BEST All Terrain Tires For Van Life - Living The Van Life
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- čas přidán 21. 06. 2019
- What is the best all terrain tire for van life? How to drive off road? With my 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia I will discuss and compare the differences between the General Grabber A/TX tire vs the BFG KO2 All Terrain T/A tire. What is better for the highway? What is better for off road? Snow? Rain? Dirt? Ice? Sand? Mud? You name it. I also explain the suspension lift kit that I have installed on my Volkswagen Westfalia Vanagon using Gowesty 1.5" lift springs as well as the Burley Motorsports upper A-arms.
My Old Tires: 225/75r16 BFGoodrich KO2 All Terrain T/A Tires
Order On Amazon: amzn.to/2Rs1Rhr
My New TIres: 225/75r16 General Grabber A/TX All Terrain Tires
Order On Amazon: amzn.to/2RsKSLS
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The gear I use while Living The Van Life:
My Cold Weather Gear:
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Jetboil MiniMo Camping Stove Cooking System: amzn.to/2TH3yrF
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Van Gear
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ARB 2500 Awning: amzn.to/2SmJjyq
Off Road 300 Watt LED Light Bar: amzn.to/2KTVnV6
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USB Fan (circulates heat from the heater): amzn.to/2DBh7lu
Dash Mount Phone Holder: amzn.to/2zGNs9j
Off Road Gear
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General Grabber A/TX All Terrain Tires - 225/75r16 - amzn.to/2RsKSLS
MaxTrax: amzn.to/2U77Sku
Hi-Lift Jack: amzn.to/2PcCOMF
Hi-Lift Wheel Jack Strap: amzn.to/2Pkn5vb
Coyote Tire Deflators: amzn.to/2KRQhZL
Portable Air Compressor: amzn.to/2PcDq4V
My Camera Gear
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What is your favorite tire for van life?
love my Falcon Wild Peaks for sure. Excellent tread wear and pretty cheap too!
David Siegrist Nice! Good to know!
General!
I have General Grabbers on my Traverse, I like them and they're competitive pricewise...
Geolandar AT G105’s.
Been using the generals for the last 20 years and haven't had one fail. Awesome tire.
You give some very thoughtful reviews . Very thorough , descriptive , complete , what seems to be very honest ....
Thank you . 👍
All I have ever run in bfg's absolutely love that tire awesome video brother
We Installed General Grabber AT3 tires onto our rear wheel drive 1996 LWB Mercedes Sprinter camper conversion last winter to drive through Sweden, Norway (to Lofoten & Nordkapp) and then down through Finish Lapland. This was over November, December and January so worst conditions of deep snow and ice! the tires are rated for winter and summer, we drove though a foot and a half of of un-plowed snow no problem never braking traction, a bit less effective on solid ice but they got the job done up the mountain passes of Norway.
We then drove all the way through eastern Europe with them and on very steep, dusty and rocky off road mountain trails in Bulgaria. The tires are incredible! They felt like big marshmallows when i first tried them too and our van is super big and heavy so went with a size up like you did.
even with the slight reduction in fuel mileage i would recommend to anyone living in their van no matter if its 4x4 or RWD to fit a pair of AT tires onto their van! To be able to leave them on all year, drive down any dirt road, and then use them in deep snow and ice no problems is a game changer! Makes finding great places to sleep the night so much better!
Very awesome feedback. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Sounds like you have had some awesome adventures.
Living The Van Life no problem!
We still have yet to get our Electics to the point where uploading videos regularly is possible especially in the winter but we’re working on that haha... living in a van is more expensive than most people realise if you still want to be able to live in it with no restrictions like you would in a house. Once you’ve got the van fully built and set up perfect that’s when you make the most of its cost efficiencies. 👍🏼
Excellent video Chad, thanks for the info and sharing it with us.
Dam bro on a budget you still have miles left on those ko2’s cool rig and life you have!
Love watching your videos Chad.
