread squirm is real but no prolific, however, like anything else, it's a dynamic situation and proper load rated and properly inflated mud tires are no more dangerous to tow with than pavement pounder tires, unless you subscribe to the geezernet way of lie.
  • mowermech wrote:
    I have used heavy lug Mud & Snow tires for all-round use for years, towing alll types of trailers, including Travel Trailers and a 32 foot fifth wheel, with no problems at all, ever.
    Tire brands included Kumho, Bridgestone, Cooper, and others, but never Mickey Thompson or Michelin. My tire budget won't handle either of them!


    So a lot depends on what your priorities are and what you are willing to give up to get what is most important to you. I am fairly certain of the shorter tire life and reduced gas mileage based on my personal experience. The big grooves for mud reduce the amount of rubber that are getting and catch a lot of air at speed. Staying with LT tires might help insure that you don't loose too much stability. If you experiment just be cautious until you get a good feel for the effects. You don't mention size but many mud tires are frequently larger diameter and will make your speedometer read low and reduce your tow capacity the same way that a higher gear ratio axle will.
  • I think that it is safe to say that towing and mudding have almost opposite requirements from tires. Towing is mostly about providing a stable, rigid platform with long lasting tread. Mudding needs softness, flexibility and deep blocky treads to shed mud. Deep, blocky treads have lots of squirm, noise and poor wear characteristics on pavement.
  • I have used heavy lug Mud & Snow tires for all-round use for years, towing alll types of trailers, including Travel Trailers and a 32 foot fifth wheel, with no problems at all, ever.
    Tire brands included Kumho, Bridgestone, Cooper, and others, but never Mickey Thompson or Michelin. My tire budget won't handle either of them!
  • Too much tread squirm for regular highway towing in my opinion. Ideally highway tread with very little open tread space.