A couple months ago, we decided to take our showboat land yacht and turn it into something useful. Our Super Turd Diesel, as we so affectionately named it, had broken down in Utah and forced us to really go through the entire truck to start rebuilding it. After fixing the truck enough for it to drive again, we got rid of the farm bumper in the rear, ditched the front fiberglass fascia, and strapped some Off Road Tech bumpers in place. We added some Soltek lights and sat a T-Max winch on the front end to aid in the recovery and extraction of other unfortunate vehicles. It immediately changed the look and feel of the truck.
This month, it was time to choose a wheel-and-tire combo and add on a few goodies to help us out during extraction times.
Make/Model: Toyo Open Country M/T
Size on Sidewall: 40x15.50R20LT
Load Range: D
Max Load: 4,190 lbs per tire
Tire Hardness: 64 on tire durometer
Tread Depth (in): 21/32
Number of Plies in Sidewall: Three
Number of Plies in Tread: Seven (three polyester, two steel, and two nylon)
Weight of Tire (lbs): 112
Measured Diameter Unloaded (in): 40
Measured Width Unloaded (in): 12-1/2
Measured Tread Width (in): 14-1/2
Mounted on: 20x10 American Racing Teflon-coated Vice wheels
Available Tire Heights (in): 31-40
Available Wheel Fitments: 15- to 24-inch-diameter wheels
 We were on our way to swap...  We were on our way to swap out tires and wheels when we noticed a huge loss of power while climbing a grade. Par for the course, really. A coupling boot had blown right next to the turbocharger. Apparently, ours was not the first for this to happen to, and Gale Banks Engineering has since perfected its intake tubes for its intercooler systems. We got the new tube upgrade with the intake-tubing diameter change happening in the steel tubing instead of in the rubber coupling. |  While we were under the hood,...  While we were under the hood, we took a look at our air filter and saw what poor shape it was in. We were likely losing some horsepower and torque from the plugged-up intake. |  Banks put in a new air intake...  Banks put in a new air intake for us, which obviously stands out a bit compared to everything else under the hood. Perhaps the condition of everything else can explain why the air filter was so jacked. |
 Something the new Banks air...  Something the new Banks air intake had that our last air intake did not was a top. Having a sealed intake box can greatly reduce the amount of debris that will build up on your air filter. Companies might claim more horsepower with open elements, but what would you rather have? Superior protection or 1 hp extra? |  Unfortunately, Optima's Group...  Unfortunately, Optima's Group 34 size (the common Optima size) battery hardly ever fits correctly in the battery trays of many new vehicles. Therefore, you'll often have to fab some adapters or new hold-downs. Xtreme Unlimited in Oceano, California, cut these adapters to allow the Optima batteries to fit in our Super Duty battery trays. |  The batteries in our STD were...  The batteries in our STD were the stock units from when the truck was new in 2003. They still worked but had been run dead a few times and were past their life expectancy. We dropped two Optima BlueTop batteries under the hood in place of the old stock ones in order to better power our winch and auxiliary lights. And the wing-nut auxiliary terminals make hooking up accessories easier.Since the batteries in Super Duty trays are held at the bottom lip of the battery (and the Optimas are not wide enough to catch the lip), the guys at Xtreme Unlimited used the adapters they made to make up the distance in between the battery and the hold-down. |
 Every good 4x4 should have...  Every good 4x4 should have a Hi-Lift jack. But Hi-Lift jacks need to be secured properly, so we got these 4xRac mounts from Hi-Lift. |  We mounted a 60-inch Hi-Lift...  We mounted a 60-inch Hi-Lift X-Treme jack in the front of our STD's bed. This was the simplest place for us to mount it for now, but we plan to move it to a rollbar mount when we install a chase rack in the back of our truck in the near future. |  To keep our winch's cable...  To keep our winch's cable and hook in better condition, we used a Daystar winch isolator on the front of our fairlead. The rubberized material allows a lot of cushion when the winch tightens into the fairlead. |
 Our STD is our support truck,...  Our STD is our support truck, our chase truck, and our tow truck. We needed a good tire-and-wheel package that handles the road well, has a high load range, and still handles the rigors of off-road. The Toyo Open Country M/T has proved to be a leader for all the above categories and seemed like the perfect tire to outfit our overloaded Super Duty with. |  We had the Toyos mounted on...  We had the Toyos mounted on some American Racing wheels at 4 Wheel Parts. The guys had the equipment to not only mount but also balance our 40-inch tires. |  We had our 40x15.50R20LT Toyo...  We had our 40x15.50R20LT Toyo Open Country M/Ts mounted on some Teflon-coated 20x10 American Racing Vice wheels. The Teflon coating gave a nice finish that was basically maintenance-free. |
 Trail - During some light...  Trail - During some light trail riding, we managed to find a trail where the ground kept falling out from under the tires, wedging the tires into ruts. The sidewall tread seemed to help propel the truck forward, even when the main tread face was not making a good contact with the ground. |  Highway - Tires with a flatter...  Highway - Tires with a flatter tread face typically handle much better on the road than a rounded tread-faced tire, and the Toyo Open Country M/Ts are no exception. They are ideal for large fullsize trucks that need a robust tire to support the weight. One thing we did not like was that we had to go with either a 20- or 22-inch wheel to accommodate the 40-inch tire. We would rather have gone with an 18-inch wheel, but we must admit that the decreased sidewall probably helped increase the stability of the tire. |  Sand - Even though the tread...  Sand - Even though the tread design was not really conducive to sand play, the width of the tire kept our Super Duty floating on top of the sand well with the tires aired down to 12 psi. |
 What Do We Think So Far? -...  What Do We Think So Far? - We've put a few thousand miles on the Toyo Open Country M/Ts with very positive results. They've been great in the rain, handled the weight of our truck, improved the handling and ride quality, and survived all the off-roading our truck has to see. | | |