Tires for Elk hunting

[SCS_BG_Hunter]

I run the Goodyear Duratracs on my Jeep JK and Cooper stt pro's on my 1 ton diesel. As long as you rotate them you'll get good mileage from them. My son put a stick through the sidewall on one of the Duratracs just by pulling off the side of the road, other than that though I had no complaints with them.

The coopers though I really loved. Amazing traction. We woke up to a foot of snow one elk hunt, we were camped below the road. I got my trailer up to the road, 31ft, weighs 10,000 lbs. I then had to unhook and chain up to my brother in law to get him and his trailer up to the road, then had to chain up to another buddy who already had another truck chained up to him to get him up to the road so we could get out of there. The tires were fairly quiet on the highway too.

 

[Beendare]

I have the Nitto Ridge Grapplers right now, a very good tire...and quiet.

BUT, If we are talking the absolute best tire for traction and durability, IMO its the Toyo Open country's hands down.....I got 80k out of a set and not one flat in 10 years of running them- bulletproof.

 

[Indian Summer]

Good Year Wrangler All Terrain Adventure. Kevlar sidewalls.

 

[HuntNTag]

I’ve run the KO2’s for years on my Jeep. I’ve taken them off-road, trails, etc but I’ve never aired down. Typically my tire pressure ends up going down because of the altitude difference and if it gets cold, the air itself in the tires compresses down.

I have a compressor but that was more for repairing a flat.

Any specific times that you guys are airing down that you would recommend doing? I might have not had issues but I feel like I could learn something new here.

 

[Bighunt531]

I run Goodyear Duratracs on my 3/4 ton diesel. They are load range D which is basically an 8 ply. Never punctured one of them here in Colorado and I'm going into my 4th season with them. They ride relatively good on the highway but they do have a bit of noise. I think for a tire that is less aggressive than a full mud tire they get extremely good traction (Ive definitley put them into bad situations that I shouldnt have lol). I probably wont try a different tire as long as goodyear doesnt change them.

Same here on the dmax what a badass tire

 

[browning2480]

The KO2 are very quiet and the E ratings ride fine on my 1500. I liked them for the first while. It seems they have got hard with all the heat cycles. They are pretty slick to drive on now in the rain. Not sure I will buy them again.

I`m thinking of trying the Wildpeak AT next.

Same thing happened to me with KO2s. I loved them until just below half tread and the wet weather traction got a little dangerous

 

[Mischief209]

I switched from ko2 to General ATx on my tacoma. Darn good tire. Same tread pattern as the ko2. Looks like an exact replica.Few more sipes.Better warranty, quieter, ride feels tad smoother.

 

[def90]

I've owned Jeep Wranglers since 1996 and have almost exclusively (other than a few experiments) driven BFG T/As.. I've never had a flat or torn sidewall with all of the forest service road travel I've done in Colorado. I think they drive fine on the highway, then again I don't have much experience with anything else. Had my odometer (goes to 105) buried on I25 in New Mexico once and the Wrangler was taking it better than my 1976 Olds Cutlass did back in the 80's.

 

[yoopshoot]

I’ve run nitto trail grapplers, KOs, duratracs and cooper STT pros. I liked the duratracs and KOs for everyday driving/ with some off road. The duratracs I found best for snow. My favorites were the STT pros. Only reason I went away from them was the long winters here in the UP of Michigan. The snow performance just wasn’t as good as the duratracs. Other than that, the STTs were awesome off-road and very durable.


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[deerhunt1988]

Went through two sets of Toyo Open Country At2s, got about 50k on each set when i replaced. Loved them. Never had any issues.. Found some Duratracs on sale and went with them. Mistake. Two ruined tires the first 20k miles. One was a sidewall nick, which seems to be commonplace based on this thread and experiences of others I know. I won't be buying again.

 

[sneaky]

Cooper STMaxx or Falken Wildpeaks. 10 plies will ride just fine on your F150 and you don't have to hold your breath every time you drive offroad with them. I had terrible luck with DuraTracs, don't care for them, but lots of guys love em. I'm at about 60k on my STMaxx on my Tacoma with 7/32 left. Set before was the same. One flat in all that time, I ran over a roofing tack in the yard during some renovation work. In the field? No issues at all. Thinking of trying the Wildpeaks next. They get great reviews from everyone I've talked to. @Ryan Avery runs them on his truck.

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[Dwnorton1]

I got grilled for 6ply but when forest service road has just been graded beware. Saw at least 4 others fixing flats.

Tires and forest service roads

Here is a tip that you really want to think about. I had tires(6 ply) on my truck that were less than 2 years old and 30000miles, so I though I would be good. Went up same roads in July on scouting trip so was not concerned. This time was different. They had just graded. I had flat a 10pm night...

www.rokslide.com

 

[justin84]

I have a 2017 F150 and I put on Duratracs. Due to a shop error, I ended up with the LT (load range E) which is a heavier tire (not sure about ply) and my fuel economy suffered a bit, but I'll still get 20 mpg on the highway going 70-75. This will be my third drive to Wyoming from Wisconsin and they still have a lot of tread left. I only drive about 10k miles per year including this trip, though. I have crawled through some rough, sharp rocky roads with confidence every year.

 

[tsm213]

I live in rural and do lots of gravel. Your better off running a 10 ply tire. You can just run 30 or 40 pounds under normal days and crank the pressure up if your hauling. I noticed no difference in ride at the same pressure. The last set I had were general at2s. They lasted good. My 2018 f150 still has stock Goodyear’s.


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[dukerugger25]

Im running Toyo R/Ts 10 ply on my F150. Best recommendation is to air down when you go into the rocks

 

[300-win-mag]

I go pretty deep on some nasty trails running 10 ply mudders on my truck and never had an issue. Most people have chains on where I go and ask me where my chains are. Chevy and Toyota's don't need chains!

Firestone Destination M/T and Nitto Trail Grappler M/T have worked well for me.

Trails can get nasty when they get wet. Take your time and don't bounce off trees.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I get waaay offroad and beat the hell outta my truck after long interstate drives to hunt. Two things i never skimp on...HD brake pads and tires. I only buy Toyo AT Xtremes, they are quiet on the highway, self-clean mud and snow and come with a 50,000 mile warranty. Not cheap. But I go places others won't...or can't.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Haul 1500 pounds of goats plus gear around in your truck for a while on Idaho backcountry roads and you will find out if a tire is good or not. Used several brands, Coopers, Toyo, Goodyear but for the overall price, traction and durability the Falken Wildpeaks are tough to beat.

10 ply or nothing!

 

[SaltyUte]

Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws. On my second set and never changing.

 

[MTSasquatch]

I have 5-ply Michelin tires on my F-150 and have put some gashes in the side-walls from two trips to CO and some "off-road" in Wisconsin, which is mostly fields and farm paths. I am looking at replacing my tires before heading out west this fall and since I am going to replace them, I thought I would like to replace them with tires that are less likely to puncture or otherwise leave me standard on some forest road hours from town. It was suggested by a local contact in Montana to put 8-ply tires on my truck. I checked with some local vendors in WI and it seems like they don't really carry an 8-ply tires anymore and was told "ply" is an outdated way to judge tires. The two that were suggested are Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac (looks like probably 6-ply?) and BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 (10 ply?). The Goodyear looks to be a more usable "all-around" tire as most of my driving is on the highway.

I am sure a lot of guys on this forum have experience driving around the forest service roads in the mountains, so any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you

8 ply or better. I run 10 ply. Sure, I take it in the shorts a bit with gas mileage, but life’s too short for flat tires.