Gun Dog Forum

Im in terrible need of tires. What has worked for you guys? i have run everything from high dollar stuff to non name brand stuff and it seems like the quality of tires (light truck) has gone down hill in recent years.

I have seenwhere several of my old stand bys have been changed or discontinued inthe last several years. I am currently looking at either a set of BF Goodrich All Terrains or Cooper AT3. I have had good luck with the BFGs over the years but hear they are not what they used to be and I have a set of the AT3s on my wifes 4Runner, that I am happy with.

I know that we all see alot of the same stuff in our driving so I thought Id ask here. Ive got a 2000 F250 diesel and I drive 300miles highway a week for work as well as about 20-30miles a week on gravel training and checking on livestock. Mud, snow, rain (most years). Also they need to handle our 4horse LQ trailer (12-16k)

So what are you guys running what has worked what hasnt? I will say Im currently running Nitto Terre Grapplers, and after 20k they are about done .

thanks
Jim

'99 F250 SuperDuty 4X4. Been running Hankook ATM 10 plies and love them.
Very quiet on the highways but good traction when conditions require it.
I prefer them to the Goodrich, Goodyear, Michelin, or Coopers which I have used on the truck.
They are priced reasonably too.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... ruck%2FSUV

A lot of folks around here run the Yokahama brand A/T S(SP?). I ran a pair on a previous vehicle but sold it before I found out how long they would last. I believe they come in both an 8 and 10 ply version.

Here is what I am running on my 2000 model 3/4 ton Chevy 4wd with a 6.0l vortec engine. They have been good to me so far and I drive about 200 miles a week for work on highway and then all our county roads here are caliche. I also hunt and train on a 15,000 acre ranch with cow paths to get into training and hunting areas. They have held up well so far. They have a 50,000 mile treadwear, a 3 ply sidewall, and an aggressive tread pattern. I run 65 lbs. in the rear and 50 lbs. in the front rather than the traditional 80 lbs. in the rear just for comfort purposes. I have load leveling airbags on the back of my pickup though and haven't had to tow or haul any really heavy loads yet though. They are 10 ply tires if I remember correctly.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTi ... 5&sw=false

I got my wife BF Goodrich for her explorer, and they had no signs of wear (80k warranty tires) after appropriate rotations ect at around 40k, they still looked like new. I plan on getting those again when she needs them for her new Yukon.

I put a set of Cooper Discoverer HT load range E on my '99 F150 4 or 5 years ago. I had a cab over camper that was too heavy for range C and D's were not available. They have approx 40k on them now and show very little wear. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another set when the time comes.

When I bought them I was told that Cooper was the last American tire company that was made entirely in the US. I have not researched that, but it sounded good.

RYNO wrote:I put a set of Cooper Discoverer HT load range E on my '99 F150 4 or 5 years ago. I had a cab over camper that was too heavy for range C and D's were not available. They have approx 40k on them now and show very little wear. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another set when the time comes.

When I bought them I was told that Cooper was the last American tire company that was made entirely in the US. I have not researched that, but it sounded good.

I cant speak for truck/suv tires but cooper makes a heck of a car tire. I dont remember the style off the top of my head, but I got a set for my 2002 cavalier when I had it at 30k miles, i gave the car to my mother when I upgraded. When it came time for her to replace a tire there was almost 95k on the set.

Corry

Fork out the extra and get Michelins. I have never had anything but superb luck with this brand. Be it on various cars and trucks they offer good ride, good traction, low noise and excellent treadwear.

On my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 I got 61,000 out of a set of LTX M/S and would have gotten more but bad wheel bearings shortened the life. The current set is a set of LTX A/T2 which has maintained all the great characteristics of the LTX M/S and added better off road traction with no notable increase in noise. I'm coming up on 65,000 miles but will be needing to replace them before fall.

Whatever you decide on, make sure you keep the vehicle aligned, tires properly inflated, and maintain a rotation program.

BF rugged trails do what i need them to do which is 90 percent towing....Ive always gotten close to 100,000 out of BF's.....

I believe there is a new more aggressive Rugged trail....

I'm partial to BFG's.

I really like the two Korean tire companies for truck tires. Kumho & Hankook. I had a set of Hankook DynaPro's on a suburban that lasted 75k. Also had good luck with them on a Jeep. They may not last as long as Michelins but they are much cheaper. Ford has them as O/E now I think.

Great value.

They are not cheaper for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup.......more like same price as BFG's I actually got my BFG's mounted on the truck for 10 dollars less (Per tire) than the hankooks of similar design sell for.

I have been happy with my Nittos, quiet ride compared to my BFG's.

birddog1968 wrote:They are not cheaper for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup.......more like same price as BFG's I actually got my BFG's mounted on the truck for 10 dollars less (Per tire) than the hankooks of similar design sell for.

