Tires - Gravel Road - Wet Road - Towing….

[DylanR]

I am looking to get new tires soon… my garage and driveway is gravel… I ran Kenda Klever RT and they threw rocks like a MLB pitcher. I am running Ironman MT 37’s right now… they a pretty good for what they are… they don’t pick up rocks and throw them… but they are slick in rainy weather imo. I tow a boat. So that kinda sketches me out a bit with them.

im looking for opinions on tires that are really grippy in wet conditions and don’t pick up rocks and sling them…

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[ShadowsPapa]

I've not had problems with my General Grabber A/TX tires throwing rocks. I have to drive down my neighbor's driveway about 300 feet to get back to my shop and trailer. Can't recall hearing any rocks being thrown. Was raining like a SOB last night (THANK GOODNESS, we need it), lots of water on the highways, running across streets, etc. - no issues with traction at all. Never felt like it wasn't gripping and I kept up the speed limits - 65 much of the way. Some of our highways are old blacktop and the traveled areas get depressed and water gathers in the wheel track areas.

 

[Mac]

Any AT tire I have ever had picks up rocks, BFGs, Toyos, Bridgestone, Michelin.
if you want good in the rain get a tire that is 3mpsf rated makes a big difference.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Any AT tire I have ever had picks up rocks, BFGs, Toyos, Bridgestone, Michelin.
if you want good in the rain get a tire that is 3mpsf rated makes a big difference.

Can't say mine have picked up and tossed rocks. We've a lot out here where I live in the country. Things are gravel here and there.
I will only buy the 3 peak rated tires living where I do - Iowa. Snow and ice, ice and snow and heavy rains when it rains.
My other tires I've had to pick rocks out of the tread when I park it in the garage - not these so much. But then, rocks and gravel vary, too.
Some parts of even Iowa don't have the same gravel we have here thanks to the glaciers years ago.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

Throwing rocks all depends on the size of the rocks and the grooves in the tires. If you had Kenda throw rocks like crazy but an MT with a wider groove didn't pick them up, you probably have Kenda sized rocks. So either deal with the rocks being thrown by going extra slow, deal with the MT being a bit slicker, or go with something even narrower grooved like a true street truck tire. Or get some good mud flaps.

IMO.

 

[brianinca]

Gravel from the parking lots at work ceased to be an issue when I got the ACE rock sliders. Cracks me up people complain about rocks thrown, yeah your tires aren't bald!

Throwing rocks all depends on the size of the rocks and the grooves in the tires. If you had Kenda throw rocks like crazy but an MT with a wider groove didn't pick them up, you probably have Kenda sized rocks. So either deal with the rocks being thrown by going extra slow, deal with the MT being a bit slicker, or go with something even narrower grooved like a true street truck tire. Or get some good mud flaps.

IMO.

 

[DylanR]

Cracks me up when people make irrelevant comments in a thread… lol

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Cracks me up when people make irrelevant comments in a thread… lol

Different tires deal with rocks differently - anyone who has lived on roads where you drive miles to get to a highway knows that and is aware.
I've lived on gravel - enough of it, long enough stretches and for enough years, I know the effects of different tires. Because gravel is bought and spread based on the size of the majority (yeah, I know about gravel - you can buy, for example, 1" with fines, without fines, 2" with or without fines, and anything else in between - that means that some tires will grab the gravel where you are but not the gravel in the neighbors driveway, or it won't grab the gravel on your road but you get to another part of the state it throws rocks constantly.
Those making some of the comments about "all tires will..........." don't understand the differences.
The tires I have don't throw the rocks where I live where my other truck did. The rocks here were of a size that some tires will grab more than others. If you have a lot of 2" gravel then tires with a more narrow tread gap won't grab and throw them.

And not all people care about or want rock sliders.......

 

[DylanR]

@ShadowsPapa I had seriously been considering General ATX and Patagonia MT

Just trying to consider the best options… because I don’t want to throw rocks into the gel coat of my boat either.

my buddy has a new Denali 2500HD and we have had the same conversation about picking up rocks.. he is having good luck with ridge grapplers.

until you have experienced a 2” rock being slung against your $50k+ truck …it’s hard to imagine what that thought it like after it happens… my side steps do help.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

@ShadowsPapa I had seriously been considering General ATX and Patagonia MT

Just trying to consider the best options… because I don’t want to throw rocks into the gel coat of my boat either.

my buddy has a new Denali 2500HD and we have had the same conversation about picking up rocks.. he is having good luck with ridge grapplers.

until you have experienced a 2” rock being slung against your $50k+ truck …it’s hard to imagine what that thought it like after it happens… my side steps do help.

Been there more than once. Even my wife cringes and goes "uh-oh" when she hears that sound.
I had a vehicle a few years back where when you looked at in the fender well area you could tell exactly how far apart the tread grooves were - it was "blasted" in perfect lines.
I've had tires that did it badly, and tires that don't. My General A/TXs don't - disclaimer - at least with the bulk of gravel in this area and the size my neighbor uses. I had a prior Jeep where just driving the 300 feet of his gravel drive from my shop to the road meant I was pelted for at least 1/8 mile.
That's another consideration I had as well - my show car rides on an open car hauler behind my truck. One time I hauled one of my cars 3 1/2 hours behind my F250 and got to the show groups to see a big chip on the front of the car - it wasn't there when I loaded it. Now that thing would throw rocks - the grooves in those tires matched the size of gravel used here pretty closely.
You can't say never because rock roads, gravel, dirt - there's always a size some tire is going to pick up so it's impossible to say "you have 2" rock these will not throw rocks" because there's going to be some larger, some smaller. I judge by the majority of what's there.
When my neighbor ordered 2" rock I was amazed at how consistent the gravel bits were! It was like it was washed and sorted or something.

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