Tires for a plow truck

[Chevy305]

So my plow truck is '78 GMC K10 and it's beater. It's a 350, 465, 205, 10 bolts, and 2.73s. I use it to plow only my long dirt driveway and make the occasional dump or Home Depot run. My dirt driveway quickly turns to ice in the winter and that leaves me with a tire dilemma.



So it has some very old and cracked but still good tread 32x11.5 R15s all terrains on it and one of them developed a large bulge on it so at the very least that one needs to be replaced. So I've been looking around and 32x11.5R15s are not a common size at least to find used. It seems that I either need to jump down to a 31 or up to a 33 to really get decent used tire options. I'm airing more to the side of 33"s because they are bigger and 31"s just look sad. I have a few options running around in my head:

1. Just replace the one bad tire with a new one (roughly the same price as a whole used set)
2. I have found 31" snow tires for cheap that makes me wonder if the extra snow tire traction is worth it.
3. I also have found a few sets of 33" tires. Some 10.5, some 12.5. Which width would be better in my situation?
4. I am going to replace the 35/12.5R15s on my Stepside within the coming months so my thought was to just swap them onto the plow truck. They are fairly worn Mickey Thompson MTZs and I know they are horrible in the snow and ice. However, if I were to stud them would these be a viable option?
5. What about studding any of the other tire options? Would the time/money invested be worth it? Would it be better to just run chains on at least the rear and just remove them if I leave the driveway?


P.S. I have a set of tire chains for the current 32" tires that I got last year though I haven't had to use them. (yet...)

 

[Alan2smiley]

I use chains on the rear with a welded differential and it does great, I think chains on the front where all the weight is would totally kick ass. Open differential with chains can dig a hole really quick.

 

[HankScorpio]

Go with a skinny tire with the most siping you can find. Wide sucks for traction in snow. The siping is where you will really get traction. Big tread blocks just don't grip in ice and snow. Or run whatever you have with chains.

 

[GoGoGirl]

Can the other tires still pass inspection?

Is money a factor?

If the answer to both is “yes”, I’d say just replace the bulged tire.

I’ve made it through two winters with a set of Cooper stock size 31” cheaper tires that are at best meant for moderate off road duty and have mud-type lugs. Definitely not snow or dedicated highway tires. I run chains on the front in 4WD and have never been stuck, and never had to use 4L.

As you (OP) probably recall, we’ve had blizzards the past two years right around or on March 12. I’ve literally driven through nearly two feet of unplowed snow during those times, even uphill in my driveway, and have never slid even an inch. This is with the chains of course
As mentioned above.

 

[Chevy305]

The current tires definitely have some dry rot and I wouldn't run them any faster than around town but that's all I really need this truck to do.

 

[beags86]

Buy a replacement used tire, put chains on the front and bash some snow drifts.

Front chains are better than any new snow and ice tire.

 

[AJs72K5]

Just because ... www.mattracks.com
And they're on sale

 

[beags86]

He said he might drive it into town.

Needs these.

 

[onetonbb74]

Id put stock 235s on it, easier to steer, cheap, and its a beater...

 

[POORBOYK5]

235/75R15 hankook winter ipike. I had them on my suburban. I had to swap them out for some crap 16's when I put tons under it. Hasn't plowed nearly as good since. They were unstoppable and over half worn.

 

[GoGoGirl]

235/75R15 hankook winter ipike. I had them on my suburban. I had to swap them out for some crap 16's when I put tons under it. Hasn't plowed nearly as good since. They were unstoppable and over half worn.

]

What an interesting place to take a photo!! Do they pay you in...never mind

I had studded iPikes on my DD (AWD Acura MDX) and those, too, were unstoppable in any winter road condition.

 

[yellowK20]

Get some 16” wheels and set of 255-85-16” toyo MT’s and have them siped .

Then modify your chains to fit them , put lunchbox lockers in both diffs , and let’er eat .

 

[sweetk30]

tall skinny is the ticket . find a tire with low treadwear # on the sidewall = softer rubber . also a specific snow tire with lots of sipping .

i use to plow with 35x12.50 mud tires . then 1 year i put on my stock 235/85/16 and even tho the tires were older harder rubber what a difference it made .

and 500-700 lbs of weight in the rear bed over the axle helps a lot . i have a 550lb I-beam i chain down .

 

[diesel4me]

Meh--in my experience you can waste a lot of money on tires for plowing,that wont work any better than normal ones..

If the tires you have are "iffy" and dry rotted,cracked,etc,I'd just look for a decent set of 4 at a salvage yard..its been decades since I bought brand new tires,and many of them got destroyed by sidewall gashes shortly after buying them,like they were jinxed..
I'd save your money for other things the truck will need..

My 3/4 ton GMC has "sawtooth" summer tread tires on it now--looking at them,you'd think "no way those wont spin when pushing snow,IF they even will"--but fact is,they work fine--2 rears are Firestone 265/75-16 load range E tires and the fronts are Goodyear 255/70/16's ,"C" rated..

Yeah,I know,your not supposed to "mix & match" tires on a 4x4,but I have not experienced and binding or jerky steering in 4wd ,the tires are not that much different diameter,and these tires,despite being "summer" tread sawtooth style treads,have not been an issue as far as traction,I never got it stuck once with them,and the same applies to other tires I have had on it in the past..except maybe some 265/75/16 Goodyear Wranglers,that were pretty wide,and "floated" on top of the snow..and only had about 1/4 tread left..