Really interesting.
I just put 27in General Grabbers on my 84 Toyota Van and I love them!
GOOD CINEMATIC! LOVE THEM
Nice DUDE! These are the ones I was going to go with once we change the wheels.
I'm running General X-3's on a Ford E-150, more of a mud terrain, love them, surprisingly quiet, seem to be lasting well, great traction
Nice. Great to hear. I thought about the X-3’s as well
Its amazing how you manage to get a two wheel drive rig to go all the places you do bro
Just the video I needed, planning to get General Grabbers 27 x 8.5x 14 for my Westfalia Weekender. Your Van makes the same noise on rough roads as my van, so I think it’s normal then. I just subscribed, your channel should lots of information thanks
Great vlog man! I've been looking at both of these. Awesome!
Cool. I’m glad that helps. Thanks for watching.
I have Toyo Open Country M/T Tires on my Tundra and been happy with them... Big meaty treads for whatever comes your way
Dude your videos are cinematic
Thanks
He knows his shit, good job !!!
Living the dream!
Cheers ✌️
Thanks for watching!
Beautiful rolling tire shots!
Hey dude! Knowing the type of video you do, I recommend you to go to Mongolia, I'm Mongolian in the origins and I think it would really match you, simplicity , beautiful scenery etc maybe a good idea for you! Anyways keep up the great work dude!
i run general grabbers on my split window (14" still) and love them. we all run them down here in austin TX
Dude, that audio in the beginning is amazing, wish we had a link or something.
Got the BFG K02s on my T5 very pleased with them. Not too loud on the highway. Nice van btw.
Sat watching this in my t25 camper lol i want some all terrains on mine
Welvome back brother man missed your videos
Love the show Chad
Regards
Cliff 🇬🇧 🏴 🇺🇸
Your intro was great! I can't imagine how much time it took to set up all those shots.
Grabbers are the biz. Loved them on my truck
Awesome! That’s great to hear
I really like your van it pretty cool and looks really nice in there
Right on, beautiful scenery!★peace
Thanks for watching
I think that mud and snow traction will really be the telltale sign as to whether or not the General's can hang with the BFG's.
Yes indeed. And from what I’ve heard, the generals kick ass in the snow
Are you a full time film maker? If you’re not then you definitely should be. You have amazing filmmaking skills.
I’m not a van guy, but those look pretty sweet!! I’m undecided between those two tires for my 2500HD.
Thanks Chad. This is helpful. I’m coming from Nokian eNtyres. They are really an all season road tire. But I have to switch them out after finding I they’re like 12 years old. Eeek. This is helpful data.
Haven't tried the atxs but i have had two sets of the general grabber at2s, I bought my first set because they were the cheapest american made all terrain tire i could find, I was blown away with the quality for the price, when my at2s wear out im getting a set of the atxs.
Nice! Great feedback!
Maxxis Trepadors and some cool looking beadlocks 😂👍.
Nice!
Thanks bud l like a this kind of stuff. Please keep it up . Just me but BFG is great but l Lean twords the Cooper's their a great. And all 3 are made right here in the U.S.A. and you can't beat that 3of the best in the world.
Awesome! Thanks for watching. Great feedback
the US made is a must! my synchro has a set of 235/75/15s they ROCK!!
great vid
The KO2 seems to get harder and noisier as they wear and go through heat cycles. I have run the BFG's for probably twenty years now on my trucks. Heavy and expensive but I have never had a flat in the mountains. Costco beat both Discount and the Schwab by four hundred dollars for my truck tires but I deal with my own rotation and balancing as they wear. I think for your van just the weight saving is good enough reason to downgrade the side walls although you drive like a mad man and aired down you might pay the price. Great review!
Hahahaha. “Mad man”
Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated. I figured it was worth trying out these tires. So far so good.
