Truck Tire Time

[TAFKALVS]

I had terrible luck with K02s. I posted about it before, cliff notes: terrible tread life, uneven wear, sagging sidewalls, bad ride, etc. Got warranty replacements from discount tire and they fixed me up with Duratracs.

ymmv - this was on an F350, maybe I'd have better luck on a lighter rig.

Duratracs have been awesome on 2 Land Cruisers, 1 Isuzu Trooper, 1 Chevy 2500 and 1 F350. It's all I'll buy for an offroad leaning all-terrain tire.

[Danno]

How often do you tow, and what's the tongue weight of the trailer? If you don't know the tongue weight, maybe this will help:
- what's the wet (loaded, ready to camp) weight of the trailer?
- do you have a weight distribution hitch for that trailer? or does it just mount onto the ball in the receiver, without any additional bracketry or attachments?

I don't tow that often, maybe 5 weekends a year (though 3 years ago I did a 3000 mi road trip, and those could happen). I think the tongue weight is 400-500lbs. Loaded I think it weighs about ~3500, and yes, I do use a WDH.

[3PinGrin]

Thanks. What are you running them on?

I'm running an e-rated version on an F-150.

[MikeHunt]

Danno,
Check out the Falken Wildpeak AT3W.
Good price point and good on wear after 2 years for me. Great in snow, mud, sand, not the best on ice but acceptable IMO.

x2
love these on my Frontier

[snowaddict91]

Not super pleased with cooper at3 on our f150. Don’t handle snow that well and are wearing quickly

Agreed. Had a set on my old f250 and after they got about 10k on them they started turning into ice skates. I'd like to try a set of Cooper AT3W, but will probably go with duratracs or the Falken AT3W when its time to put tires on my new f150. I love duratracs in the snow.

Also, I'm currently running LR E Toyos on my f150. I think they ride fine, but I expect it to ride like a truck. I'm also coming from an OBS F250 though.

[Danno]

a few people on the Sequoia forum swear by the Michelin Defender LTX M/S. They say that they handle well in all conditions and have amazing tread life (thus mitigating the extra cost). Anyone here run those?

[MakersTeleMark]

Just get the A/T3W's and be done with it.

[Name Redacted]

In my size, they are expensive as fuck.

Lawyer driving a Sequoia complains about tire price.....

I got a set of BFG's installed this year for less than $1K. You don't need or want E rated. Get C rated. You get what you pay for anyway.

[El Chupacabra]

I don't tow that often, maybe 5 weekends a year (though 3 years ago I did a 3000 mi road trip, and those could happen). I think the tongue weight is 400-500lbs. Loaded I think it weighs about ~3500, and yes, I do use a WDH.

Get the C rated LT tire. It should be slightly better for towing vs the P metric size.

Also, when towing, you'll want to add more air to the rear tires of the tow vehicle to compensate for the weight.

[El Chupacabra]

a few people on the Sequoia forum swear by the Michelin Defender LTX M/S. They say that they handle well in all conditions and have amazing tread life (thus mitigating the extra cost). Anyone here run those?

The Michelin LTX is the first one that comes to mind for me, for a street oriented tire with good winter manners. I don't know if they get the 3PMSF rating though, which presumably is worth something.

It's not even remotely an off road tire, but that doesn't mean you can't drive on dirt roads occasionally with it.

In your position, I'd wait for the next sale from Discount Tire or Costco - there will be the usual sales around Labor Day or Thanksgiving, so you'll have time before winter snows to replace the worn tires.

[Danno]

Lawyer driving a Sequoia complains about tire price.....

I got a set of BFG's installed this year for less than $1K. You don't need or want E rated. Get C rated. You get what you pay for anyway.

A government lawyer driving a 2006 Sequoia with 170k miles on it.

[Name Redacted]

A government lawyer driving a 2006 Sequoia with 170k miles on it.

I figured that but still had to call it out. I sold my Taco with newer BFG's on it. They were probably worth as much as the truck.

[Norseman]

A gentlemanly way to exchange a Toyota. BFGs in n out.

[auvgeek]

Geolandar G015 is LT-designated in the larger sizes. Handles well in the snow. We have the P-metric on our 2015 Outback and they work pretty well in all conditions we've thrown at them but we don't do much off-roading, just the typical fire road stuff for trailhead access. The LT-metric has larger/deeper tread.

The G015 seems somewhat similar to the Cooper AT3/W, Wildpeak ATW, Dynapro ATM, Pirelli Scorpion AT Plus, etc -- but based on the tread pattern, I'd guess the G015 is better on wet roads and worse off road due to the circumferential grooves. Just a thought.