Maybe the E range tires being heavier,or the 3/4 ton truck itself being heavier than a 1/2 ton makes a difference,though I've had two 1/2 ton GM 4x4's and they were no worse at plowing,those only had 235/75/15's on them,nothing special either--marginal tread,no studs,or even "all season"tread,just typical radials..as noted above,skinny tires are much better in snow than wide flotation tires..
Chains wont fit most wide tires either without modifying them or paying big bucks for ones that will..

Weight is important for plowing,I always have at least a few hundred pounds in the bed during winter,and if I know a really bad storm is coming,I'll go to the DPW garage and fill the bed with treated sand,after putting a tarp down first..with that kind of weight,two things will happen--either you'll be able to push anything like nothing--or if you manage to get it stuck,it'll be hell to get it un-stuck unless you have a winch or a buddy who can pull you out ..
Here we get "wet cement" snow often,and you need that weight to push it, and get thru deep drifts without sliding sideways..

The load of sand does make for slow take offs and can make it liable to slide sideways around an icy curve if your not careful,otherwise it makes the truck feel more like a tank..it will not want to stop quick either,especially on slick surfaces..keep that in mind if you have to drive "around town"..

I have an old school Fisher plow that probably weighs 400+ lbs,I tend to leave it up just a tad on the first pass,that puts all its weight on the front tires and gives great traction,even with tires that were nearly bald..after you make the first few passes you can lower it all the way and scrape down to bare tar...sometimes if you know its going to rain after a snowstorm ,then freeze,your better off leaving a little snow,then you wont get glare ice..

I had to put chains on all 4 tires once where I used to live on my 72 K5,there were hills like San Fransisco there..in 2015 when we got 12 feet of snow with several 2+ foot storms back to back,I was going to put chains on my rear tires,but they were too short to fit..ended up just weighting the truck down with sand and that proved good enough..

 

[Carcinogen]

So my plow truck is '78 GMC K10 and it's beater. It's a 350, 465, 205, 10 bolts, and 2.73s.

Is the 2.73 a typo? Do you plow in 4 lo?
My step-side has 35s and 3.08s, it sucks... I guess with 2.73s you could run in L(1st), but won't you top out at around 5 MPH still? Don't know if you even need to get a run at anything either.

I don't push snow around so I'm just speculating outloud.

 

[yellowK20]

Is the 2.73 a typo? Do you plow in 4 lo?
My step-side has 35s and 3.08s, it sucks... I guess with 2.73s you could run in L(1st), but won't you top out at around 5 MPH still? Don't know if you even need to get a run at anything either.

I don't push snow around so I'm just speculating outloud.

2.73’s were available.

I had K10 with 305/TH400 and 2.73’s it was a horrible turd . Turning the A/C on was like hitting the jakebrake in a big truck lol.

 

[Carcinogen]

I have heard of 2.73s before in 2wds and vans but I guess I was just hoping it was a typo for his sake... although its in his sig too so I doubt its a mistake.

OP: The 35s mud tires you already have are out of the question, no amount of siping or studs(if you can get them put in, most shops won't do used so you would have to do it yourself) will help those. My current tires are 35-14.50R15 siped, and are garbage on hard pack or ice, but they do float pretty well.

And as K30 said, weight in the bed helps me get around in the snow a ton. I usually just fill some sand bags and strap em down, the sand can be used for traction when I get stuck.

 

[diesel4me]

The '71 GMC K1500 that was my first plow truck had 3:08 gears and a 305 (at first,then a 350)--TH350,NP-205..
I plowed in high range no problem--in fact I think high gearing helps prevent wheel spin better than if you had lower ones like 4:10's..

My '82 GMC K2500 has pretty high gearing,I've never had the diff cover off to verify the exact ratio but driving it I'd say it has 3:23's or 3:42's--most diesels came with high gearing--it has a TH400 too,which has a slightly higher first gear ratio than other automatics..

I rarely ever used low range ,the few times I did use it plowing was when I got the truck stuck,I found it was usually possible to self extract itself better in low range,along with a little fancy joystick action with the plow,I use the power angle to help push the truck back while in reverse..

I find my truck much harder to control on ice or snow plowing in low range--you have too much torque,wheels spin much too easily,and the truck is always lurching,and your brakes cant seem to stop the truck,it has so much more power in low range,even at idle,it can overpower the brakes..

Other than those few times, I only used low range a few times while crawling on muddy paths and to yank some heavy objects free ,like a truck box I use as a storage shed I needed to move in my yard..

 

[yellowK20]

I plow in low range , it’s much easier on the transmission but I’m also pushing more snow and in steeper terrain then you east coast guys .

We should be getting out first plowable snow in the next 2-3 weeks , and last year I had to plow the last week of April

 

[POORBOYK5]

What an interesting place to take a photo!! Do they pay you in...never mind

I had studded iPikes on my DD (AWD Acura MDX) and those, too, were unstoppable in any winter road condition.

BEER! I get a few bucks and a few beers on the house . It's right around the corner from my shop and I happen to work on both of the managers trucks so it works out pretty well...