TheSamba.com :: View topic - Looking for Actual Experience: Tires on the Dempster Highway

Fri Oct 03, 2025 11:59 am

My mom would say “You build the world you live in”.

Fri Oct 03, 2025 12:02 pm

(In this case anyway…)

“Well, Mama’s wrong again.”
— Col. Sanders, Happy Gilmore

:wink:

Fri Oct 03, 2025 12:19 pm

And now friends, could we please rejoin the original discussion about tires and the Dempster Highway? Thanks.

Fri Oct 03, 2025 12:33 pm

Older, not wiser wrote: I drove the Dempster in August 2016....

What brand & model tire (and size) Would be interested in knowing such

Fri Oct 03, 2025 12:39 pm

I forgot to tell you I had Russian made Nokian tires on my van when I drove the Dempster and the Dalton highways. Nothing great but they were appropriately load rated. i no longer have them. (I'll have to pull out my log book to find the exact Nokian tire. But I'm sure they are no longer made. I'll update this post when I find that info.)
The lesson for me was to drive slowly and avoid potholes as best I could. I did a lot of swerving! I wasn't so worried about getting a flat as I was about breaking an axle or worse. And I remember I got a lot of pebbles stuck in the tread and tons of mud stuck under the van.
Edit: can't find the exact Nokian tire model, but my notes say they were "Nokian 215/60 R16 all weather tires." They were really loud on the highway and must have been crap because they were installed in November 2014 and replaced soon after I got back from that Dempster/Dalton road trip less than two years later. But no flats!)
.

Fri Oct 03, 2025 12:41 pm

kenoravsky wrote: And now friends, could we please rejoin the original discussion about tires and the Dempster Highway? Thanks.
Mark and I have spent time doing that, and five seconds of reading deviation.

There’s nothing special about this highway’s tire needs compared to most any other.

Happy Travels.

Fri Oct 03, 2025 4:54 pm

We drove the Dempster in July and the road was pretty rough near Tombstone park and about the last 60 miles before Eagle Plains. Above Inuvik, they are still working on the road and it is soft but driveable.
We run 215/65/16 BFG AT KO2' and carry one spare. But we also carried and air compressor, tire plugs and we brought a can of fix a flat.
We had no tire issues and aired down to 26psi all around. We stopped and helped several moto's with flats as well as a Sprinter. At Toyota truck had a flat on our way back but they had it covered.

We had great weather for most of the trip and the dust was bad but not unbearable. It rained one day and it was a muddy mess.

Absolutely gorgeous drive and take it slow to take in the scenery. We took 2.5 days up and 2.5 days back.

nate

Fri Oct 03, 2025 5:07 pm

Beautiful photo! And I will add a can of flat-fix to our list. Thanks.

Sat Oct 04, 2025 7:19 am

kenoravsky wrote: Beautiful photo! And I will add a can of flat-fix to our list. Thanks.
Make it the BIG can…just sayin.

8)

- Dave