Tire Recommendations

JaSAn

JaSAn

Grumpy Old Man
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
1,150
Location
Minnesota
I have a Ram 2500, 4X4, gas, ~8000 lbs with FWC Grandby. it currently has LT 265/70R17-E BFG Rugged Trails with 60,000 miles and ~ 1/8" tread left. I drive about 80% hiway (daily driver + Minnesota to Mountain West 2X a year), 15% maintained dirt roads, 5% unmaintained dirt, snow, packed snow, grass. Very little mud and rocks. I don't want a noisy tire on pavement (I know, subjective) and would like something better off road than the Rugged Trails.

April is (supposedly) tire sale month, so i am planning to replace tires next month. Advice and recommendations appreciated.

jim
 
I have LT 265/70R17-E BFG All Terrain KO2's on my Tacoma/Eagle combo and really like them for both on and off road. Not quite as quiet as regular highway tires but not that noisy either.
 
I currently have a Ram 3500, 4x4 (gas) hauling fulltime a ~2000lb. (loaded) Hawk. I have Toyo A/T, LT285/75R tires. They don't seem any noisier than other tires I had in the past. I had a Tundra with Toyo's LT tires (same Hawk) and they lasted and performed well, but they are a little on the expensive side.
 
The Rugged Trails are glorified highway tires on LT casings. Anything better off road will be a true AT type tire. Keep in mind AT's are mainly offroadable street tires. There are good choices out there. BFG AT KO2, Cooper AT's, General AT's, Michelin AT's all have good reps and are pretty quiet with good road manners. You will need an E rated tire. I love my new tires (Cooper ST Maxx) in the same size but won't recommend them to you as they are probably a bit more aggressive than you want.

There is a good review of the modern AT's over on Expedition Portal.
 
Went from the Cooper AT/3's to the ST Maxx about a month ago. Got 50,000 miles out of the AT/3's and if I approach that with the new shoes I'll be happy. The old tires were great and never really felt like there was anyplace where they were holding me back, the biggest reason for going to the new tire rather than just a replacement was getting a 3 ply sidewall.

First big trip starts in 10 days so I'll have a better feel for manners on and off road in mid-April. So far I've only dealt with snow and ice which hasn't been an issue. Tire size is 275/70-18.
 
Love the BFG AT's on my 4 runner but my local Discount, who supplies tires on approximately 40 fleet vehicles for us, doesn't recommend them on full size trucks. Regardless, an E rated AT of some sort is the ticket. I currently run the ST Maxx on my truck, but would suggest the Cooper AT3. I had great performance with that tire on a big truck - ymmv.
 
Cooper Discoverer AT/3. Solid tire with excellent performance on wet roads, handles superbly on highway and is quiet. Can't go wrong.
 
Moss Grimmick said:
Cooper Discoverer AT/3. Solid tire with excellent performance on wet roads, handles superbly on highway and is quiet. Can't go wrong.
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These are great tires. I had these tires on my jeep wrangler and put them through the ringer. My driving was 10% 4x4 trails, 40% gravel roads, and the rest on paved roads. I lived and worked on a mountain pass and the tires flawlessly handled 5 months a year of snow/slush/ice.

I put Toyo AT2s on my current truck and have been impressed but wish I stayed with the Cooper AT3. They are wearing fast and have a lot of road noise. BUT the side tread saved the side wall when I hit a rock in Death Valley. Destroyed the rim but not the tire.
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FYI stock truck rims are only $35-45 at Las Vegas junkyards and $25 to get mounted & balanced!

When I buy new tires next spring I will be getting the Coopter AT3s
 
Ramblinman said:
Goodyear All Terrain Adventure - Great all around tire - 2nd set trouble free and no flats
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ETAV8R said:
Same here. Got over 40k from the last set.
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I'll have to take a closer look at these. I was thinking of getting some BFG KO2s because my truck is 2WD, but I really don't think I need anything as aggressive as the KO2s. The Goodyear ATAs may be a good fit.
 
Bill D, Fountain Tire has a 4 for 3 deal every Sept/Oct just before the snow flies - If you can wait for it. I like Fountain Tire because they have shops all over the province if you ever run in to problems. Free Rotations etc. I drive past the Fountain Tire on St Alb trail because the staff there are not as customer oriented as the one on 156 St and 137 Ave. Kevlar in the side walls too

Lots of mixed reviews on the KO2's - that said they have sold a kerbilliion of them.
 
Ramblinman said:
Bill D, Fountain Tire has a 4 for 3 deal every Sept/Oct just before the snow flies - If you can wait for it. I like Fountain Tire because they have shops all over the province if you ever run in to problems. Free Rotations etc. I drive past the Fountain Tire on St Alb trail because the staff there are not as customer oriented as the one on 156 St and 137 Ave. Kevlar in the side walls too

Lots of mixed reviews on the KO2's - that said they have sold a kerbilliion of them.
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I drove past Fountain Tire today and they were advertising a 4 for 3 sale.
I'll have to check it out.

Heading on my way out the door of Costco this evening, I talked to the tire guy and he praised the KO2s to no end.

I think what I will do is take an actual look at the Goodyear AT Adventures. I've seen the KO2s. They look nice, but I don't think I need that aggressive of a tread pattern. I drive on the same roads as you do and much less offroad. I just want something that will deal with an icy mountain pass on the Columbia Icefield highway and support the weight of the camper on our bumpy, pothole cratered roads.

I don't want to sacrifice fuel economy, add road noise and poor handling just because the tires look "cool".
 
Hey, love the Alberta connection! I am in the market too, and have been following the tire threads with some interest. Would love to avoid have summer (aka AT/all season) tires and a dedicated set of winters.

That said, everything I have read so far indicates that there is still a world of difference between even the best AT/All Season tire and a lousy winter tire when driving on ice and snow, not just cold pavement.

I'm with Bill, I want to be able to drive to the ski hill, or up and down the #40 in the winter AND handle gravel and sand washes in Utah... and have to drive 3000km to get to that sand. Are we dreaming that such a tire exists?
 
Vic most AT's will cover those kinds of situations. The big difference is they are expected to put up with abuse and last. That requires a harder compound. For those of us in the temperate zone that's not a problem. Cross the line into the great white north and the temps become an issue. The AT's just aren't made to work at the crazy low temps the way that much softer winter tires do.
 
Another vote for the Cooper AT/3's.
Had them in LT before I had the camper on the truck and moved up to the E rated when I got the camper.
Truck is 2011 Chevy 1500 with Supersprings. Camper is FWC Hawk Shell with a lot of options. I run about 55 psi rear and 50 psi front when loaded. Camper only stays on part time and then I air down to about 38 psi all around.
 
AT Tires are good at a lot of things - but excellent at nothing. I think you need a specific tire (Mud, Snow etc) for excellent - I don't have enough room in my garage or the funds to buy and store them. So when the roads are bad I slow down, when there is too much mud I don't go there and on and on it goes .... I do Run and E Load Rating Extremely important from my view.

This is a really good article. They tested a series of popular tires ... but not in snow :

https://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/

Tires are very personal to their users. In Alberta there is a strong Oil and Gas Industry - I always like asking guys at the gas pumps how they like their tires on their work trucks. Lots of good info there.
 
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