Posted by Clint Dixon [172.68.90.13] on Friday, May 24, 2019 at 13:26:28 :
In Reply to: Re: on a 48 #2 posted by Kaegi [162.158.106.213] on Friday, May 24, 2019 at 00:08:48 :
I really like directional tires and have had good success with them in the past but they can present a problem.
Mounted on all four wheels and oriented for maximum forward traction, with the truck being driven forward, they dig down through the loose stuff to a harder surface (assuming there is one) and self clean really well in the process. However the problem is when one becomes stuck and tries to back out of the situation. With directional tires mounted for maximum forward traction, it is nearly impossible to back out of a problem area. The tires will actually "self pack" and want to ride on all of the loose stuff they are pulling in under themselves.
When turned backwards on the front axle and oriented for maximum rearward traction, the front tires are self packing while driving forward and not contributing much to the movement of the vehicle while the rear tires are doing most of the work. But, when one gets stuck, the action of the tires trades places and the fronts are doing most of the work to propel the truck backwards.
That is the trade-off.
When I was a member of several 4-wheel-drive clubs years ago, most of us had directional tires oriented for maximum forward traction at both ends, but we also had rear mounted winches when we absolutely needed to back out of a tough spot.
Junior
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