hmmwv takeoffs

[1009er]

I found a place on here for hmmwv 37" take offs. They are 12.5 wide. I'm putting aftermarket rims on. Reading online I find some people say 10" wide rims and others say 8" wide. Both arguments I found online say they pop off the rim, some say they pop off on 8" and others say pop off on 10". Does anyone have a good knowledge of what to go with? Theres not a big difference in price but I just want to make sure it'll be safe. We will be taking my M1009 on road trips with the kids so I want it best as I can get it so we don't blow out a tire on side of the highway

 

[richingalveston]

Any non bead lock rim these tires can pop off the rim. most of the time it is because the try to run low pressure and do not have bead locks.

The tires were made for bead locks but will normally stay on a regular rim under normal use and regular full pressure.

If it were me, I would not purchase these tires if I planned on a lot of highway driving and were not using bead locks. If you never plan to air down, you can get a better off/on road tire from a tire store just buy the tire cert. it is worth it. Most people use these because they are cheap and they plan to tear them up.

The purpose is to run low pressure in the rocks and sand for traction and not tear up a tire.

Spend the money on some good 35 inch tires that will fit your stock rim and you will probably have a happy family on trips. tires up to 35 inch there is a pretty good selection and prices. when you go bigger than that selection drops and prices jump.

my 2 cents.

I have had a set of recentered hummers and hummer tires and they were ok. My current tires are unabtainable michilin tires (39 tall, 11 wide, 16 inch rim xzl's. stopped making them 4 or 5 years ago) on Hutchinson aluminum bead locks and I will probably never get a better tire when I have to replace them. Fortunatly I have a second set but by the time I get to them they may be so old they don't last long.

seriously look at off the shelf tires and evaluate how much off road driving you will be doing before going with these tires. Also consider finding bead lock rims if you really want to be safe.

 

[Skinny]

I agree, second time around I would avoid the takeoffs especially for any extended pavement time. To answer your question first, I have them on 9.75" wide Ford rims and getting the bead to seat is difficult without a cannon. Even strapping the tires does not work. A good explosion also works best. I can't comment on the 8" wide rim because I have never run them but imagine it would help this situation.

Right now my 37's are getting to be pretty much square on my M1031 and my Suburban build is going to need tires as well. I have sets of 16.5 and 16 rims. Most likely will end up running 315/75/16 35's on the fleet since the tire selection is ample, easy to find, and still pretty cheap. I like my 16.5 x 9.75 steelies but the lack of availability and selection is killing that idea. You basically boil down to running military surplus, retreads, or brand new 37 x 12.5 x 16.5 tires which are all north of $400 new. Yeah...I'm losing faith on those 16.5's every day...

 

[1009er]

Spend the money on some good 35 inch tires that will fit your stock rim and you will probably have a happy family on trips. tires up to 35 inch there is a pretty good selection and prices. when you go bigger than that selection drops and prices jump.

35's are on it now. its got a 6" lift on it. I was looking at going to 37". It is mainly for pavement but will see a good amount off road (beach sand, rocks, mud, deep mud, and some hills) I had read both good and bad about the take offs. My brother in law used to run them and said he loved them, and got a lot of miles on them when aired properly and rotated often. I like them because of the price. I've never ran them. I go back and forth. Some people say them don't get good miles and others say they do. Im not opposed to bead locks. How are bead locks on the road? any difference?

The price is really what has my interest in these tires. that's a lot of tire for the money. I'm not looking to make it a beauty queen but I do like the look of the tires. performance wise I've read good and bad on these tires on and off road. I hear they are terrible in the snow. fortunately I live in NC and we don't see too much snow. I also like them because they are different. I don't like running what everyone else runs. But reading what yall say as well as others makes me second guess them. I cant make up my mind

 

[Obijuank5]

I have sold hundreds of the takeoff tires. People are getting good wear out of them and good life. Some are asking for more in a few weeks. It comes down to the previous life of the tire, shelf time of the tire, and general age of the tire. If it's older than 10 years, you probably have trouble finding someone to mount them because of the hazards of old tires.
As a blanket statement to all manufacturers, the tires are very not bad.
They are half the price, but half the life is already gone in one way or another. Tread depth isn't everything.

