New Shoes

I'd expected to get more miles out of the Goodyear LT265/70R17E tires that came on the truck than I did. I could have stretched a few more miles, but with the Alaska trip rapidly approaching, it was time to bite the bullet.

I fully intended to install what Michelin now calls the Defender LTX M/S because I'd had incredible experience with them on the Tacoma, but the tread life warranty was now only 50,000 miles on the LT version of the tire even though I'd gotten right at 100K on one set on the Tacoma.

I ended up going with the Michelin LTX A/T 2 tire. The tread is more aggressive than the Defender (about the same as the Goodyear LT tire from the factory) but the tread warranty is 10K better while Discount's prices were essentially the same for the two styles, making my decision easy.

The Discount Tire location I use didn't have the A/T 2 in stock in my size but I had a call from them the next morning that they'd come in, so I stopped by and within an hour (in spite of not having an appointment) the tires were going on.

The tread is about as aggressive as the Goodyear tires the truck was delivered with, but they are quieter running.

Meanwhile, I pulled the wheels on the Scamp to check the brakes and bearings but figured it wasn't worth a bunch of pictures. The Timkin bearings that I put in 33,000 miles ago when we returned from our last Alaska trip still look good so they were cleaned, packed, and reinstalled with new rear seals.

One month until we head north.