How Much Tire Does a Grand Cherokee Need To "Float"

Discussion about deep snow wheeling, vehicle builds, trip reports, etc
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gbvol54
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:27 am
Location: Seattle

How Much Tire Does a Grand Cherokee Need To "Float"

Post by gbvol54 »

Back in 2012 I asked about how to access my retirement home over eight miles of unplowed road (link: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=259). I got a ton of good input of which I've used over the last 5 winters. I've learned to plow a bit as well as wheel a little in my 75 Land Cruiser (V8, ARBS, 38's (hand sipped) dual winches). The Cruiser works great to get to the pavement, but it's a beast to drive the remaining 20 miles to the nearest town.

That's a long winded way of saying thanks and lead into my current more specific question: What size tire would be required to get a Grand Cherokee (~4000 lbs) through a couple feet of snow? I've picked up a second WJ Grand Cherokee (2003 Overland) and am considering modifying it to serve as my winter cross state vehicle. I'm thinking that I could do a lift and trimming for 33s relatively simply and still be able to drive comfortably at highway speeds. My question to you guys is whether 33s would provide enough flotation to get us reliably through say 24" of soft snow?

Thoughts?
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