Best Tires For 1995 F350 & 1996 Squire 8000?

[BreakAes]

I need to get new tires for my 1995 Diesel F350 to haul around a 1996 Lance Squire 8000.

Which tires are the best for me to get? The guy who sold me the truck recommended Cooper 16 ply, and someone I know who lives in his truck camper suggested Class F tires.

And should I get road tires or all-terrain tires? I understand you get more miles to the gallon with road tires, and I'm not sure how much off-roading I'll do since the camper is 10' 9", and the truck only has 2 wheel drive; although the guy who sold me the truck said that cable chains should act as a substitute for 4 wheel drive.

Let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[TGK]

I'm sure there are lot's of opinions on this subject. Having said that, I've been very satisfied with the Michelin LTX AT/2 10 ply E rated. Highly rated by Consumer Reports, particularly for travel on gravel/rock. I've had them on my '99 F250 with a FWC for quite a few years and have never had a flat/failure. Also have used them on another truck. While not a hard core off road tire, as you note, where are you going to be taking a big F350 with a large camper on it.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

That camper is fairly heavy, but I think any good 10 ply, load range E tire will do a good job for you. I like Cooper, Michelin and Toyo (Les Schwab) tires. I've got 20" Cooper tires on the F350, and Toyos on the Ford Ranger. Michelins seem to be the quietest on the road.

 

[Beach]

A quality E range tire should be enough but go heavier if you want. I would go with a decent all terrain tread, your not going to do any hard core offroad with a 3000lb (dry weight) camper on a f350 4X2. There are lots of all terrain tires these days that will give you great traction with minimal road noise at highway speeds.

 

[craig333]

Never heard of an F rated tire. Not only are you going to get a lot of differing opinions on this (I don't like michelins or toyos myself) but in my experience different vehicles do better with different tires. What works on your truck may not work well on my truck etc. I will say an all terrain would probably be your best bet.

 

[2tallDA]

I'm sold on a 3-ply sidewall E-rated tire. Toyo AT2 Xtremes have them.
Nitto offers them on some of their tires as well as Cooper ST Maxx.
I had a near catastrophic blowout as well as cut's and flats with some Bridgestone's way back and it's been Toyo's ever since.
If you go to an 18" rim much higher weight ratings are available.

 

[klahanie]

^ these are what I have on our truck, now on the 2nd set. I couldn't state a "best" tire or tires. Bought the Toyos to fit my own wishes and I think it would be helpful to identify the most important tire attributes (including load capacity) to the user and checking those against specs and reviews before shopping around for the best price/deal. For example, we get a lot of rain here so wet weather traction is important to me.

Obviously tires are very important for safety, comfort and performance. Quick story: tires for the DD car - time before last I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I bought an around town, economical type. They were "okay", but never great in the rain and on the hwy part of my commute the noise, shimmy and wandering were noticeable but acceptable. When I replaced them (vehicle was still going strong) I decided that even though it was a 19 yo car I wanted to try a better tire. Bought a brand name, step up (Michelin) and wow, what an improvement. drove like a new car ! And, because of a promotion, they cost only $30-40 more than the set purchased years before. If I can afford it, I will never buy a "cheap" tire again.

 

[BreakAes]

I live in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains a lot during the winter,and intend to travel all around the US, and maybe Canada as well. Mt. Baker is close, and I may want to go there with the camper in the winter.

I'm going to guess I'll be driving around 10,000-12,000 miles a year, but I'm not sure.

The tire size on the current BF Goodrich tires is 235/85R16.

The camper is only for trips, but I may be gone for stretches at a time.

For now I plan on using it as my daily driver as well.

I haven't changed the oil yet, but it's Rotella non-synthetic.

Michelins seem expensive, and I was reading that some think re-treading isn't a good idea, so should I go for something cheaper? Can you get a better bang for your buck with a different brand?

