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I saw on a Japanese minitruck website that some guys are using skid steer tires on their 4WD trucks. One interesting tire is the "Samson Sidewinder XHD" which is available cheap:



5.70-12 8ply 18/32nd
1,875 Lbs Load Capacity Per Tire
22.4" In Diameter - 17.38 Lbs Tire Weight
$46.00 each

Reinforced sidewall’s to protect the sidewall area from damage, built in Rim Guard/Trash Shield to protect your wheels.

http://www.nebraskatire.com/brands/samson?page=1



I might order up a set to try - the ATV tires just don't look right on the Haflinger and I have a buddy who wants them for his minitruck. These skid steer tires remind me more of the military tires and I like the chevron type tread. I can always take a tire iron/cutter to them to increase wet condition traction too. I think they would be able to be used on the road more than the aggressive ATV tire also - and they have a huge weight rating. I doubt if they will air down much however.

Thoughts?

I think they would work great for off-road, many have used them (agree they may not have very flexible sidewalls) but I would not use them on the road at high speed, for safety reasons!

The ATV tires didnt look right? Ohh man, im sorry. Did they look totally silly? Maybe i dont want to pull the moloyas. Any pictures?

I have road wheels - the atv tires are for off road only

I think its just a personal taste issue - they look like ATV tires - I also need to drive a couple of miles on the road and worry that they will look too much like ATV tires - hence the skid steers.

We did just put them on the Subaru Sambar 4WD van and they clear without any rubbing with a 1/4 inch spacer on the front - probably will go with 1 inch hubcentric spacers on all four wheels to make the track slightly wider.

Hard road ride is pretty bumpy ride if pressure is high (24psi) and then the handling is really mushy with them at 12-13 psi - but its great off-road at that pressure. Tires really hooked-in on the test hill - no wheel spin at all.

I do think they are quite heavy duty - I forgot to weigh one but they seem to be thick walled and well made. A great deal in my opinion - especially since they are USA made!

I also use mine Pinz (and hopefully the haffy soon) in the woods and have had branches puncture Super Swampers more than once - so something really heavy duty would be best. Also - the haffy just fits in the back of my sprinter van with the 6-12 "super-lug" tires I have - so hoping theses skid steers will be similar in overall width but slightly taller and heavier construction - the super-lug tires I got with my haffy are only "2 ply rated" so I expect they will not survive. Probably will use them for sand/snow etc.

Skid Steer tyres just cannot handle any sort of speed - and you can get up to reasonable speeds in a haffie offroad.

I am not sure what you dont like about UTV tyres - they have a wide range of styles and tread patterns and in my view fit well and look great.

Are you on TheHaflinger.com forum - it is dedicated to Haflingers and there is lots of discussion and pics over there on this very topic. Many have (including NA Haffies) UTV tyres and seem to work well.

Garry

Sure I searched thehaflinger.com but didn't find much there on skid steer tires.

UTV tires are a good option - but they tend to be wider than I want to use - I haul my haffy with my sprinter van and the tires need to be narrow to fit between the wheel wells. That is what I found interesting about the sampson sidewinder XHD - very narrow without any protruding lugs. Also - none of the UTV tires are designed for narrow rims either.

I realize skid steers don't really go fast - 15 mph is probably top speed - but I also don't put much weight on the tires compared to their ratings.

I rarely exceed 35mph and usually only drive fast for short periods of time (a few minutes) - I wouldn't think that would be an issue for these tires but I guess it is a valid question to ask.