Pretty sure my moms runs those Michelin LTX tires on her 2014 Explorer. The guys at Discount Tire seem stoked on them but I thought they were okay, nothing special. As pointed out above, they're basically a street tire that handles alright in the snow without the 3PMSF rating. They were likely the best option for her since the Explorer went to super wide, low-profile tires and none of the AT 3PMSF tires mentioned in this thread fit that. Edit: per Steve's post, likely the MS2

[GeezerSteve]

The Michelin LTX is the first one that comes to mind for me, for a street oriented tire with good winter manners. I don't know if they get the 3PMSF rating though, which presumably is worth something.

It's not even remotely an off road tire, but that doesn't mean you can't drive on dirt roads occasionally with it.

LTX comes in different flavors: A/T2, Winter, M/S2, Primacy. A/T2 is the most aggressive tread, certainly not an off-road tire, but a very good rough dirt road tire that performs well on highway. (FWIW, CR gives it top rating for truck tires.) I can't say much about A/T2 winter performance because I swap them out for Blizzaks Nov-March. My bud has LTX M/S2 on his Sprinter RV -- tread looks like a highway tire with lots of siping.

[El Chupacabra]

LTX comes in different flavors: A/T2, Winter, M/S2, Primacy. A/T2 is the most aggressive tread, certainly not an off-road tire, but a very good rough dirt road tire that performs well on highway. (FWIW, CR gives it top rating for truck tires.) I can't say much about A/T2 winter performance because I swap them out for Blizzaks Nov-March. My bud has LTX M/S2 on his Sprinter RV -- tread looks like a highway tire with lots of siping.

I was thinking of the LTX MS -- the most street oriented one.

[uglymoney]

I was thinking of the LTX MS -- the most street oriented one.

I can confirm ltx ms2 is great for towing good for snow. Just doesn't have the off road look if that matters at all. We have used ours for slow off roading with no issues.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Danno]

Thanks for that confirmation. Don't care about off road look. I do care about the 3PMSF rating, which weighs in favor of the Falken, but it's not a deal breaker.

I think I am down to those 2 (Falken and Michelin). Don't have to decide just yet. Going on the White Rim in October so may want new tires by then, but may decide to get tires after that. And while the Falken's will save me ~$175 right now, there may be sales or rebates on the Michelins in the future, so I'll just keep my eyes peeled. Definitely buying from Discount Tire, but they usually price match, so I'll check tire rack and costco.

[GBB]

I went through a similar evaluation about this time last year. I ended up with Cooper ATWs for my 4Runner and couldn't be happier with them. Quiet on the road, even tread wear, and excellent traction in the snow.

[bodywhomper]

I’m still happy with the cooper atw on a land cruiser. Got the not E rated version. Over 20k on them. Road, wet, snow, slush, dirt, gravel, and some slick mud/roots stuff. My towing has only been short distances but usually relatively heavy loads.

Regarding the BFG KO2, I was surprised to see the relatively poor rating for winter conditions from the Canadian tire testing.

[Meadow Skipper]

Just get the LTX M/S’ and be done with it.

Fixed, according to me.

[Jason4]

I had to replace the Duratracs on my truck last fall and went with Geolander G015. I had considered the Haaka Rotiivas and Fallen Wildpeak AT3Ws too. The Yoko's did pretty well for me running up and down to Baker last winter through a few big storms and sometimes before or after the plows were running. One of the big drivers in my decision was finding a size that would work for me, I wanted to downsize from the 315/70-17s but mostly in width and not much in diameter so I was looking for a 285/75-17 which really limited my choices.

[Harry]

Regarding the BFG KO2, I was surprised to see the relatively poor rating for winter conditions from the Canadian tire testing.

BFG KO2's suck in the winter IMHO. Their rubber compound is way too stiff. I had a set on a 2007 GMC Crewcab and they were downright scary on ice or packed snow.

[2FUNKY]

Exact opposite of the ones on my truck. I used to run a dedicated winter studded tire and don’t after running the KO2. I even tow in the winter and have zero issues, icy boat ramps etc. One of the best tires going. They did change the compound, maybe that’s why.

[Foggy_Goggles]

In no particular order.

You guys should check out Hercules. Made by Cooper. Cheaper and out perform many other options (Coopers, Toyos, BFGs). I run the full redneck Terra Trac TG but friends have had good luck with the other models.

Sipe your tires. Rotate every other oil change at the least. If you are running light on dirt roads, put it in 4x. Make sure your suspension and alignment is in good order. It works. All of this makes your rubber last.

Replace your tires in the fall. Run them 2 years (max), throw them in the garbage. Big trucks eat tires.