I am an advocate for new 37s in a brand with warranty and availability from a retailer with hazard plans.

 

[Skinny]

I got good mileage out of mine considering the age. They have been a balancing nightmare since day one though. Traction in light snow and mud has been marginal. I think their are better tread designs out there. The newer MTR pattern is superior.

 

[Special T]

The 37x12.5r16.5 military tires use a 8.25"wide wheel on the Hummers. They work fine on 9.5" wide wheel as well. Here in the PNW I think they are the best bang for the buck for a 37"tire. I have numerous friends that run them and my brother did in his old ford. Some people say they don't balance well because they don't use hot water to get all the goop out of the inside of the tire.

If I had the hummer wheels I'd purchase a set of those stamped recentering kits and pvc inserts for the best of both worlds.

 

[corelokt]

I am pleased with my STA Superlugs. 9x16, 36" tall, 14ply. Do not need a lift for them to fit. They are bias ply and you do notice that. I have driven a lot on them. Wear like iron, good on the highway, remarkably deep lugs. Not a soft mud tire, but great in snow and mud if there is a bottom to it. I have always been a fan of tall, narrow tires for anything not mud bogging or rock climbing, two things I don't do. I've read about using old tennis balls to balance big tires.

 

[Skinny]

I use centramatics on mine (the bigger HMMWV ones) and even though they have tamed my square MT's down quite a bit they still pretty much suck. The tires that is. I'm really ready to downsize to a new set of 35's. The takeoffs would be much better suited for a yard or offroad only rig. I've taken my truck on more and more road trips and I like the MT's less and less

 

[richingalveston]

If you are considering re-centered hummer rims, check your area. once the hummer rims are cut, they are no longer DOT approved. spacers can be used but in my opinion that is worse than a re-center. I actually had a Texas DPS officer make some comments on mine when I had them, he did not ticket me but informed me that if he saw me again he would. I got rid of them for the better hutchinsons. you would be surprised how many officers know what the military rims look like maybe because many are ex military.

The pvc inserts are great, much easier to balance. I have 16 inch aluminum Hutchinson bead locks where I made my own pvc centers using large pvc pipe couplings. They are great, balance well and make my 39 inch tall tires run smooth as silk.

I second the centramatics. they help a lot but wont do it all, you still have to put weights on them and get them as close as you can.

And you may also find difficulty getting someone to work on the hummer takeoffs, the discount tire near me will not touch them. I tried to have them put one on a spare non-beadlock rim and they clamed they could not do it because the tire was not made to go over the bead and required bead locks. I know that is bs but it is what is was told, thus if you do not have spit rims where you can mount them yourself you may find it hard to get someone to mount and balance them. Once I assembled mine I had to go to a truck tire shop to get them balanced.

There are a lot of people that like them. It is a toss up for you.
My biggest red flag that I see in your post is you want to run your family around on these tires. I would not trust them at highway speeds in vehicle loaded with family. They were build for Humvees which run low pressure and slower speeds. Not a civy truck running 75 mph with 45 psi in them.

my two cents. I have had them and will not buy them again unless I am building a non street legal off road rig.

Rich

 

[Special T]

Here in WA the rest center disks are legal. It wouldn't be the first time that Smokey didn't know the law.

 

[1009er]

After doing some more research and yalls input I think I'm going to go with aftermarket tires. It sounds like its not worth the hassle to run take offs. It already has two brand new BFG A/Ts so I'll just stick with those for now and buy two more. The tires aren't big enough on it for me. But it'll save me some money now and after this set I'll upgrade to something bigger and better. I appreciate yalls input though. I don't care to run the risk of blow out throwing us in a ditch or leaving us stranded somewhere.