Vampire vs. Mudbug

[SWAMP HAWG]

I have decided to go with 22x11x9 Mudbugs or 22x12.50x9 vamps over the more popular 22x11x8 rawhide III's for my Attex project because they are much better in mud.

In 4wheeler land the Vampires and Mudbugs are basically equal in mud performance.
Which tire, the Vamp or Bug swims better?

Secondly , where is the cheapest place online you have found to get these?
Thanks

[mightymaxIV]

Vampires vs. Mudbugs

I have decided to go with 22x11x9 Mudbugs or 22x12.50x9 vamps over the more popular 22x11x8 rawhide III's for my Attex project because they are much better in mud.

In 4wheeler land the Vampires and Mudbugs are basically equal in mud performance.
Which tire, the Vamp or Bug swims better?

Secondly , where is the cheapest place online you have found to get these?
Thanks

In this video my MaxIV was wearing 4 Vampires and a set of Swamp Fox Plus Tires. Lee's Argo was wearing six Mud Bugs. For water speed my fox plus Vampire combo was at lease twice as fast as the Mudbugs. In soft watery Mud I had the edge. In more difficult mud w/o water Lee beat up on me several times in the soft clay type mud where the mud Bugs cleaned out very well. If there is no water or soup Vampires will dig down quickly and get you stuck where a goodyear rawhide will push along slowly but keep your AATV moving, maybe slowly but moving. For swamp type conditions with soupy mud Vampires are hard to beat.

[mudbug3]

mightymaxIV ,

Yes,,in the conditions you talked about the Vampires ROCK ! In the places that boncrshr and I both ride in , at River Run park , the six Vampires on his Hustler do VERY well , when compared to the 4 Gator ( mudbugs are a copy ) and 2 Good year , Terra tire combo , on my Max IV In the water ,,a Vampire tire is a faster swimmer ,, but in the thick mud , you,ll get stuck less with Mudbugs.

[boncrshr]

I would definitely go with the Vampires.....aside from the fact that I have them and LOVE them. In my way of thinking, the Vampires are a full 1.5" wider, which multiplied times 6, gives you a significantly larger footprint=less exerted psi. In my opinion, in soft terrain, this is the number one most important factor in not getting stuck. Also, the Vampires swim good for me.

How much clearance will you have on the sides between the tub and tire??

[SWAMP HAWG]

I have to machine bolt circle adapter/spacers, so I can make room for a wider tire.
I can get Mudbugs $360 a set through a friend, the best price I can find on Ebay for the Vampires is $625 a set.
Anyone have a better price online somewhere?
I have to buy rims also , so the difference in price will just about cover a set of Matt O's rims.

[boncrshr]

Man....that is a big difference. On the Interco tire website they have blemished 22x12.5-10 Vampires for 30.00 each. I wonder if there are any suitable 10" rims??

If not I think I would be tempted to go with the Mudbugs since you have a hookup.

[mudbug3]

SWAMP HAWG ,

For the difference in price and the money you,ll save by going with the Mud Bugs instead of the Vampires , the savings will leave you a lot more $$ for other goodies that you can spend else where .

[smokin cigarettes]

How does an aggressive tire like that do in the sand? I mainly ride the river trails and it is mainly sand.

[boncrshr]

They do OK in the sand. During hunting season, I travel several miles down the beach. I never get stuck with either Rawhides or Vampires in sand. But the soft sand really slows me down. So to answer your question I don't think they are any better than Rawhides in the sand, but no worse either..

[smokin cigarettes]

I have Outlaw MST tires on my 4 wheeler and they are pretty bad in the sand. They dig down way too fast. In mud they are awesome.

[boncrshr]

Sometimes when pulling a heavy trailer in sand, I have noticed that the Vampires will dig fast. But IMO, the light weight of the average 6-wheeler(minus trailer) makes this a non-issue.