Up until now, 100% of my all-terrain tire projects involved BIG trucks with massive, back-breaking tire upgrades, like 35″ or 37″ tires on aftermarket wheels. With these setups, the established tire choices like the BFGoodrich KO2, Yokohama Geolander, or Falken Wild Peak would offer a harvest of sizing options to pick from. But when it was time to hunt for smaller, “normal” all-terrain tires for the stock 15″ wheels of Carol’s Mazda B3000 Pickup, things became a little tricky.
One of Carol’s complaints with the oversized Nexen Roadian HT tires on her truck was that they had a soft, marshmallowy appearance, despite being filled to the correct air pressure. This was because these were 265-width tires doing their best to straddle themselves onto narrow 6″-width wheels. Naturally, the solution would be to simply pick a slimmer tire — one size down. BUT the problem is that most of the popular tire makers, including the ones named earlier, didn’t have an A/T option for 255/70/15, 265/70/15, or anything else close to it.
And so the decision was made to look into other options. After doing some research, I stumbled upon a tire model called “Grabber,” by the brand General. Despite the funny name, this tire carried a reputation of positive testimonials online by owners, and it had the size we needed in 30×9.5×15. It would be nearly equivalent to that “one size down” we were looking for. With that in mind, we decided to give it a try.
I noticed that the “fluffy” appearance was gone, with the added benefit that the Grabber can be inflated to a higher air pressure than the old Roadian HT if need be. With the two tires side-by-side, it looks like the General might be a tiny bit taller than the Nexen, which would suit the truck just fine. With the B3000 lowered back onto the ground, we can see that the new tire’s profile is nice and proper — no more appearing “flat.”
Most tuners use this as an opportunity to upgrade to new wheels AND all-terrain tires. But sometimes, when you’ve got a simple work truck, being flashy isn’t the goal. For situations like that (and others) maybe give General a try. They just might have what you’re looking for. And if they do, give me a call or a text. I’ll be happy to help you install them 🙂