Are the Les Schwab tires all made by Toyo? Their site doesn't list a brand for their tires. Is this a Toyo A/T II? https://www.lesschwab.com/tires/products/open-country-a-t-ii?size=235-85-16&li=120&sr=r&pn=348316 They're so expensive. Can I get something that'll perform as well as those for a lot less? Also, the max load is listed as 3,086 @ 80. Is that enough if the camper fully loaded will be around 3,400-3,500 pounds, and possibly more with other stuff included?

Is the consensus that I need a 3 ply sidewall tire? If so, what are my options for the size I need: 235/85R16?

Thanks for the help.

 

[klahanie]

Afraid I'm not liking those wt numbers. Could be wrong but I don't think the tire rating will get higher without a size change.

Nothing wrong with being on a budget, just means you have to shop around. FWIW if those tires in the link are Toyo AT2s they appear to be a lot cheaper up here at $220 CAD. If you are willing to buy across the line...
http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Toyo/Open+Country+A-T+II/352660

Personally, I want to be under the tire's max load rating. If I was expecting to be close, for sure I'd want a "quality" tire and would probably talk to some tire shops about it.


On edit. Sorry I misread that
as 3500# per tire! (musta been the 16 ply that threw me). Might s ill be close to max, IDK

 

[OSUFlyer]

I live in SW WA and drive essentially the same truck (Mine is a '97). I went with the Toyo AT2's from Les Schwab. They can be found cheaper online but I decided to buy through LS to have access to the dealer network in the PNW.

They have held up well under the weight of the diesel engine and seem to do well in most conditions. Down here it seems like the DNR and the timber companies are mostly running the Toyos, Goodyear Wrangler KevlarSilent Armour AT's or the Cooper ST Maxx (not the AT3s) FWIW.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

I’ve been hearing good things about Mastercraft Courser CXT, made by Cooper. They call these a light truck commercial tire. Might be worth checking them out.

 

[BreakAes]

There aren't many reviews on the Mastercraft Courser CXTs. It seems they "may" be similar to the Cooper ST Maxxes? http://roadtraveler.net/mastercraft-courser-cxt/

I'm currently leaning towards Nitto Dura-Grapplers. Does anybody here have experience with those?

They got almost all positive reviews out of 137 total at Tire Buyer. Some of the bad reviews don't even apply, and can be thrown out: https://www.tirebuyer.com/tires/nitto/dura-grappler/p/tv154000138#reviews

Also, a few reviewers said the tires can do some off-roading, even though they're road tires.

The Dura-Grapplers seem to be the best overall choice from what I've seen so far, but I'm open to further input.

Thanks

 

[smlobx]

I'm sure there are lot's of opinions on this subject. Having said that, I've been very satisfied with the Michelin LTX AT/2 10 ply E rated. Highly rated by Consumer Reports, particularly for travel on gravel/rock. I've had them on my '99 F250 with a FWC for quite a few years and have never had a flat/failure. Also have used them on another truck. While not a hard core off road tire, as you note, where are you going to be taking a big F350 with a large camper on it.

^^^^
This.

 

[BreakAes]

The Discount Tire Direct rep suggested moving to tire size 265/75R16, and he said they'd fit on my current rims, and wouldn't adversely affect the transmission.

I didn't realize Nitto and Toyo don't offer a warranty on their tires, so I'm going to skip them, unless the rep was wrong.

He said he knows somebody who gave good feedback on Cooper Discoverer ATPs. Are these about the same as the Discoverer AT3s? Are the ATPs passenger tires that I should avoid, or will they work for hauling the camper around?

If I switch tires sizes to 265/75R16, I understand the load capacity will increase to around 3,400 pounds per tire, and I think he said they'll be more stable. Is the downside lower gas mileage?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

<snip>
I didn't realize Nitto and Toyo don't offer a warranty on their tires, so I'm going to skip them, unless the rep was wrong.
<snip>

That's something I've not heard. Toyo through Les Schwab is legendary for good and prompt warranty work. I'd talk to a Toyo dealer like LS if you're thinking of them.

