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Interco Tires
Nuts About Lugs: Interco Tires Take on the Worst That Nature Dishes Out and Serves it Right Back
story by Steve Temple
photos courtesy of the manufacturer
Whether your off-road terrain of choice involves knee-deep mud thick enough to suck the soles off your shoes, elephantine granite boulders rain-slicked to the adhesion levels of black ice, or sand that would challenge a camel — your choice of tires can determine the success (or failure) of your trip. And that success is what three generations of the Gidrey family have been working on for more than 50 years.
Interco Tires’ story is one of those “only in America” sagas that novels are made of. Current Interco president, back in 1947, the grandfather of David Gidrey (Interco’s current president) sold the family home to start the business, a series of retail tire stores. Later on, David’s father returned to the family operation after serving in the Korean War. He understood his Louisiana customer’s requirements for heavy-tread tires to plow through their water-clogged fields and country roads.
TSL/Bogger
By 1968, Interco Tires had introduced its first light truck, aggressively treaded tire, the 78 Series. From there, the company rapidly grew, and today is the only privately held tire firm in an arena of massive conglomerates. Interco continues to design and distribute light truck and ATV tires for both serious off-road and all-terrain use. The Gidreys still have a strong sense of what their customers need, from extreme rock crawlers and boggers to sportsmen to basic work trucks.
Getting down to the knobby details, we’ll take a quick tour through Interco’s product line, starting with the most extreme applications.
First, there’s IROK— “The best of a lot of worlds,” Gidrey explains. “The tire performs well on the highway and has a tread pattern and design that takes on rocks, mud and snow.” The IROK shares a number of features with the entire Interco line: durable and tough cord and cut-resistant compounds, a directional tread that performs and cleans superbly, three-stage lug design, blade and molded siping and scooped lugs.
Okay, that all sounds cool, but how does it keep your truck on the rock or get it through mud? Glad you asked. The three-stage lug design, evident on the outer edge of the IROK, comes as close as you can get to guaranteeing that your 4x4 will make it through anything. Basically, you’ve got three stages of aggression to bite into soft terrain; if the smaller lug can’t handle it, the next two lug sizes will. The lug dimensions vary from short to long, proportioned and spaced to bite quickly and self-clean quickly.
The same goes for the scooped lug design. Think of the lug as a spoon that digs into terrain. The siping (the narrow cuts in the center of the tread) is indispensable for sure-footed off-road adventures. “These cuts are the key to extra traction on the highway, ice or slick surfaces,” Gidrey points out.
Next, the Super Swamper TSL/Bogger — an extreme version of the company’s legendary Super Swamper line — is designed for competition: “The Bogger holds the mud bogger competition record in the U.S., Japan and Canada,” Gidrey says. The tire quickly caught on in the civilian market. The Bogger has two distinctive deep-tread rows that wrap onto the sidewall to give the tire extra bite in deep mud. The three-stage lug design gives the Bogger a bold, aggressive look and performance.
 Irok |
Special Service TSL |
The original Super Swamper TSL was the product of nine years of development and testing. Designed to perform well in mud, the TSL is a solid on- and off-road performer, providing both directional and lateral stability. The TSL is also available in a radial tire for the quieter ride coveted by weekend off-road enthusiasts whose rigs see more time on the road than off. The tread pattern is a little tighter than all-out mudders and the siping provides extra traction for wet highways.
Gidrey refers to the Super Swamper TSL/SX as, “the blood and guts” of the Super Swamper line. This model is designed for soft terrain, “when you don’t know what’s under that terrain.” With strong nylon or polyester bias-ply body and dual belts under the tread and wraparound lugs, the sidewalls are extremely puncture resistant and hold up when you’re climbing out of deep ruts or rolling through rock beds. The lugs wrapping up the sidewall provide extra traction when a 4x4 climbs out of deeply eroded ruts.
The Super Swamper LTB has two advantages going for it: the tread pattern is a little more aggressive than the original TSL and it’s less expensive. The largest of the three-stage lug pattern is offset more to the outside of the tire for extra traction. The bias ply construction allows for the larger lugs while providing strong sidewalls that resist splitting when at low air pressure during off-road excursions.