I said they were less money than Michelins, but you make a good point they have gone up in price.

mcbosco wrote:

birddog1968 wrote:They are not cheaper for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup.......more like same price as BFG's I actually got my BFG's mounted on the truck for 10 dollars less (Per tire) than the hankooks of similar design sell for.

I said they were less money than Michelins, but you make a good point they have gone up in price.

They got ya when ya got a 3/4 ton and up..... E rated tires hurt , 185 a tire almost make me cry

I hope BFG allterrains still have the same compound and it was just a rumor. I was able to get 65 k with them on my excursion with the same 7.3 stroker you have. (You have the best powerstroke they made). I made the mistake of getting the Bfg mud terrain for my 99.5 7.3 f350 dually. Loud, wear out quicker that the at's but great in the mud and i think they lasted longer than the nittos did for me. My son has the Khumos on his 3/4 ton cummins they are great tires that last. but i am not sure right now what series they are or if make them in a 16" i will check when he gets home and get back with you.

I really like Michelin load range E Mud &Snows for going over the road. They last a long time. They seem to track well and the truck front end doesn't wander around, BUT...they don't do all that well in real slop. Especially when pulling a trailer.

Years back I put a set of Hankooks on my son's 1500 Dodge and they were awesome. Good traction, good ride, great price and they lasted forever. Don't know about their load rated tires.

Right now I have a set of Goodyear(I think) M & S's on my tow vehicle(3/4 ton). They have a much more aggressive tread than the Michelins, so I don't expect them to last as long, but they do seem to be able to handle sloppy off road conditions much better...so far. They were considerable less expensive than the Michelins. We shall see.

RayG

yea the Michelin are expensive, i think when i bought mine last year the Michelins of comparable design were over 30 per tire more than the BFG's.....

I don't have a recent price for others but the Hankooks I bough recently (DynaPro ATM E load range P265/75/16) were $175.00 per tire mounted and balanced. That's about $40.00 per tire less than the Michelins I replaced.

thanks for the input guys..... After talking to a buddy of mine who owns a field tile business and a few rural mail carriers, I ended up going wit the Cooper AT3s. Seems like they have all made the switch from BFGs to the coopers in the last year.

As much as it hurts paying for E rated tires, it hurts even worse when they are a 305 70r16 33x12.50). $242 a pop mouted and balanced. Ouch!

Jim

FWIW, i work in the oil patch up here in Alberta and have gone through a fare share of tires. I think money to performance ratio Hankook are pretty hard to beat. Also liked the Goodyear Wranglers. BFG's not what they used to be for sure.

Step down a size and reclaim some fuel milage.

I noticed my jump up from stock to 265's, lost a mile or more a gallon i think.

cooper discover At3 that what i bought and ranked highly by consumer reports

This is what I use:
http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/m-55
I had 60 k miles on my last set without a flat, most of the miles were in the Nevada desert. I would not buy a set of their all terrians but the M-55's are all together different.

After trying a pile of tires over the years, I will only run BFG All Terrain KOs on my trucks now. My current set has 84K on them (GMC Half Ton Crew Cab) and I'll prob need to replace them before the snow flies this fall. Also running them on my Yukon as well. I've tried Bridgestone Revos, Goodyear Wranglers, Yokohama Geolanderss, a couple Firestones, and Coopers - these BFGs toast all the tires I've had in the past. I will gladly deal with a little more road noise for a tire that lasts twice as long as any others I've had.

Toyo MT's I have them on my Duramax and i love them. They are a little loud on the freeway, so maybe you should use AT's.

I have a chevy 3500 duramax and have toyo AT's on it. They have been good and I will get about 50,000 miles before I change them out. I might have got more, but I learned that with all of the torque and horsepower in the newer diesels, the tires need to be rotated more. I am looking for some new tires this winter and love this post. Anyone have or had goodyear duratrac tires on a similar truck? I want something with a little more aggressive tread than AT's but not a mudder. I have been eyeballing them since I first discovered them. Thanks all for the thoughts, they are very helpfull.

John

RYNO wrote:I put a set of Cooper Discoverer HT load range E on my '99 F150 4 or 5 years ago. I had a cab over camper that was too heavy for range C and D's were not available. They have approx 40k on them now and show very little wear. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another set when the time comes.

When I bought them I was told that Cooper was the last American tire company that was made entirely in the US. I have not researched that, but it sounded good.

On my third set of Cooper Discoverers, got 48000 miles out of my last set driving several miles of gravel everyday. They are quiet on the highway, do surprisingly well in mud and snow.

I would never run Yokohmas, but that is just my opinion.

I have had real good luck with the Wild country tires and General grabbers. Also Dunlops.

I had BFG AT's on an old lifted f-150 I think they were 12.5 x 33 on 15 inch MT wheels and for me they sucked. I got several flats and they were fairly loud. I have an 06 f-250 with a 6 inch lift and nitto terra grapplers, they equate to like 35's standard measure. I really like the nitto's good highway ride, no flats, but they are "bleep" expensive. Just my experience