Driving Line VOLUME V ISSUE 2 | SPRING 2019 | Page 50

LIFE WITH
RIDGE
GRAPPLERS
120 DAYS OF REAL WORLD TESTING
Story by Mike McGlothlin
We’re only a few months into owning a set of Nitto fuel economy in an effort to track any changes (good or truly is all it’s cracked up to be, and we’re glad we forked
Ridge Grapplers, but the last 120 days have certainly bad) that resulted from our change to Ridge Grapplers over the cash on a set of 285/75R16s for our ’97 F-350 test
been eventful for our new hybrid terrains. Little did we from mud terrains. mule. They’re quiet on the highway, comfortable even at
know when we had them mounted and balanced in late
October that we’d be facing our first snow of the year just
three weeks later—even more justification that fall is the
best time to invest in new treads. Once the snow melted,
we put the tires to use on the highway, aired them up to
80 psi to tow a 10,000-pound trailer and even logged
Why are we doing all of this? To determine whether or
not the Ridge Grappler lives up to all of its marketing hype.
It’s no secret that light-truck and Jeep tires aren’t exactly
cheap these days. A set of quality sub-33-inch tires alone
can run you $1,000, so it pays to know if a specific tire is a
sound investment. So far, we believe the Ridge Grappler
PEACE OF MIND WHILE TOWING
While toting our tandem-axle toy hauler back from
Missouri, along with subsequent excursions with the
31-foot wind sail in tow, the truck felt extremely stable.
And while airing up to 80 psi for max carrying capacity
may not have been necessary for this particular load,
the higher pressure hardly altered the truck’s ride
quality as far as we could tell (full disclosure: we’re
talking about a truck sporting a solid front axle on
leaf springs, so it takes quite a bit to make its fairly
rigid ride seem worse). With no noticeable decrease
in ride quality from airing up to 80 psi and the fact
that we’ll be visiting the campground and/or trailhead
more frequently as spring sets in, we’ll likely leave air
pressure here for the foreseeable future.
TRACKING TREAD DEPTH
80 PSI
Having only racked up a little more than 1,700
miles on the Ridge Grapplers so far, we didn’t expect
In preparing to tow on the Ridge Grapplers for the to see any appreciable amount of treadwear. We
first time, we brought air pressure up to 80 psi, the max were right. Per our color-coded Godeson tread-depth
inflated pressure for our E-load-range tires. Reiterating gauge, tread depth checked in at 16/32 inch (versus
what we told you in Part 1 (and also listing it in the spec box 16.4/32 inch on day 1). Again, in this instance, the
above), our particular Ridge Grapplers carry a load index Ridge Grappler blurs the lines between all terrain and
of 126. Their specific carrying capacity is 3,750 pounds mud terrain in that its tread depth is deeper than most
per tire at maximum inflated pressure (again, 80 psi). A/Ts, yet shallower than many M/Ts.
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maximum inflated pressure, do very little rock collecting
and have had no problem maintaining traction in any type
of terrain we’ve subjected them to. For a full analysis on
what we’ve learned about the Ridge Grapplers thus far,
check out our first progress report below.