I get suspicious when someone talks down a competitors product. If they want to tell me why they think their product is superior, great, but not 'dirt' on the other guy.

 

[BreakAes]

I called Les Schwab. The Toyo Open Countrys have a 50,000 mile warranty, but since I'd have to pay tax, I don't think I'll go this route. The guy on the phone seemed good, but the local Les Schwab got mixed Yelp reviews.

I also called the local Discount Tire. The guy there said Nitto Dura-Grapplers have a 45,000 mile warranty, and the Terra-Grapplers don't have any warranty. This store got really good Yelp reviews overall. Also, Discount Tire has more locations than any other tire shop, which may be useful for me when traveling, or if I move for some reason.

I don't think the online sales rep was putting down anything, just saying that he didn't think they had a warranty. Seems like some tires do, and some don't like BFG KO2s, and the Terra-Grapplers, for example. I think I should get something with a warranty.

I'm now leaning towards Pathfinder ATs, apparently made for Discount Tire by Hankook. Supposedly according to the independent test data DTD has, these have less road noise than the Cooper ATPs, including when they age, which is interesting because I've read Hankooks have bad road noise especially as they age. Maybe it depends on the model of tire. One of the DTD reps I spoke to said in his experience with Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10s, as they wore down the wet weather traction wasn't as good, but they were on a much lighter vehicle: a 2001 Tacoma.

Supposedly the Pathfinders have phenomenal traction off-road. The guy's coworker likes them better than BFG KO2s in the snow, and they'll be better than the Coopers in the snow. And they're good for rain, which should be important to me. The Coopers are supposed to handle better. The pricing is close to the Coopers, and they have a 50,000 mile warranty.

I think now that I've narrowed things down, whatever I get will be good, but I still want the best tires for my purposes.

 

[rollinrollinrollin]

I recently put Goodyear Duratrac tires on my Ram 2500 4X4 with a FWC Hawk in the bed. E rated with snowflake symbol. They are pretty quiet on the road too.

 

[EDR]

I had Cooper ATPs on my Ram 2500 and they were an excellent tire. They were E rated and handled the weight of the cummins and Hawk with no issues. The only reason I pulled them off was to go to a larger set up. I had Discount Tire pull them off my old wheels and put them on my son's Ram 1500. Still plenty of tread left after 30K+ miles.

I too believe the ATPs are a DT exclusive design, but are similar to the ATs. I've been buying tires from Discount for many years, great prices and excellent service. As their classic commercial says, if you aren't happy with a tire, bring it back. They will also install larger tires, while other shops won't (Costco). I did buy my wife's suv tires from Costco, but that was so she could shop while the car was being serviced. She didn't like sitting around the tire shop waiting.

 

[dharte]

If you are concerned about weight ratings and handling, check the load index of the tires-not all E tires are the same. When I first got my Hawk, I had the Cooper ATP's, and when I put Toyo MTs on, the handling improved a lot. The Toyo's had about 900 pounds more load rating per tire and the stiffer sidewalls made a difference. Unfortunately, these MT tires wear really fast and get very loud so a few months ago I bought a set of take off 18" wheels and tires from a 2017 F250. These have Goodyear Wrangler Adventurer (Kevlar) tires and they work extremely well in all conditions. They are quiet on the highway, have a high load index, have excellent off-road traction and in 5,000 miles, wear has been minimal.

 

[BreakAes]

I ended up getting Cooper ATPs for $200 off the 4. They had a slightly used set with about 20 miles on them. I still have the 55,000 mile warranty. They were 245s, so not the size I intended, but they should be good enough. I also decided to buy the certs and talked the guy down a bit on those.

Of course I had to pay tax on the tires, whereas I wouldn't have had to with DTD, so it wasn't $200 off, but it seemed like the best deal.