Truck Tires

[idahohikker]

Hey all, I always buy tires without really knowing which ones would suit my purposes best. My dad, who was my go-to for these type of questions, has passed away. I'll do some research on google but I especially value any suggestions from fellow 'Sliders. My uses are mostly driving around time with a bit of highway and occasionally driving on some rougher roads. I value cost and would like something that can do the highway well but also handle rocks and ice/snow on forest service roads. I have in my mind the experience from last year in September where I was driving off a steep forest service road in the middle of the night with ice and hoping I wouldn't slide off. That is an occasional but important experience to survive. I don't think that the 10-ply or the more durable tires will be needed or price efficient for my use. I got almost 4 years out of my last pair of tires which I thought was okay but not great.

I'm a Costco member and have looked at their options for my truck (2000 GMC Sierra 4-wheel drive):
Bridgestone - Dueler H/T 840
Bridgestone - Dueler H/L Alenza Plus
BFGoodrich - Advantage T/A Sport LT
Michelin - Defender LTX M/S

Tirerack also has Kumho, Yokohama, and some of those brands. Some of those tires seem to be highly rated but I'm not as familiar with the brands so I'd normally opt for the more established ones.

I'm also trying to decide between 245 and 265. I've been running 265s in Bridgestones Dueler HTs.

Thanks much.

 

[DangerRanger]

I put on a set of hankook atm rf10 last fall before driving across the country to CO. So far I've been very pleased with them.

I payed 480 for a set of 265/70r17. They have a 50 dollar rebate right now.

My dad was not impressed with his last sets of bfg ko2 and is switching over to my hankooks.

I have 15k on them now and am very happy with tread wear so far.

Amazon will drop them at your door for free if you have prime


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[AdamW]

There have been a few tire threads that have some great info I've read a few times each. Google "rokslide tire" and you'll get some additional input.

 

[SWOHTR]

I can't recommend BFG KO2s enough. Had them for two years and 20k, have well over 25k left in them. They're great on FS roads and the winter roads in ID. You won't need to buy studded snow tires if you get them. Are they mudders? No. Are they street tires? No. They are durable all-terrain tires that behave extremely well on-road and are very capable off-road. I've picked up some 2.5" nails in them and no issue. People claim they wear bad...I'd recommend not running max air pressure in them.

 

[dotman]

My next tires will be Toyo AT or RT’s.

 

[idahohikker]

Haha I actually read up on the old tire forums (I should have checked those first but tires isn't the sexiest of hunting topics) and now I'm just more confused--everybody has a different opinion on the ideal tire. Back to the drawing board... I found some ratings on TireRack for traction, drivability, etc. Is there another good source to see different ratings for tires?

 

[Squirrel Master]

I run Toyo AT's on mine. Good on the highway, good in mud, and hold up well in south and west Texas with all the cactus and mesquite thorns, although mesquite thorns will punch through just about anything if it hits it just right.

 

[N2TRKYS]

My next set will either be BFG ATs or Falken Wildpeak AT. I’ve never had the Falkens, but have read good things from several different places.

 

[FLAK]

I've always liked the BFG AT's,

 

[dtrkyman]

I have had several sets of Bridgestone duelers, a few different versions of their at tires. They wear great and ride good on the road, off road they are sufficient, I am not willing to listen to an MT tire all year when I drive so much on the highway!

If I didnt drive across country often I would run an mt.

 

[Tony Trietch]

Those Michelin LTX M/S are great on ice and snow but not in clay or mud. No experience with the others.

I had two Good year Wranglers have sidewall failures last fall at very inappropriate times.
No Goodyear recommendations from me.

 

[idahohikker]

Thoughts on 245 vs 265. I only hear guys talk about how the 265s look bigger. Are there performance and traction differences? Thanks for the responses.

 

[Brendan]

Thoughts on 245 vs 265. I only hear guys talk about how the 265s look bigger. Are there performance and traction differences? Thanks for the responses.

245 or 265 is the width of the tread in mm.

E.g. 265/45-17 would be a 265mm tread width, 45% of that is the height of the rubber (outer edge of tire to rim), 17 inches is rim diameter.

 

[ReddingArcher]

I’ve got cooper all terrains on my half ton Ram right now and will probably buy them again at the end of summer. I don’t have a ton of time in the snow with them but they did fine when I was in the snow. Most of my driving is highway for work but I’ve got right at 60,000 miles on them right now.

 

[MO_flatlander]

Tall skinny tires is a popular"overlanding" thing. Tons of info about skinny vs wide on expedition portal. "Skinny" tires on a Full-Size? | Expedition Portal

On my 05 Silverado I had a set of 275/70r17s for a little taller tire. With a little torsion bar crank I never had any clearance issues.

First set of tires was nitto Terra grapplers. They were decent in snow, fine on gravel, however would fill up with our Missouri clay when it was wet. I got about 50k out of them.

Second set was bfg ko2s. Loved those tires, put about 20k on them then sadly the truck was rusting apart.

New truck has Nitto ridge grapplers(not on your list) but they are kinda a mix between a mud tire and a all terrain. Have about 3k on the current set and really like them. Not too loud, but do have a slight hum at 70mph plus.



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[tttoadman]

I always get the heaviest rated sidewall possible. the 10 ply tires are more forgiving to the changes in heavy vs empty. Leave room to run a set of ice breaker chains on the front. Your mileage will improve with narrower 10 ply tires. You just won’t look as cool.

 

[Normafan]

I have been very happy with the Goodyer Wrangler Duratracks

 

[rickjames80]

I don't have any experience with the tire you listed, but here is my experience with 3 tires that I have run.
Hankook Dynapro- Overall good tire ran them for 10k miles before selling truck. Tough tire and wore well. I noticed that ice/snow traction was great when new, but fell off after 5k's worth of miles
Cooper ST- Good tire for mud/dirt, but didn't work as well in ice/snow. Wore faster than the Hankooks and had more road noise. Traction fell off faster and faster as miles were put on. Total of 25k miles, then ruined one while stuck. Chewed it up trying to get out.... (shit happens)
Toyo AT II- Honestly my favorite tire to date. I have about 10k on em and look almost new. Ice/snow traction is good. Less time in 4wd than with the other two. I haven't really used in mud/dirt yet, but assume they would do well.
The Cooper and Hankook's were on a 3/4 ton Chevy ex-cab and the Toyo's are on my 05 suburban. No flats or other isses with any of the three tires and they all were 10-ply

 

[Ursus1975]

Toyo open country AT's you'll thank me later.

 

[Laelkhunter]

idahohikker, of the ones you mentioned the Michelin Defender shines above the rest. A tire often overlooked, but quite close if not better than the Michelin is the Kumho Crugen HT51. The Kumho has a higher rating in every category, plus it has the "3 Peak Mountain Snowflake" rating for snow performance (compare that rating to other tires in it's class for snow). On Tirerack, it is $50 cheaper per tire than the Michelin.