Tires for Beach use?

[Dusty_GMT800]

I just got a set of used Z71 wheels, going to refinish them over the winter and paint them satin black, then going to get tires, I think I'm going to stick with 265/70 size wise, however I'm wondering what you guys use for the beach or for mild off-roading, truck is my commuter so I don't want anything crazy, as of now I'm considering the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 but I am open to other suggestions.

 

[CamReynolds]

youd be fine with an all terrain but if you wanted to go in anything wet (mud, wet grass) your all terrains are going to seriously lack. but for everything but mud an all terrain is good. bfg ko2 are arguably the best all terrain but coopers are ice too

 

[swathdiver]

Mine has stock sized BFG KO2s in a C-Ply LT Tire.

Now, what is the sand like on the beach you're planning to run on? There are forums, some to do with fishing, where people get really into this and specific in a particular area.

IF it's mostly hard and compact you could run highway tires even if you had to air them down some and turn on 4WD.

 

[Dusty_GMT800]

Mine has stock sized BFG KO2s in a C-Ply LT Tire.

Now, what is the sand like on the beach you're planning to run on? There are forums, some to do with fishing, where people get really into this and specific in a particular area.

IF it's mostly hard and compact you could run highway tires even if you had to air them down some and turn on 4WD.

Most of the sand is somewhat soft, I haven't really seen tahoes on the sand before, it's mostly pickups and jeeps, occasional honda CR-V or something else. I know our trucks are real heavy compared to a lot of other vehicles so I'm not sure if the weight will affect my tire choice. I'm planning to use the truck for beach fishing and eventually make a nice camping setup

 

[swathdiver]

Well, in really soft sand its often best to air down to around 18 psi or so. Do you have 4WD and a 2-speed transfer case?

 

[camaroz1985]

I just got a set of used Z71 wheels, going to refinish them over the winter and paint them satin black, then going to get tires, I think I'm going to stick with 265/70 size wise, however I'm wondering what you guys use for the beach or for mild off-roading, truck is my commuter so I don't want anything crazy, as of now I'm considering the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 but I am open to other suggestions.

You will be good with the AT3s in stock size. I had them on my Silverado Dually, and even with the heavy Duramax and the narrow 215 tires I was perfectly fine just airing down to around 20 psi. I even made it quite a ways in 2WD before I got stuck and realized I forgot 4WD. Switched it in, backed out of my hole and kept going. That was down in NC, and we had to drive about 9 miles on the beach to get to our house. Drove where it was more compact where I could, but it was fine in the soft stuff too (that is where I got stuck in 2WD).

The AT3s were a good all around tire, not noisy, but good in wet, mud (never tried in anything super deep, but were good with moving trailers around in the mud), snow, and sand.

 

[MidwestMike]

I can't say from experience if it is correct or not, but I heard...

You have to be careful when looking for sand tire, it is not just an off road type tire.

That aggressive thread that works else where will dig you in to a hole in the sand.
(Obviously aired down helps, and type of sand matters..)

 

[camaroz1985]

While that is probably true for driving in the dunes or racing in the desert, don't overthink it when it comes to a simple drive on the beach. Just have a decent tire, air it down, and you will be fine. For reference one of my family members drove a Subaru Forester up the same stretch with all season tires. Just aired down and no issues. Your results may vary, but a relatively wide all terrain tire should be fine for this.