Anybody ever use tire chains to help get thru slick ( not deep ) mud ?
My son is pipeline welding up in N.E. PA and his Dodge 4X4 Dually went south on him. So.... he's left using his F250 4X2 ( with his welder in the bed) in the PA farmers fields. He's havin to get pulled along way too much, so I suggested he might try adding chains to his tires ( Nitto Mud terrains).
Any thoughts ??

Part 2 : I'll prolly end up sellin him my HighBoy, so any recommendations for a good 16.5 mud tire, not a monster sized tire , somethin that will fit under the wheelwells.

 

I dont think tire chains will help much but dont take my word on that. Ive never used a set for anything myself. The Nitto mud terrains look like a pretty decent tire. What size are they? Being a 2wd truck and no mention of lift I cant imagine them being over a 265 (31ish") so ground clearance is probably his worst enemy. Theres really no easy cure for that -unless you lift to add bigger tires.

35" tires fit perfect under a highboy so Id go with that. A good MT will work well and still get decent mileage out of them - 30-40k. If thats not something hes worried about then the TSL or LTB would get my vote but dont expect much over 15k miles. He could also use SSRs but I didnt get but about 22k with them on my Ranger.

 

Tire chains will have no problem in the mud, knowing when to turn the wheel is a different story. I've never owned a 4x4 and have had my 2 wheel drive in places it shouldn't have been in.

 

Hey thanks for the replies so far.
He don't do much turnin, just a short drive to the next set-up, but with an open diff. he was slippin an slidin and having to get a dozer to pull him along, way too much time being wasted.......so you reckon the chains will work, good deal!

Thanks for the tire suggestions, but don't know about the abbreviations ya used!
I have 31's on the highboy now, so he'll prolly end up with 35's.

 

Tire chains make a world of a difference. They even make a big linked chain called a "mud chain" for trucks(semi).

I use them in the snow a lot. You can idle through places with them on that you could bearly move without.

 

You can't tell in this picture but these have the v bars on the chains and they will give you traction.

 

Hey, thanks for the replies!

 

Tsl's SSR's and LTB's are tires made by Super Swamper (Interco)

SSR
35x12.50R-16.5LT, SSR Radial Tire by Super Swamper

LTB I only saw 16.5 Rim size in 47's im sure you can get them in 35 inch range even though they didnt show 35's on there i know they makem since i got some 35x12.50x15 LTB's... but heres a link to said tires
34x10.50R-15LT, LTB Tire by Super Swamper

TSL's in 36x14.50x16.5
36x14.50R-16.5LT, TSL Radial Tire by Super Swamper

 

up here in the great white north we use the chains just as much in summer as winter, they make a huge difference in mud. you just don't want to wildly spin with them on, if you spin them sooner or later they fly apart and wreck all kinds of stuff

 

Put the chains on and be sure to keep them tight, we used them hauling logs and they work as well in mud as they do snow.. A locker with taller tires would elimainate a lot of chaining up too...