What tires do you prefer on a big truck?

medicshawn · Nov 30, 2009

I like the extra weight capacity and the 80 psi. I don't think the ones you ordered are a bad choice either. I hope they work out for you.

jcummins · Nov 30, 2009

I've been running Michlen LTX M/S...getting right at 65000 out of a set. But, I'm using my truck more in the mud, and these tires are not good in the mud. I'm getting close to buying replacements and will go with BF Goodrich this time.

Can someone tell me what is the difference between the BF Goodrich T/A and the T/A KO?

powerstroke444e · Nov 30, 2009

My tires of choice in the last 5 yrs has been the firestone destination M/T mud tire in 10ply. Between family and friends they have seen everything from 10,000 miles of plowing snow to 40,000 miles of towing before there wore out. They are not quite but handle loads, snow, mud and long 70+mph highway trips very well.

mojoinco · Dec 1, 2009

2 sets of LTX over the years. Lousy in mud (as per above statement), not so good on ice/snow. Good ride, quiet. See the next line why they are not as aggressive.

BFG: one of the Michelin brands. They bought out the tire side of the business years ago (still a BFG aerospace business). Have had the A/t a couple of times, including currently. Like them, but am interested in one of the Wrangler lines.

General: owned by Continental.

Firestone: owned by Bridgestone (the service centers are the old Firestone company).

Cooper: owns the Dunlap brand (non- motorcycle business). Also a number of other brands.

All tires have a code on the sidewall. Go to the DOT and look up the code. It will tell you what plant it was made in and by whom. And you thought only the tractor manufacturing and sales business was weird.

Try tirerack.com for reviews, though they may not have much for that large a tire.

om21braz · Dec 6, 2010

burnetma said:
By the way, I would rank my truck tire experience this way:
1. BF Goodrich T/A
2. Cooper Tires Discoverer ATR

How well do these tires do on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck considering they do not have a solid outer rib? Do they not wear the outer edge quickly? Curious as I've never ran anything much other than highway rib tires on this type truck. I'd appreciate the extra traction either of those tires would offer in bad weather/off-road.

jeffster · Dec 6, 2010

Well, let me say this about the BFGs. On my 1/2 Silverado I got 60k out of them and they still had tread left (I traded the truck in at that point). I loved them and have had them even before that. Now, fast forward a couple years to my 3/4 Duramax. I went with the exact same tires in the exact same size. Those tires managed to get 22k before Discount Tire bought them back under warranty (50k warranty). I replaced them with the Goodyear Duratracs. I was really disappointed with the BFGs as I really loved those things before. Obviously the dmax has a lot more power and is heavier, but I still wasn't expecting such a sharp decline in tire life. I would rather be buying tractor implements or cows or something than investing in new tires every 20k miles.

kenmac · Dec 6, 2010

Just put a set of Toyo Open Country tires on my 2500 Dodge. 285-70-17's. So far, I've been pleased

Diamondpilot · Dec 6, 2010

jeffster said:
Well, let me say this about the BFGs. On my 1/2 Silverado I got 60k out of them and they still had tread left (I traded the truck in at that point). I loved them and have had them even before that. Now, fast forward a couple years to my 3/4 Duramax. I went with the exact same tires in the exact same size. Those tires managed to get 22k before Discount Tire bought them back under warranty (50k warranty). I replaced them with the Goodyear Duratracs. I was really disappointed with the BFGs as I really loved those things before. Obviously the dmax has a lot more power and is heavier, but I still wasn't expecting such a sharp decline in tire life. I would rather be buying tractor implements or cows or something than investing in new tires every 20k miles.

Not sure if you got a bad set of tires or not but my experience in owning 4 diesel trucks, 2 F-350's, 1 F-250, and 1 3500 Dmax all of which were SRW is they eat up tires. I have 15 or so friends who also have diesel trucks from all 3 manufactures and none of us get over 36,000 miles on tires.

My neighbor has a 3500 Dmax SRW and the factory tires did not make 30,000 miles and he did as you did and put on the DuraTracs and they got 35,000 miles. Plain and simple is if you use the truck to haul heavy loads its going to eat them up. These trucks are expensive when you buy them and they keep costing money as long as you own them.

My last set of BFG's on a 1/2 ton were traded in at nearly 70,000 miles and they would have gone 80,000 with proper care. You are comparing apples and oragnes. A 1/2 to 4x4 weighs about 5,300# empty while even a GM 3/4 ton ( the lightest of all diesel trucks when compared to a Ford or Dodge until 2011 when they got the new chassis that is much heavier ) will weigh in at 7,200# or more. The tires on GM trucks are the same size or not much bigger when going from a 1/2 ton to a 3/4 ton and you are supporting more weight. Something has to give.

Chris

jeffster · Dec 6, 2010

Chris, no argument there, I agree. I was just not expecting that much of a drop. Certainly I wasn't expecting the same performance, but I should have made that more clear. I will say this about the Duratracs, I have around 20k or so on them now and I probably will get another 10k out of them, just depending. I am not hauling often, but I am on hilly backroads and that really wears them down in addition to the factors you listed. Biggest issue with the Duratracs is the wandering compared to the BFGs or Wild Country's I had on there before. However, the Duratrac has fantastic traction, so no complaints in that department. Fortunately, I work from home so I don't drive the truck much compared to when I was commuting, so at least I am not having to buy tires once a year anymore.

Is it so much to ask to have a tire with superior traction, great ride, unbeatable load range and will do at least 150k for wear?