Going back to Florida.

Need some mud tires to throw on some FJ steelies for my TE.

Am I crazy for going bias ply like the Maxxis Buckshot? They sure are damned cheap and I haven't had issues with them on my 80 series.

Sorry to hear that.

Bias plys will be heavier than radials, likely harder to balance, but if you can overcome those issues and justify the tread life, they may make sense.

They're going to be weekend tires that get put on for trail use then swapped out for DD weekday use. I'm pretty tempted, even if the set on my Land Cruiser has weights going all around one of the rims...

Are you aware of the lack of trails in Florida (Rhetorical, I know you're from there, I spent a decade there, too)? Land of Fences worse than Texas.

I'll be rocking the panhandle, probably venturing into L.A. and Mississippi.

A Colorado spec lifted Trail will look really out of place over there.

Stuck in Elgin? Lived there, can't say I envy you.

This seems to be an annual event that may not be too far from the panhandle.

Mardi Krawl in April.... Who's going?

And these guys are mostly centered down in the toe (NO, BR, Lafayette). I've been to a couple of events with them as I can catch them.

Louisiana Offroad

I hated bias ply tires in the winter. I know it won't get too cold down there but if I remember correctly below 50 degrees F my tires used to flat spot like a champ. First 20 minutes in the morning was "bumpbumpbumpbump" down the road. Talk about grip in the wet and on corners. Ha. There is a reason people run radials now. Nobody remembers why but I do. I had those tires you speak of on my short wide lifted '78 Chevy (454 4 speed) and I hated them!

Heh, my buddy has Maxxis Creepy Crawlers on his 80 and one of them won't balance at all no matter what they try. He's had them aired down to 8 psi and the sidewalls are so stiff they look like they're still fully inflated.

I have no idea what the trails down there are like or what kind of mud you'd be getting into, but have you looked at Goodyear MT/Rs? I've been running them for a couple years now and have been happy with them as both daily drivers and off road. I wouldn't run them on ice but you won't run into that The kevlar sidewalls are pretty tough and also make the tire lighter than most other MTs. The tread voids are also large enough that they self-clean well in my experience. When my current set wears out I'll probably buy them again unless some absolutely game-changing tire comes out.

I have bias ply tires on my trail rig (TSL Bias Ply). Mostly for the strong side walls. They are certainly different - and horrible for highway use. But offroad I'm not sure you'll know the difference other than being just a bit stiffer and requiring a corresponding reduction in pressure. And I've yet to rip out a sidewall. With radials I was tearing up 1 or 2 tires a year.

As for balance, I have about a dozen golf balls in each tire. Keeps them kinda under control on the highway. There's really no sense in trying to balance most interco tires. They'd take so much weight you'd be stacking lead tape weights two or three layers deep across the inside of the wheels.