All these features plus a more economical price tag allow drivers to keep newer tires on their rigs. “I like to change my tires every two years, no matter how much tread they have left on them,” Gidrey says. “The chemicals migrate out of the sidewall over time, so you’re safer with newer casings,” he explains.
 TSL |  TrxusMT |
One of the latest Interco products is the TrXus Mud Terrain tire. Don’t let the “mud” in the name mislead you. While designed to excel in liquid dirt, the TrXus is basically an all-terrain tire. With more siping than most mudders, the TrXus also excels in traction on slick, icy surfaces and the kind of granite boulders rock crawlers search out. So much traction, in fact, that snow-plow trucks use them to stay on the job.
The TrXus has also found a home on light trucks that have to deal with snow and ice conditions as part of the daily commute. Weekend skiers and those who live in the snow belt have found the tire provides a smooth, quiet ride on the highway as well as that extra traction on the ice.
Another all-terrain entry is the TSL Thornbird. On the highway, the three-stage lug pattern never touches the ground so the ride is as smooth as most street tires. But when that same tire is up to its lug nuts in mud or sand, the sidewall wrapped lugs come into play. It’s like having two tires for the price of one.
Finally, the Special Service Super Swamper TSL: it’s designed for smaller 4x4s like Jeeps or mini-trucks, or paired up for dually applications. Another, very specific application, according to Gidrey is the track, where the corners are flooded to provide extra excitement. “These Super Swampers are narrow enough to cut through the water without slowing down,” he says, “and they’ve got such good traction that they hold the corners.”
TSL/SX |
TSL Thornbird |
For ATV enthusiasts, Interco offers the Super Swamper TSL/ATV with all the features of its big brother, but in smaller sizes. The lateral traction on the ATV version has been reduced, allowing the tire to skid sideways as a safe alternative to rolling over. The Super Swamper TSL/Vampire is so strong it perseveres even if it’s fallen victim to a puncture. As long as the tire remains seated on its rim, it’ll keep going.
Speaking of “keeping going,” Interco offers helpful tips to get the most life out of your tires. The terrain you drive on plays a big role in eating away at the tread. If your tire is rated at 40,000 miles, that mileage can be whacked in half if the vehicle is driven exclusively over crushed stone roads. For off-roaders, the terrain we choose to drive on eats tire tread, so the more you can do to maintain your tires, the longer they’ll last.
The first suggestion is to keep the vehicle in good running condition and replace worn-out shock absorbers. The second suggestion is one we’ve all heard many times, but it’s worth repeating: keep the tire inflated to the proper, recommended, air pressure. This is especially important for off-road trucks.
That’s because a good truck tire may look like it’s properly inflated even when it’s not, especially when not carrying a full load, but it won’t be stable at highway speeds.
SS LTB |
TrxsusSTS |
Also, most off-roaders deflate their tires when they hit the dirt and it’s oh-so-easy to forget to re-inflate them when you’re back on the pavement. Kicking a truck tire is not a good proper air pressure test. Get a good, accurate gauge.
Finally, rotate your tires, back to front, every 4,000 to 6,000 miles. The back to front, rather than criss-cross, holds true even if the tires are not radials. This rotation helps to even out the wear that will show up on the front tires’ outer lugs from hard cornering or extensive highway driving.
While Interco Tires’ can be found on dedicated off-road rigs, some of the company’s major markets are the guys who use their trucks for hunting and fishing trips or as part of their daily routine, such as for ranch work, construction, etc. These are the customers who are influenced by durability and effectiveness, as much as how a tire fills out a wheel well. They worry more about getting to their destination and back without having to call for a tow.
When you think about it, though, recreational 4x4 truck owners have something in common here. Whether their weekend trips are to the desert, mountains or the bayou, they put the same demands on their tires. So it’s a good thing Interco builds its tires to both work and play hard. Read more about ATV Tires
TSL/Vampire |
TSL/ATV |