On a recent flight from Japan came four of the very first new Nitto Trail Grapplers just for our exclusive testing. Nitto has a reputation for some wild yet capable tires. Though the Terra Grappler isn't too feral, the flame tread of the Dune Grappler and the claws covering the Mud Grappler have always raised an eyebrow among conservative tire buyers. However, with the new Trail Grappler M/T, Nitto aimed for a great all around off-road tread without any crazy tread pattern and hit a bull's-eye.
We bolted a set of 35s onto 18-inch Spyderlock beadlocks and headed for the hills to see what they could do. In order to get the tires from airport to magazine page, we skipped a true mud test and will need to give a long-term update down the road, but our initial testing returned a thumbs-up for Nitto's new Trail Grappler.
 The 80-pound tires and 40-pound...  The 80-pound tires and 40-pound aluminum beadlocks made short work of the trails we were exploring and were way better-looking than was necessary for our old army truck. The wide lug spacing and flexible steel-belted radial carcass make for a great daily-driver and weekend-wheeler tire. Even though these Nittos are missing claws and flames, they are in no way missing traction. |  A small rock pile gave us...  A small rock pile gave us a chance to test the two-steel, three-polyester, two-nylon tread and the three-polyester sidewall carcass. Again, we would choose a larger sidewall (smaller diameter wheel size), but even so they seemed to work just fine, bulging and dragging our old truck up and over the boulders while the true 35-inch diameter held the differentials clear. |  Our experiment didn't run...  Our experiment didn't run across any mud, but loose sandy hillclimbs did show up and the Trail Grapplers took them in stride. Our first attempt at street pressure wasn't a problem, and further testing at 12 psi just got better. It wasn't until we were down to two-wheel drive that the tires slowed and dug in, but still had no problems backing out. |
 Truth be told, we were expecting...  Truth be told, we were expecting something more "out there" in the tread design of Nitto's new Trail Grappler M/T. The company is known for using flames and claws in its tires, so we half-expected a hiking boot tread or goat hoof design. But the new rubber has an extremely conventional and appealing tread pattern, and our testing reinforced our appreciation. |  Nitto took some time on the...  Nitto took some time on the sidewall design and eventually came up with two fonts for the lettering. Both are large, great for identification (the guy at the stoplight won't need to ask what size your tires are!). The sidewall treads have small peaks for additional traction. We did notice a very distinctive seam between the sidewall and tread, giving the tires an especially square look. |  On the asphalt the Trail Grapplers...  On the asphalt the Trail Grapplers shined; there was no loud droning noise like with other mud tires, just enough growl to remind you that you're in a 4x4. Twisty mountain roads were a dream, as the 35x12.50R18s hung on tight and we were running highway speeds sans vibration without any balancing done. We usually don't go for a rim larger than half the tire diameter, but these were the first tires out of the plant, so we rounded up some 18x9 Spyderlock beadlocks for the test. |