It seems there is somewhat of a common consensus that the Super Swampers are quite extreme, but have you looked into getting a pair of Ground Hawgs? I have heard that they are very good off-road tires, but they wear VERY good.

I plan on putting 38" Ground Hawgs on a '79 F250 4x4... any input on that?

 

ground hawgs use a very special tape measure. 38=33 and 40=35 etc. friend has a mud racer with 40 hawgs on the front and 39.5 boggers on the back, the hawgs look so tiny.

 

KD206,

The hawgs are a good tire for off road, not as soft as the swampers, but great in the mud. I have a set of 35's on a '75 CJ-5 that I call the bog frog, and the phrase that I have been told is "Ground Hawgs NEVER back up!" So far it is true, I haven't been stuck yet. Both are loud on the highway, and since the hawgs are a little harder tread compound, they do not wear as fast as the swampers if used mainly on the street. But as mentioned on an earlier post, they are measured strangely, you really need to work with your tire tealer to make sure you get the size that you need.

Karl Jett
'95 Eddie Bauer ext cab 4x4, 33" Pro Comp MT's
351 with 350 hp at the ground with 3.73 gears!

 

Profanity Removed?! So that means if I want to get true 38" meats, I have to get 44"s? Do they size it that high or not? I want to run bigger tires....

Thanks

 

its kind of like fat lady dress sizes, if it says 6 on the label even if its a 14 the customer likes it. so if you got 40" hawgs you can feel cooler then your buddy with 35" swamps. its not only hawgs that get creative i heard that those super $$$ goodyear 37" hummer tires dont measure up either.

 

MJ, thanks for the offer but I'm in PA, shipping would be outrageous. I have also heard the Hawgs wear better, I was actually planning on running them but the Swamper deal came up and was too good to pass up. My perspective is that the biggest tire that can actually be run offroad is 40", mostly due to breakage. Many guys will disagree, but that's my take. 38's on a 79 f250 should be a good combo. if you have the lift and gears to run them. Consider 4.11's the minimum for 38's. If you have the Dana 44 frontend in that '79, don't be surprised to bust an axle or front u-joint, but you should be ok as long as you don't go crazy. I personally never broke one but plenty of guys have switched to Dana60's with tires that big due to breakage.

 

I would personnaly run 4.56 or numerically higher gearsets because the 38's will drop your speed and mess with your speedo that much. The 4.11's are actually good with 33-35's, but the added weight and size of the 38's is a lot greater. This is especially needed if your truck sees more time on the road than off.

Karl

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 23-Feb-01 AT 02:09 PM (EST)[/font][p]What is the stock gearset on a '79 F250? Switching to 4.56 is what I've been planning on doing. Exactly how bad would it be if I did run 38s on a 4.11 ratio? I would like to keep my truck in tip-top condition at all times. I will take all measures to keep my engine and drive train comfortable- I want to have as little wear/stress (who doesn't?). On top of that, I will be doing substantial highway driving, so I need to get around atleast 70mphs... 55mphs on city highways just isn't enough!

Also, I actually have decided to not put any lift at all because I was told that I could fit 38s with just a little fender trimming. I would like to keep a low center of gravity and everything else because this truck will see lots of miles on the road. (This will be my daily driver).

Busting an axle isn't my idea of fun... Do you guys think I would be ok to run 38" on a Dana 44? Or is swapping in a Dana 60 a better investment? I don't mind shelling out extra now to save more later. I won't be doing anything hardcore so I won't thrash my rig. As a matter of fact, this will mostly stay on the road, but if I do go offroading, it won't be too intense... just some mild stuff. But as far as staying on the road, will Dana 44s hold?

 

i say run the 4.11. this way when you get sick of the out of round unbalanceable 38s it will be easy/possible to just change to 35s. i have 4.88s and wish i had left the 4.10s in. the availability of off road designs doubler makes tall axle gears a real possibility now. so instead of buying new carriers for the new gear split and new gears, i had to buy axles for the back as well as the detroit i wanted was only available in 35spline, you find a 203 that matches your trans and it mates to a 205 giving you 2 low ranges.if you shop online driveshafts are not so pricey. having almost 4:1 in the transfer cases more than makes up for the loss of gear in the axle for off road running.

it seems pricey but when you are facing the task of either, regearing both axles that you have spent considerable cash on lockers and shafts, or finding and swapping an overdrive trans to make it possible to do 55mph on 35s when you get sick of bouncing and bad wear. the doubler would have been sweet had it been available at the time.

