When did we start talking about motorcycles? Of course a motorcycle is faster, picking a single track line vs a wider, longer base line. Not to mention the weight difference. I reckon thats why they are a different class.
And 3PMS tires? Last I checked that is a rating for snow/ice and I clearly agreed that MTs weren't good for that. But friends that live out west in Grand Junction with crawlers and the ones I witnessed around trails were running MTs, and they had green or Utah tags so not "tourists". Most common I saw were Patagonia MT, Micky Baja Pro X, and BFG KM3s, along with some others. A good bit of Maxxis knobby tires on SxS too.
I'm glad you know what tire you like and what works for you. I myself have always run an AT on all my trucks since 95% of my driving is on road and we get snow in the winter. I'm just saying MTs do have a place and function other than mudding through a field. And if someone wants to spend their money on them and think they will serve whatever purpose they may have for them, go for it. People do all kinds of things to their trucks and I don't like or agree with all of it but I don't shit on their choices... Unless they squat it, that's the only one I can't handle.
This^^ exactly.
And I don’t “laugh at” anybody who is inexperienced at anything. We all have to start somewhere on life’s learning curve.
Our family had a large ranch, so I learned how to operate all kinds of vehicles early — starting with slow-moving tractors at age 7, dirt bikes at 8, and everything else by the time I was 10. It’s easy to learn when you’re young, especially with a supportive family that has machinery that can get you un-stuck when you foolishly bury the pickup in the mud or snow.
By the time I was eligible to take the test for my license I’d been driving all over the ranch for more than four years, a lifetime for a kid. It’s easy to learn when there are no other people or cars to run into. My dad just turned me loose in a corn field with an old “three on the tree” pickup and let me bounce around until I wasn’t grinding gears anymore. I don’t know how city folks learn to drive, but it must be more difficult.
I spent much of my professional life dealing with the results of poor human decision making — either rescuing people, or cleaning up the unfortunate mess when they were beyond rescue. Poor driving skills, poorly equipped vehicles, impairment, distraction, unreasonable reliance on GPS, lack of preparation for the environment... The list is endless, but somewhere near the top of the list is arrogance and a completely unfounded and inaccurate assessment of personal skill level.
As an adult I received extensive training in EVOC (emergency vehicle operation). By the time I started that training I was in my twenties. Like most of the guys in my cohort, I was confident. I considered myself a “much better than average” driver. I’m pretty sure every guy there felt the same way about their skill level, so day #1 was a hard reset for all of us. We got half a day in the classroom on theory and terminology, and then it was off to the track, where every one of us got lessons in humility. We all got pushed to the point of control loss while following instructors who easily maintained control through the same exercises, no matter what they were driving. We trainees didn’t know what we didn’t know, but after the first full day we were prepared to pay attention. That training taught me to be a much better driver, of course, but it was also one of MANY reminders that I have plenty to be humble about. Whatever the subject, I don’t know what I don’t know — so I don’t pretend to have all the answers for others, and I definitely don’t tell others what they need for their particular use and environment. Instead, I share my experience in my environment, and others can find it helpful, or not. Between boot camp and a few thousand other life lessons in humility, I’ve learned I’m in no position to “laugh at” anybody, even if they’ve gotten themselves into a heck of a pickle that I think I would have been able to avoid.
Also, it may be different where you live, but over the last forty years, and especially the last ten years, my state has been completely overrun by transplants from various urban centers in California and, most recently, New York, New Jersey, and Minnesota. This migration has completely transformed the state from boots, trucks, hunting, and fishing, to yuppies, Audis, traffic gridlock, closed wilderness, and California politics. In fact, most members of our state Legislature are from somewhere else, and they are determined to reshape my state into some facsimile of where they came from. Here’s the strangest part: those transplants typically describe themselves as “locals” and refer to others who came to the state slightly later as “tourists”. I don’t know where to draw the line, or if drawing a line has any value at all, but somebody who has lived in a place for five or ten years isn’t a local in my view. They’re just tourists who came and stayed longer.
On balance, I think my son made a good choice, and the education the navy provided set him up for a good civilian job, but he’s glad to be out.
