Tires for Elk hunting

[Wiscohunter]

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with some local vendors in WI and it seems like they don't really carry an 8-ply tires anymore and was told "ply" is an outdated way to judge tires.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

 

[Bearsears]

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.

 

[spike camp]

I found that Duratracs wear super fast.

If your local tire shop is incapable of ordering what you want, you can get anything made, shipped to your door.

Get a 10 ply, if you’ve had issues in the past.
The K02’s are a good tire.

 

[6mm Remington]

Cooper ST MAXX These are great tires. The Cooper AT3's are also a good tire. Get the 10 ply!! And I suggest getting them siped.

 

[TomJoad]

I run Goodyear T/A KO2's on one vehicle and General Grabber AT2's on the other. The goodyears are a little more trustworthy as far as sidewalls are concerned but honestly the biggest factor with tire damage and especially sidewall tears are from not airing down. Whenever the trail starts getting weird I do take the time to get out and air all tires down to 20psi. This prevents a lot of failure since the tire can more easily yield to any point pressure especially from the side. The only sidewall tear I've had on a vehicle was being lazy and running a trail at nearly 40psi. That wasn't the tires fault, it was mine. ARB makes a nice and inexpensive core removal + gauge tool that makes this process super fast. Of course you need a compressor to airup and that's a bit more money... not as much as replacing tires annually though! I run the Via Air 300P. It's super fast, quiet and is duty rated to be able to fill 4 tires continuously.

 

[cravingame]

Nitto Trail Grapplers The 3-ply sidewall with a high turn-up construction acts as an extra layer of reinforcement to increase puncture resistance.

 

[KurtR]

i run dura tracs and seem to get really good life out of them and have had no problems

 

[Gerbdog]

All of my past blown tires were all my own fault.... probably should have slowed down over those sharp looking rocks. That said, as stated above, I run 10 ply now on my truck and haven't regretted it.

 

[Deplorable77]

Another vote for the KO2's. Tried a few of the mentioned above and always end up back with BFG's

 

[Jwknutson17]

On lighter pickups and SUVs I've had much better luck with the Duratracs and tire wear then I do on the BFG KO2s. I was at 50k miles on a 2014 taco with still 8/32 of tread. On that same truck I'm at 22k miles on the K02s and have 7/32 left.

On the 2015 f250 diesel I wore through the Duratracs quick. Less then 30k. And they have the origonal BFG KOs on them now. Not the KO2s.

On my lifted/offroad vehicle thats a modified GX470 I run the Duratracs and found them to do best in a combination of different terrain. And perform much better in snow then others. Most jeep guys use duratracs also. Never an issue with them. Also have them on my expedition trailer.

If you have a heavier vehicle like a diesel then the Duratracs may wear quicker then you want. Never had puncture or other issues with either offloading in CO.

Just my .02 here. Take it for what its worth.

 

[wakedye]

I have duratracs on my truck and I had one get punctured on the sidewall by a 1/4" - 3/8" diameter piece of sage brush. It could have been a one in a million thing but it sure left me lacking in the trust department.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Toyo Open Country M/T's Load Range E (10 ply) all day for me but I'm heavily off road focused and run the truck fast and hard. These tires take massive abuse...

If not, the R/T or the A/T do very good on trucks

This truck is all business, King 3.0's custom valved, 17" Raceline Wheels, 37x13.5R17 Load E Toyo M/T's along with many other suspension components upgraded to handle the abuse. Spacers don't do it if you want to go where most don't with a truck.

 

[Wiscohunter]

Thanks for all the replies

How are the 10 ply tires for daily driving? Both the KO2 and Coopers mentioned above seem to be readily available. My main concern is the ride and noise when I am driving around town.

Also, will the 10-ply be significantly harder to puncture than the Duratrac? Or would slowing down or lowering pressure be enough of a precaution to go the same places with both tire?

I have a standard F150 with the short box, so I would think the Duratrac wear issues would be less of an issue with my relatively light truck.

Also, another tire that was suggested was the Michelin primacy xc. I am guessing that is because I currently have Michelin tires. It doesn't look like a tire that would handle off-road driving, but it is rated as an "all-terrain" and Michelin claims it is designed for life on gravel roads. Does anyone have experience with this model? It looks like a 6-ply rating to me and I question the traction in muddy conditions.

 

[Wmmichael20]

Any quality name brand load range E tire should serve you well, I've had good luck with dick cepek,(got132,000 miles) from last set on my jeep jku and replaced them with Mickey Thompson degan 38 ats and they ride great and are darn near silent.

 

[Wmmichael20]

Thanks for all the replies

How are the 10 ply tires for daily driving? Both the KO2 and Coopers mentioned above seem to be readily available. My main concern is the ride and noise when I am driving around town.

Also, will the 10-ply be significantly harder to puncture than the Duratrac? Or would slowing down or lowering pressure be enough of a precaution to go the same places with both tire?

I have a standard F150 with the short box, so I would think the Duratrac wear issues would be less of an issue with my relatively light truck.

Also, another tire that was suggested was the Michelin primacy xc. I am guessing that is because I currently have Michelin tires. It doesn't look like a tire that would handle off-road driving, but it is rated as an "all-terrain" and Michelin claims it is designed for life on gravel roads. Does anyone have experience with this model? It looks like a 6-ply rating to me and I question the traction in muddy conditions.

I've been running E rated tires on a jeep jku for 7 years and with good tires they will ride just fine and sorry no experience with the michelin tires, but the Mickey's I've run and dick cepek are both made by Cooper and they rode well as well as MasterCraft courser ats that I've used also made by Cooper.

 

[ElkNut1]

Just did the tire thing myself here in Idaho, we have some serious rough crap here to drive on in many areas! I chose the Nitto Trail Grapplers MT -- Hell of a tire, you won't be disappointed with them!

ElkNut

 

[browning2480]

Nitto RidgeGrappler on E rated/10 ply is what I run. Great for on road or off.

Many of the tires listed in the thread are good also. Can’t speak to the Goodyear’s as I quite buying them 20 years ago.

Just make sure you go with a E rated/10 plyof whatever you get so they are tough.

 

[gelton]

I just picked up a new set of BF Goodrich KO2 today for my 2016 Chevy 1500...the current ones have lasted me 51K miles and they aren't really on their last leg but I will be pulling a trailer from TX to CO for 2nd rifle and wanted to be assured that I would have stopping power and be able to deal with snow if needed.

If you are looking for traction from an all-terrain, according to the overland guys, its really down to the KO2's or Cooper ST MAXX, with the general consensus that the KO2's handle snow better but the Coopers handle mud better.

I am happy with the longevity of the KO2's which is why I went with them...

 

[peddar01]

Goodyear duratracs for me

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Elkdreamer]

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.