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Grampa's Jeep Snow Wheeling in Southern Idaho

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Joined: 02 Feb. 2018
Location: Roseville, MN
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nothing Special Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Jan. 2019 at 3:15am
That tire shape, with a very round cross-section, is great for flotation.  From what Stan said they were likely originally intended for farm wagons.  The ribs running straight around them would give them decent lateral traction, to keep the wagon tracking straight behind the tractor, the round cross-section would keep them from sinking in muddy fields,and there was no need for "traction" in the normal sense since the wagon wasn't powered and didn't have brakes.

As I understand, those were some of the first "aftermarket" tires used on Jeeps when people were looking for something that would stay on top of sand and mud better than the NDT "grave-diggers."  Cutting grooves across the tire to give them some traction looks like a good improvement for a Jeep that does have an engine and brakes.

As far as using them in snow, as Stan was noting, it depends on the snow.  In my part of the country (Minnesota) they'd be pretty terrible.  We don't tend to get very deep snow ever, so tall, skinny tires are usually the best bet, to either dig down to solid ground, or at least to have relatively high contact pressure to let the many tread edges get a bite (think siped all-season radials rather than big solid blocks with few edges).

But on the other hand, if the snow is deep enough that you can't reach bottom, and dense enough to have a chance at floating, that shape is perfect, and the bigger the better!

As Mike F noted, they'd probably do better with chains.  You'd have to be careful not to spin them too much and dig down and get stuck.  But chains would probably push more snow, kind of like paddles.  And if they didn't run straight across the tire they might improve lateral traction too.
Bob

Flatfender wannabe
'71 Ford Bronco
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