Living the Chad life... Love your videos. Greetings from NZ - small but perfectly formed! Would be very interested to see a follow up on your impressions and experiences with the Generals vs the BFGs now that you've done 6 months +. Wear, noise, handling etc.
Also, what's the name of your other channel - can't seem to find a link anywhere?
Keep well, stay happy, Nik
Awesome👍
Thanks!
Hey Chad. Any updates on the Grabbers after 3 months? Thanks for the great videos!
Great Content! Bainbridge Island WA
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
Yes, represent Bainbridge!
I really miss your vlogs..i wish you upload more often...
I’m working on it. Thanks for the encouragement!
@A Girl Has No Name i know and i watch it...
Thanks for the video. No doubt the KO2 is a great tire nonetheless.
General is surprisingly great
I like the hankook dynapro atm, pretty cheap last pretty long , ride great. Great offroad. $110 a tire. Shouldve looked into them well worth it
I Have a Honda Element love my Cooper AT3 4S
I run cooper at3 4s tires on my Lexus RX400h. Great tires!
I hear the coyotes in the background, kinda cool
Love from india ❤️
Great video per usual. Thank you.
I'm currently running the Grabbers but 14's. I want to upgrade to the 16's. Could you please provide specifics to get me up and running. We are in Chilliwack. Next time you are out this way please let me know!
Howdy neighbor! Mine are the General Grabber ATX 225/75r16 tires. Then you just need to find a set of 16” wheels that fit a vanagon. My wheels are the ones from GoWesty.
Living The Van Life I noticed that your wheels have the Mercedes design. Can you drop a note which dimensions you have on the wheels. Thanks mate.
Not van related but I run these BFGs on my 2500HD single cab long bed for plowing. I can’t get my truck stuck with those bfgs they’re incredible
Brilliant as ever Chad but who got killed right at the start of the video? 😱
Good video, can't really compare the older warn KO2 to new grabbers. As tyres wear down they get noisier
Thanks for the vids, positivity and enthusiasm. I do think we may be missing a number of factors with this comparison. First off, there have been off road tests that have rated a number of other tires to be much better than both of these types. They look good, no doubt, but Wrangler, Cooper, and Yokohama among others may actually have an advantage on both of these. I personally loved both the Copper AT's and the Yoko Geolanders.I am also in WA and have taken my Synco all over and even went to the point of the subi conversion. With the granny gear in my syncro one of the things I noticed clearly was how larger tires sacrifice low end torque. From stop, or near stop, to moving. This particular application/function/ability is essential for anyone who will take their vans off-road, meaning off the easy FSR's. I am now super hesitant enlarging the size of my present 2wd Wesy's tires due to this factor along with knowing that my 1st gear is now not as capable as the Syncro's granny gear. When you factor in the cost of all the mods I do not believe they pay off in terms of improving actual capability of these vans and especially in terms of reliability (may off roaders consider mods to be the primary weakness of the vehicles and this has proved true in my experience as well.). When you are stuck in the sand and are needing as much low end torque as possible and when you are attempting to crawl (moving at idle in 1st gear) if you don't have the torque (related to gearing of 1st, tire diameter, and engine torque of course) it is a clutch burning mess that offers much less control. Anyways, just some thoughts to push (intentionally) against the grain of over modification. Can't deny the looks, they look sick, but my experiences have not shown me an actual pay off in terms of performance for many of my previous mods. I got stuck in 'mod land' which is expensive and in the end was not worth most of my time. I will look forward to running into some of you especially if your around Bellingham. Top O da day to ya! :)
A decent description and loads of info. But how long did the Grabbers last compared to the KO2s
Did you ever consider a set of Goodyear duratracs? I know they’re not for everyone but I’ve had some on my tundra for about a year and I love them. The off road traction is awesome and they ride pretty good on the road. They are a bit heavy though and they hurt my mileage a little but tundras already get horrendous gas mileage. I do like the generals you put on though. I might try a set when the duratracs wear out. Love your videos. Peace
I run a set of GG AT3s, I do love the BFGs and think they are certainly king, but in my size & weight class (215/75r15 lightweight truck), the GGs are literally 50% cheaper and offer comparable performance. The only real differ is the BFGs have harder sidewalls, which I think would make them far more durable on heavier rigs.
