Review: Nitto Trail Grappler M/T

[merc123]

I know there's a sticky, but I will try to go further in depth with the review than the sticky. See my thread for my Initial Review: Interco SS M-16 tires also.


Brand: Nitto
Model: Trail Grappler M/T
Price: $293.00 (Amazon.com, free shipping)
Size: 295/70R-17 (33x11.6)
Tread Depth New: .6725 in - 17.08mm
Current Tread Depth: Not measured
Mileage when installed: 139,778
Current mileage: 158,000
Total mileage: 18,222
Comparison Tire: BFG A/T (33x12.5-16.5), Interco SS M-16 A/T (295/70R-17)

Update 1 is in red.
Update 2 is in blue.


Appearance
Not as aggresive as the Interco's but definitely more of an attractive look over the BFG A/T's. The sidewalls have some nice looking lugs also that make it stand out from the standard tire. I've been looking at them all day and the center tread definitely doesn't impress well but they do have a great sidewall and make the truck look good.

Noise
Not a whole lot. I had to turn the radio off with the windows up and listen for it. It has a general hum to them but just sounds like tires running pavement. Nothing real bad. Definitely won't be able to hear it over wind noise if the windows were down.

They are still pretty quiet. I'll be interested in the long term noise because the Interco's were pretty quiet too for a while but definitely got louder as they wore. We shall see.

[COLOR="blue"]Still really quiet for being a M/T. Recently rotated them and the back tires are making a little more noise than the front./COLOR]

Traction
I gave it a little gas coming out of the tire shop due to traffic and they had a little squeak to them but kept "trucking" on. The BFG would have lit up and the Interco would have kept pulling while spinning.

I did have a chance to back up a slope with wet grass and unpacked dirt. It gripped pretty well and then started to slip. I went back down the hill to "get a run" at it but I suck at driving. It started to slip again and I just held the pedal and let it spin itself out. It dug just a little bit and bit and pulled right out. With the BFG's it would have been 4x4 for sure.


Definitely impressive compared to the BFG's and so far would say equal or slightly better than the Interco's in mud. Wet traction and rain hydroplaning is definitely a much better improvement over the Interco's. There is hardly any hydroplaning even when hitting significant puddles at speed. I was impressed on the grippieness in the wet and you can give it quite a bit of gas even in the wet before it even thinks about spinning the tires.

Got around to some off roading through some mud. It had rained for several days. The holes were so deep and the hills so steep my hitch ball was digging into the ground from the incline. Had no issues pulling through any of it. The treads cleaned well and had no concerns.


Wear
Will update.

Ride Comfort & Stability
General ride home was comfortable. There was no bouncing as I experienced with the Interco and I also did not feel the lugs when rolling to a slow stop. Time will tell. Also the side walls seems a little stiffer than the Interco's. The Interco's had a tendency to roll a little. These have zero roll and feel much more stable at higher speed cornering than the M16's and the BFG's. I did notice that when hitting specific dips and bumps the steering did not pull and jerk like it did with the M16's and BFG's. It was a dip in the road I would always slow down from 60 to 30 to make it over it because of the risk of losing control and the bouncing. I hit it at about 50 tonight and the stability was amazing. The tires don't over or understeer and sidwalls feel pretty stiff. The edge of the lugs on the Interco's did tend to chunk off after a little while probably due to cornering at higher speeds with a loaded trailer.

The ride is pretty comfortable. The sidewalls are very stable and you don't have the tire roll that I had with the Interco's. They were pretty stable while towing also. I did have a slight sway pulling a heavier trailer but I'm sure it was more from the winds than the tires. Time will tell a little more as I pull more loads.


Towing
Towed a 24' enclosed trailer at around a 4 to 5k gross weight. Tires were excellent. No noticeable swaying or anything that may indicate side wall flex.

Been towing my 24' enclosed at a gross weight of about 8k-9k. No issues at all when towing. Truck is really stable and sidewalls are strong enough that they don't flex when cornering. Really impressed with these tires for towing.

Overall

We shall see! So far I like them and will probably buy another set over the Interco's.

[hillcountrystroker]

well i have 10k on my trails so far and they still look brand new still holdin up extremely well and imo the best tires i have ever bought

[merc123]

They feel pretty good. I like the way they drive a lot better than the Interco's did. They have the smoothness of the BFG A/T's.

[Jonathans]

Thanks for the concise review and update! Sounds like a great tire.

[merc123]

I do my best! I hate it when folks post a review at 5,000 miles and never an update. Doesn't tell you much about the tire

[mysticblu999]

Did you have balancing problems? I have 2 out of round. I replaced the worst one. I'm about to replace the second one monday. Hopefully this will take care of them beating the crap out of me. I've had them for 2 weeks and put 2k on them.

[hillcountrystroker]

Originally Posted by mysticblu999

Did you have balancing problems? I have 2 out of round. I replaced the worst one. I'm about to replace the second one monday. Hopefully this will take care of them beating the crap out of me. I've had them for 2 weeks and put 2k on them.

well from what i understand is that they are the most desired tire in the country right now and they are all on back order so... the company is shipping out whatever they make before they have a chance to really inspect the tires out completely.. In order to supply the demand for the tires these are the measures they are taking... whether it be the correct desicion is one thing but they are replacing the "defective" tires at their expence correct??

[merc123]

Mine were good to go. One some they did have to use nearly 2+ oz. of weight but my Interco's used quite a bit on some wheels more than others. Very smooth ride on mine though.

[dazdillenger]

I liked them, but didn't get nearly enough use out of them. Not sure if it was due to the amount of towing i did, but they only lasted around 30k.

[merc123]

I do occasional towing. Once a weekend usually but not in the winter time. How often did you rotate them?