Best 275/75 (or 70) x18 AT for mountain roads

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

What year is your Ram? I have a 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel and had to install 1.5" spacers on the rear to get an inch clearance between the tire chains and rear brake line (at the caliper). I put 1.5" spacers on the front to clear the upper control arms but the chains hit the rear of the fender opening when turning. I settled on 1" spacers on the front and run a little lighter weight set of chains.

Mine is also a '19. I was wondering about clearance issues and I think it depends on the chains you get. Another guy on here has a '19 with 18s and has chains on back and z cables on front without running spacers.

 

[browning2480]

Tire shopping sucks. Seems like everybody is in cahoots on the brands ya'll recommended. None of them can be had for less than $1,100 and most well north of that. As a reminder, these are for a set of take offs for winter and trips out west. My "fancy" 22"s are my spring/summer fall shoes. So key priorities for the take offs are 10 ply (rating at least) and reasonable mileage.

There are a couple out there that are right at or just under $1,000/4 that I'm wondering if ya'll have any direct or second hand experience even. Both are 10 ply rated.

Dick Cepek Trail Country
Ironman All Country A/T

If these suck I will bite the bullet and bust out several more hundred.

I recommend going on YouTube and watching some videos by Trail Built Off-road. They do some pretty good tire reviews and break things down pretty good

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I recommend going on YouTube and watching some videos by Trail Built Off-road. They do some pretty good tire reviews and break things down pretty good

Thx for the steer and will do

 

[ETtikka]

I looked at every tire I could find available before I settled on Cooper Rugged Trek, the best option for the $ based on my research. Much quieter than it looks also.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I looked at every tire I could find available before I settled on Cooper Rugged Trek, the best option for the $ based on my research. Much quieter than it looks also.

Those would be about $150 more than the Cepek's but have 60k mileage rating. The Cepek is only 45k, but maybe splitting hairs on cost vs. mileage.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Analysis paralysis has officially set in... The Cooper Discoverer, Cooper Rugged, BFG KO, Nitto TG, General Grabber, and Cepek can all be had for $1200 and less. The Toyos, Duratraks, and Wild Peaks are out of contention due to price.

Thanks again, and now it will just come down to tread warranty and most feedback from ya'll. Appreciate the help guys

 

[zion zig zag]

Analysis paralysis has officially set in... The Cooper Discoverer, Cooper Rugged, BFG KO, Nitto TG, General Grabber, and Cepek can all be had for $1200 and less. The Toyos, Duratraks, and Wild Peaks are out of contention due to price.

Thanks again, and now it will just come down to tread warranty and most feedback from ya'll. Appreciate the help guys

Out of that group, I’d go KO2. There is reason they have been one of the best selling AT tires for a long time.

 

[fmyth]

Mine is also a '19. I was wondering about clearance issues and I think it depends on the chains you get. Another guy on here has a '19 with 18s and has chains on back and z cables on front without running spacers.

Is your truck a 5th Gen new body style? I could put chains on without spacers but I'd have less than 1" clearance between the chains and the rear brake line which is too close for comfort. Chains have a tendency to loosen up and I didn't want to take a chance of ripping off a brake line. Perhaps he is running narrower tires than the 275/70R18 Duratracs that come standard on the Ram Rebel?

 

[tdot]

I just did a preliminary look for chains. Uf-duh... Anybody got a line of where to find a reasonable set of chains? Looking like $400-600.

*EDIT* I found these on Amazon for $100 for a set of 2. Sounds like Peerless is pretty commonly used by guys.

Peerless 0232805 Auto-Trac Light Truck/SUV Tire Traction Chain - Set of 2- $101.29

I have the Auto Trac's on my Sprinter and they have been excellent. I'll be buying another set for the new van when it arrives in May. They are fast on/off so personally for me they actually get used more then a regular chain. They've kept me out of trouble with a 2wd van. I mount a set front and rear. The only time they failed me, my brother was the only truck to get through a mountain logging road coated in several inches of clear ice that left plenty of trucks/SUV's stuck, even with chains. He had 4x V-Chains, 4wd and a heavy right foot using all the ponies in his supercharged Tundra. So for me, they are the right chain for 99% of the time.

 

[Tbonespop]

Those look wicked...

They look even better in person

 

[Cant hit em]

Ive been happy with Falken Wildpeak AT3. Off road performance been good and Much quieter on road than the Ko2’s i had


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[N2TRKYS]

I’ll be using my BFG KO2 out there this year in early October (depending on draw). They been great on wet highways and slick, muddy woods roads. It’s no big surprise, though. I’ve been using BFG ATs for over 20 years and they’ve all performed flawlessly.

 

[N2TRKYS]

For my 2500 HD diesel, I prefer the Michelin Defender LTX M/S. They’re a great highway tire and have been very impressive in the slick red clay backroads and hunting club roads. I wouldn’t hesitate to take them out West, either.

 

[NorthIDHunter]

Yes. My pick is the falken. But, they don’t seem to wear as well as the AT3’s. For the extra money, I can’t justify them.

Two sets ago, I had the AT3’s. I drove them for 62,000 plus miles. Never got loud like the BF Goodrich AT’s or Falken tires I had on last two times. Plus none of the other two have got the mileage. I’ve got 4 brand new discovery AT3’s setting in my driveway. Just delivered today. That’s my impression of how good a tire they are.

I have been very pleased with mine so far. They ride so much better than that last budget A/T's I had, and so far they look brand new, we had some nasty snow here this year and they handled great

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Finally found a good deal on one of the tires ya'll have recommended. Fleet Farm has buy 3 get 4th free on the Discoverer AT3 XLT 10 ply. Now, the 265/70r18 is $270 and the 275/70r18 is $289. Unfortunately, the 285/75 jumps to $370 and the 295/70 is $351.

So my question to the gallery is this. Is it worth the extra $20 per tire to go with the 275 vs. the 265? The former is .6" (33.2 vs 32.6) taller and .4" (11.1 vs 10.7) wider. The weight difference is 3# per tire, so likely not relevant to mpg or performance.

I'm thinking going with the taller/wider 275 may help with chain clearance as well.

Thoughts?

 

[88man]

Im a BF Goodrich KO

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

My priority was essentially a strong tire that would be most resistant to flats and thankfully after a couple years running the BFG KO2's on my 3/4 ton duramax I've had no issues.

Mud and snow performance have been solid. I haven't measured but the treads do seem to wear fast but I suppose that's to be expected with a big heavy truck and logging miles.

 

[handwerk]

We've been pretty happy with our toyo open country AT3's