 

KD206,

I think the stock gearset on a '79 F250 could be 3.73 or 4.1, possibly 3.55, you really need to check the tag or pull the cover and count teeth. It really won't be that bad to run 38s on a 4.11 ratio, it depends on what tranny you have and how it is set up. In my 95 F-150 with 33's, I have the 3.73's. There really isn't all that much different from 3.73 and 4.1 as far as speed is concerned. The 4.56 that I will be changing to, will allow me to go the the 35's and not have and sluggishness from the added weight. So since you will be doing alot of highway driving, check first to see if you already have the 4.1 carrier and gearsets. If you do, then all you would need is a new gearset since the dana series 4 carriers will fit any dana ration that begins with 4 (like 4.1, 4.56, 4.88) , and a series 3 fits gears that begin with 3 (like 3.55, 3.73) and so on. Gears and carriers are alot cheaper that doublers, and to be honest, if you aren't doing alot of heave off road stuff, it will be a wast of money. I have never really needed to put my truck or Jeep into 4-lo and I do alot of off road trails here in Virginia. No rocks, but plenty of mud, sand and hills. It will depend on what type of off-roading you plan on doing, and what driver skill you have.

You can fit 38s with just a bit of fender trimming, however you really won't get the suspension flex that you will need off road, unless you plan on just using it to mud bog. Try changing to f-350 springs before you start cutting sheet metal. It will give you a taller spring pack to fit the 38's and you won't have to cut a good portion of your fenders away. It's hard to leave in the stock suspension with bigger tires and get good use off road.

You can run 38" on a Dana 44, but if you plan on doing any rough off roading, it is better to swap in a Dana 60. Other than that the 44 should hold fine.

Karl Jett
'95 Eddie Bauer ext cab 4x4, 33" Pro Comp MT's
351 with 350 hp at the ground with 3.73 gears!

 

MJ,

If you have out of round, unbalanceable tires, then you have either a bad shop balancing your tires or you are letting the bias ply's set too long in one spot. All bias plys get out of round if they set too long in one spot, if you start driving at a moderate speed until they warm up, they will smooth out and ride nice without all of the bouncing. If they don't you need to take your tires to a different shop to have them balance your tires.

Since KD206 plans on lite off roading, the doubler would be a waste of money.

Karl Jett
'95 Eddie Bauer ext cab 4x4, 33" Pro Comp MT's
351 with 350 hp at the ground with 3.73 gears!

 

i ran swampers from 1992-2000 before i wised up. never got a real round or balance-able tire. tried 'equal' powdered balance stuff as well, here is a link to shoot that theory down been there done that http://performanceunlimited.com/docu...ingpowder.html . when you take a brand new rim, spin it on a balance machine to make sure its true, then mount 4 brand new tires spin them to see which 2 are the closest to round to pick what you can try and run on the front, it becomes clear that 1. interco needs to learn how to build tires and that 2. another option must be found. the michelins i replaced them with all spun true and only 2 of the 4 required any weight to balance. the first ride almost made me cry it was the best my truck has handled since i have owned it. now just have to get used to the skinny look.

the gear split for my carrier was 4.56. i had to get new carriers (and axles for the rear to change to 35 spline) to run 4.88. i dont think 4.11 and 4.88 can run on same carrier, mine are d60/d70 though the 44 may be different.

the $$ math you have to do on a per case basis, many cases (mine included) it would have been real close to doubler breaking even considering the number of changes and new parts i had to buy to get 4.88s, and now i am locked into a tire size that is either $$$ or the swamps that are IMO junk. so now its find an overdrive in which case i have to rethink my entire drivline and rebuy driveshafts again or regear difs which requires 2 sets of gears 2 new carriers and take a big loss on what i have. with the doubler a guy could run 35s on the road and have sweet ride and numerous choices of tire for cheap, while still having enough low range for huge tire offroad. i ran 38.5 with 4.10 gears, it was street drivable but so-so off road.

 

I still think 4.11's are a good setup, but with footnotes. I also have to drive on the highway alot so I needed the high gearing there. Actually, anything over 60mph with those big Swampers is very annoying (balance) so I'm not so sure 4.56's wouldn't also work there. Also, I have a pretty stout 390, take an honest account of your motor, a stock 351w will need more gear to spin the tires, a nice 460 could probably get away with less gear. Finally, I have a granny gear 4 speed in my truck, I absolutely don't need any more gear offroad, probably a different story with an auto. Another thing, I think you'll be fine with the Dana44 for your purposes.

 

interco makes a great tire, it just depends on what you get, the ssr's are good on the road and last awhile while still agressive, the reg swampers are not really designed to run on the street, they were designed for off road use and to be "streetable" although ive heard alot of good about the radial tsl's and 50,000 miles out of them, i think this new super swamper...the trxus or sumthin is gonna be in the class with the bfg mud terrains and pro comp muds


1985 F-150/351Ho/4wd/6inch with 33's
1979 f-250 429/4spd/

on a quiet night your can hear a chevy (lol,you can watch a dodge) rusting away