Taller tires and Towing

[sandracer]

I realize that the 3.73 gearing in KJ's is more than enough to pull taller tires but I'm wondering about how taller tires will effect towing. I have a boat and trailer that weighs in at 2000 pounds, dry.

I am considering going to a larger tire, with a mild lift (2 to 2 1/2 inches), when the stock tires wear out. Actually I'm more concerned with getting a wider tire for flotation but figure I'll have to to increase the diameter to get the contact area I want.

I would prefer to keep the 17 inch rims if I can.

Like I mentioned, flotation is important in my neck of the woods. Soft sand and pea gravel washes are my biggest obstacles when off-roading.

I would like to make my Liberty more off-roadable but it still needs to haul the boat. Locally, it only takes 30 minutes to get to the river but we also haul the boat over to my oldest son's place, 250 miles each way, for the summers.

Any suggestions?

 

[glaurick]

You would have more options if you went with 16" rims.
But you don't want to check the tire fitment guide in this forum to make sure what your going to switch to will not rub.
The boat only being 2000lbs would not be a weight you would have to worry about with taller tires.

I guess to answer it better, what size do you have/want?

PS. In the soft sand (I've seen mudders stuck out here in the sand and an old lifted 2wd station wagon with some bald 255's float right through all the soft sections.) a wider touring/ summer pattern will perform much better than a MT style tread. in the mud however that's a different result.

 

[sandracer]

I agree in that agressive tires just tend to dig instead of float.

My Jeep has the stock 235/65R17's now. They will probably do just fine for floatation, but a little extra ground clearance would be nice. I'm thinking that 255 or 265/70's with a little lift to provide tire clearance would be the way to go. On the other hand, I have been reading up on the 15 inch wheel options and just going with the tried and true 31x10.50x15 BFG All Terrains. I'll just have to find a good looking wheel that fits and isn't black to keep mama happy.

Mud is not a problem. When it does rain out here and the washes run, the last thing you want to do is try to cross one unless you like tangling with rolling boulders up to the size of TV sets. If you just wait a couple hours, it will be dry again.