cool man, looking to get one of these vans my self just dont know which one to go for. 2wd or 4wd syncro, petrol or diesel, auto or manual. can you help please great videos, subscribed all the way from great britain. many thanks forrest
got a set of 235/75/15s on a set of eurovan wheels that I changed the offset on they are badass on my synchro i had a set of geolanders on there before they are a better hwy tire still good on snow not as good in the dirt...also im running a 2 inch lift
im a fan of a high weight rating id stay away from thin tires and those flimsy passat wheels.....
Hes back hell yeah. Lol
Hahahahah. I always been here. Have just had to put some time in on our film project.
@@LivingTheVanLife awesome man. Can't wait to see what you put together next. 100%
what about michelin LTX ... I've had those for ever..never had punctures on sharp rocks ..
Bought a set of grabbers for my f150 couple months ago 265 / 65 /20 so far so good. Any updates on yours ?
Next time try Falken wildpeak AT3W. IMO they are te best hybrid AT tire out there
Thanks for the feedback!
Will you be doing any interior upgrades to your van? New seats or upgraded cooker, curtains etc?
That 10-ply rating doesn’t have squat to do with the side wall. The BFG has three 1000 Denier sidewall plies, while the Grabber ATX has two 1500 Denier plies.
Missed your videos bro.
I missed you too!
I had BFG sand in three different applications ranging from pickup truck to SUV they were all failures, not to say they didn't command the premium price like you said.
Personaly though, I think you're better off with General.
FWIW I had BFG Rugged T/A on my Eurovan and wet street traction was terrible.
General AT tires are much better then BGF ATs, I had both, and General is tyre for BGF plastic! General is much better on wet and snow/ice, there is a problem (what is not a problem) because General is softer, it expands faster. I drove both of them on the same dimensions (235/85r16) and General is a winner for me. Thanks for this review Chad! Enjoying watch your videos!
Those VW Vanagon are cool with Subaru STI engine.
Yes they are imdeed
Good morning, I was wondering what shocks and springs are you running on your VW van? I was getting ready to change mine and like to setup you got. I have a 87 vanagan camper. Hopefully
Is there any downside to getting these tires for regular highway?
The tires almost look hot!!sorry!lost control!! The tire shop looked great,curious about balancing. Did they need much weight with those bigger tires on those rims?? Great info, thanks.
Hahahaha. Thanks for watching
Good video and informative ! Glad to see your ass back on CZcams!! Lmao
Can you run snow chains with these oversize tires? Looks like a tight clearance.
Chad, looks like 16” wheels? Are you running on the original rear axel, or have you replaced with a beefier (such as Porsche) axel? Any problems?
I got a set of general ATX has on a 2001 GMC Jimmy four by four. 235 / 75 R15. I bought them over BF goodrich's for a couple of reasons. Mileage warranty the generals have 50,000 The BFG had none. The three mountain or three peaks symbol for snow and ice. Believe It or not GM says do not put snow chains on 2nd gen blazers. So that three peaks symbol gets me around it to a point. And last but not least costwhat mainly it was the mileage warranty I've seen BFG where funky no matter what you do. They are great in the dirt in the snow and on ice within reason
You said you have 2WD do you get stuck alot in the winter or do those chain really help you?
Do you have a limited slip differential on your van?
I want one 😭
did you look into goodyear wrangler-duratracs? did you get the tires siped?
I didn’t look into the Goodyears. The General Grabbers come sipped from the factory.
Thank-U ... I'm shopping around for my 2007-Ford E350. Now what about the SPARE Tire? What do you have? TFS
Thanks for watching. I just have a basic stock sized spare tire for my van at this point. Nothing special. Of course it would be nice to have a full sized spare. But that’s extra coin I just don’t have right now.
