Off-road tires for deep beach sand

[Casey_S]

Recently picked up a '97 CC DS with the works; 6" SGC lift, HD springs, SR-48600, 2GA cables, HD FNR, and a 400A Solenoid. Unfortunately PO was misinformed and used 12v marine batteries which are already shot, so I'll be replacing them with a 180Ah 16S pack of CALB's I'll be building myself. I'll also be dropping in either a PQ Grizzly or Rattlesnake so I'll have power for days once done.

My goal is to use this cart for navigating (and occasionally ripping) the local beach. The cart currently has 22x10.5-14 Steeleng Gators, which don't allow for much power delivery before spinning in the sand. Frankly I'm tempted to go full paddle at the back and ribs up front but I will be on asphalt to and from the beach and occasionally a bit around town.

So far, after a couple days of Googling and searching previous discussions here, I'm between 23x10-12 Carlisle AT489's or 23x10.5-12 RHOX RXVT's, but I'm not sure if they're aggressive/paddley enough. Not opposed to suggestions for different treads and widths for the fronts vs rears. Also not opposed to smaller rim sizes - especially after using these 14's for a bit. Not nearly enough sidewall for my taste.

[StoveBolt]

Wider, more aggressive tread?

24x11x10 GBC Dirt Devils on 10x8" wheels.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~irishhills/wtxt.JPG

[doo dah]

I have Carlisle All Trails in 25x10x12 and they work great in the sand for me. My cart is 75% beach and 25% roads to get to the beach and they are a great combo tire for me.

[Casey_S]

The Dirt Devils are close but the tread depth doesn't look very deep, and I think 25" AT's would be too big. After some more searching, I'm pretty set on 24x8-12 and 24x10-11 CST Ancla's. I'm not sure what rim to use for the 11" rears though, I'm finding nothing in that size and I'm not sure what other size I can use.

[dundeebarnbuggy]

Careful what you wish for. Bid deep lugs will power through loose sand without much slip but generally vibrate like hell on hard surfaces. If they don't when brand new, they WILL once they wear a little as the lugs don't wear evenly. Have a look at AMS Vtrax tires if you can find any in stock. I find they work well in most off road conditions including sand snow which we get occasionally, and they wear well on the road. The only thing they don't like is wet sticky clay where they tend to plug up.

[Dr_Greenthumb]

My 23x10.5-12 PREDATOR A/T tires work fantastic in sand. I am running them @ 10 PSI and ride at our beach without issue.

[slonomo]

Floatation is the key on sand. The bigger and wider the tires are the better. Paddles are great for high speed traction but aren't needed for cruising. Mud tires are not ideal. Most all terrain treads are good. Keep in mind, loose sand will gobble up just about any vehicle with any tire, stay out of that stuff.

[Casey_S]

(Relatively) high speed traction is what I'm looking for. I'm trying to make this as capable of a sand ripping machine as an electric golf cart can be. To that end, and with floatation in mind, I think the 24x11-10 Sedona Mud Rebel is the tire for me. Wide, aggressive, deep tread.

[dundeebarnbuggy]

Great tire for loose surfaces! However they will vibrate and sing like hell on the road once they wear in the slightest as the front tip of each lug wears off first with the adjacent trailing edge of the lugs on the outside.

[slonomo]

In my experience riding at Silver Lake dunes, open tread tires dig in too much when the sand gets loose, and often times would bury themselves. The tires that had less open tread did much better all around. The fastest machines had paddle tires on the rear. Mud tires do not act like paddle tires, the sand has to be inside the tread in order to get a bite, that requires the tire to "dig in". At high speed that's not so much an issue, but at high speed those big lugs aren't doing anything for you anyway.

Most machines at the dunes will either be some kind of all terrain with a closed tread pattern or paddle tires.

Look at the BF Goodrich Baja Terrain tread. It's designed for Baja desert racing at high speeds. This is the tread pattern style you want. It will also perform well in most terrains and will ride better and wear better on pavement. Compare with the Mud Rebel in the next photo.

Another thing to consider, ply rating. Many mud tires are 6 ply which will not have as much flex in order to conform to the uneven surfaces. A lower ply rating will help conform to terrain for better traction when you air down the tire.