Living The Van Life should of kept one of the ko2’s for your spare. Way better than stock. Did not look like the one they were dismantling was too bad.
Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs!
What engine are you running in your van? Is it the stock 2.1 liter FI engine? Have you noticed any difference in pulling out from a stop compared to the vehicle with stock 14" diameter rims? i. e. larger diameter tires/rims reduce your starting leverage at the rear axles. Larger rims will reduce engine rpms when highway cruising which is a plus for reduced engine wear.
Yes. Most DEFINITELY! Bigger tires with stock gearing will be much more sluggish on acceleration. I have a Subaru 2.2L motor in mine and I notice the huge difference. And it doesn’t matter what size rim you have. It all comes down to the overall diameter of the tire. You can have a 14” rim with taller sidewall tires that are the same over all diameter as a 16” rim with shorter sidewall tires.
First, brilliant video. Second, I want this set up for my newly aquired 2WD 85 vanagon gl(I need to midigate any risk whilst overlanding North America with 2 younglings in my care). Thirdly, I have no blumming idea what im doing. To start I have no idea if my wheels have been switched to 16" wheels(as so many suggest on YT). The wheel size all that wizard speak of the suspention system, etc. Mate, Brother, please help. Can you walk me through this? I,ve subscribed(an will certainly spread the word), ive def thumbs uped this video...I wanna be where you are with this!!
Wait, I just learned how to wizard what size my wheels are! they are 14"(factory I would presume). So next step how to get 16" wheels on my van...or maybe suspension first then wheels, then tires...?
How well did these hold up?
where do you store your tires if u change from summer to winter tires. I live out my car but might want to head to Wyoming to do some winter climbing but dont know what do with my summer tires
I don’t switch.
What is the location at the start of the video
Can you run 205 70 16 on stock suspension?
Nice one ☝🏿 🚐🚐👌🏿👌🏿
What antenna do you have on the rear bumper ? Happy Trails : )
It’s an 8’ whip for my CB
@@LivingTheVanLife Have a CB shop check the SWR on your antenna,, usually not a good idea to have that much of the antenna that close to sheet metal.. Just to be safe would be a real bummer to need your radio to call for help and find the output transistors are toast and no one can hear more than a few miles.. 73, ki4uqx
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. Yes indeed, checked the SWR’s with an external meter the day I installed it. They were nice and in check. Keep on truckin my friend!
What is your suspension setup to run tires that size?
Gowesty lift springs for a 2WD with 3/8” poly urethane spacers.
I'm running 215/75r15 toyo open country at, and I am very happy with them. And they are fairly cheap. Just saying....
By the way: do you have a spare wheel somewhere?!
Nice. I had 37” Open Country’s on my GMC. Them are some BIG tires.
Yes. I have a spare tire in my stock location on the van
@@LivingTheVanLife what size is that spare wheel you fit under the van?!
I am having trouble fitting my 215/75r15 in there ("spare" in my case being "full-size 5th wheel", not "spare" in the sense of just any tire)
Does Bigger sized wheels than recommended ones make Engine exhausted easily?
It doesn't help ;)
did they start to howl at 25k?
That Westfalia is 4x4 , correct me if i am being wrong ?
No. It is not 4x4. It is a 2WD
How much power loss should I expect on 14" general grabber ATX on stock 1.9L waterboxer.
Depends on your tire size. 14” is your wheel size. But that does not determine what your tire size. You can have 14” wheels and still get tires that are the same over all diameter as mine on 16” wheels. Just means your tire sidewall would be thicker.
Living The Van Life Yeah i was planning on getting these. www.amazon.com/General-Grabber-All-Terrain-Radial-Tire-27X8-5R14/dp/B07CRBRDTB
There he is!!! Lol
Ha!
Where the heck is this? I want to go!
😌😌