What tires do people buy?

[gary_lucas]

I've got Hercules 265's All Trac A/T right now, they came with the truck and their fine at the moment.. But they are definitely getting old... I probably have 1, maybe 2 years left on them.

I was going to replace them with more or less stock 245's but then I bought a 5th wheel and I now need the extra weight capacity.

What do people buy, where do they buy em?

I live in Canada, but I can have things delivered to my US mailbox.

Thanks in advance :)

[CoyleJR]

Michelin or Cooper would be a good starting place to look for quality tires. I actually liked my Cooper ATR tires better than the Michelin and they were much cheaper. The Michelin tires rode better but the side wall seemed to flex in turns. I just didn't like the feel of the Michelin tires on a winding road.

Be very careful with the Hercules MIC (made in China) tires that you are currently running. When I converted my Dually from 16" to 19.5" tires I took a chance on the less expensive Hercules tires. That was a big mistake. The left front tire blew out and did $4,600 damage to the left side of my truck. The tire was in great shape and gave no warning that it was about to fail. Hercules would not do anything because there was nothing left but the bead ring. I also had three MIC (Marathon brand) tires that separated belts on my 5th wheel. The bottom line is don't buy made in China tires. Additionally, check the date code on the tires and insist on tires less than a year old.
Good Luck
John

[Yukon6.2]

Hi Gary
If it were my truck i would go with LT235/85-16.
Seeing where you live i would be heading to Washington to buy them,or pick some up on your travels in the States,tires are way cheaper there.
If you plane on mostly highway i'd get a Michelin LTX,if you plan on of road Michelin makes a tire with steel sidewalls and has a rib for summer,or a more open for all season,cant think of the modle but can find it if you need.
Toyo makes a good tire,bridgestone as well,Goodyear as well.The Michelin's with the steel sidewall i get recaped for my duallys.
Did you end up with 15's on your trailer?I have seen some Goodyear LT235/75-15 that have a load range D rating,and made in the States.
Good Luck
Thomas

[gary_lucas]

Thanks for the replies, I'll try to price them out next time I'm stateside.

I was originally thinking of staying with 265's given that my truck with the camper is technically overweight, but even with that it's still withing hte load range for the real axle so I guess it kind of doesn't matter.

Thanks for the info on the Hercules tires, that's food for thought too.
---

Edit, adding response regarding trailer tires.

Their 15's, I haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet. Probably do that next month when I have a chance to get stateside.

[rustyk]

I just replaced the Dayton 235/85R16s on my 1T LWB Ford diesel van with Firestone Transforce HT of the same size. Can't tell any difference in ride or handling. Both are all-season designs.

I can't complain about the Daytons (also owned by Bridgestone) - they lasted 10 years in FL. With around 70K miles, the Daytons still had ~40% of tread left, and that on the biggest van Ford made in '87.

[AKMark]

I run Bridgestone Duravis M700HD's in 235/85R16. Not the cheapest tires, but they wear nicely and do well all season up here in Alaska. I may sipe them just for a little better traction on ice, but it wasn't bad.

I loved my BFG A/T's when I ran them on my K2500 Suburban. They were good tires, a bit on the heavy side and noisier than some of their competition. However they never let me down and got me through mud/sand/snow/highway/anythingitriedtodrivethrough without issue.

[More Power]

...The bottom line is don't buy made in China tires. Additionally, check the date code on the tires and insist on tires less than a year old.

Good advice....

[Roy W]

I replaced the factory Bridgestone 245/16's with 265 Bridgestone Revos. They were okay to start with, but as they wore down (30K) they started to get noisy. I replaced them with Michelin 265 LTX MS2's and never looked back. A bit pricey, but a great tire. I should get 60K from them easily. Great on wet pavement, no snow in Florida (yet) and a good trailer towing tire.

[EdHale]

x2 on the Michelin LTX MS2.

[crafty]

Well, I have used GoodYear 245 Wranglers ever since I wore out the factory tires. I get about 110,000 km's a set and I like the kevlar side walls. I have never had a flat or even a slow leak. I run them at about 70 psi and they ride just great.;):D;):D

[mmiddle]

BF Goodwrich. I get 80K on Rugged Trail 265/75/16 Great wet/dry traction and good light off road traction. Also if you want a more aggressive tread go with the Rugged Trerrian very good offroad with no on-road sacrifice.

[More Power]

Just bought a set of Cooper Discoverer A/T3 tires in 265/75R16 size. $835.80 out the door from a local Tire Rama tire store, which included mounting, balancing and new metal stems.
http://www.cooperdiscoverer.com/
http://www.tirerama.com/

These replaced a set of Michelin LTX that had nearly 60K on them. The Discoverers are pretty aggressive looking, but are quiet - so far, and should work well during our Montana winters. The truck's handling appears to be pretty good too.

[More Power]

Got a couple hundred miles on the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 265/75R16 tires now. They are quiet, and the balance job performed at the local Tire Rama is excellent. I noticed that the tires required very little in the way of balance weights. This tells me that tire quality is pretty good. Jim

[gary_lucas]

Awesome information, tires are important. I'm likely going to spend some time next year pricing out replacements for the hercules next year.

Probably do it on vacation heading south next year and get the benefit of cheaper US prices.

[chessy56]

For my money, I'm on my third set of BF Goodrich Commercial T/A Tractions. Yes, they are a very aggressive tire for over the road use, but they wear great! I put a good 600 miles on my '01 Silverado weekly traveling between WI and IN for work. I replaced the last set at 108K miles. 2 tires were practically down to the wear bars (Colorado mountains and a trailer were murder on the new tires) and the other 2 still had a few thousand left on them.

The set before that went a good 95K miles and I replaced them before the snow started flying (wanted the assurance of decent traction before hunting season). I've run the T/A Tractions from BFG and they were OK too- but expensive and they didn't last like I'd prefer. I like the commercial version. Mine are 245-74R16Es. You'd probably like them too.

[6.2flatbed]

I like General Grabber AT2s

[gary_lucas]

So, tires shot... Had a shimmy in the back end for awhile... Asked mechanic, he put the hercules on the machine and they were obviously done.

Going to get a set of coopers, staying with 265 due to load limit concerns (5400lbs right now).

Will pick them up once I get over this stupid stomach flu.

G

[More Power]

Gary, I've had the Coopers now for a little more than a year, which included a snowy Montana winter. So far so good. Work well in the snow. They're quiet at highway speed, but you can hear them at lower speeds with the windows down - not objectionable at all.

Jim

[gary_lucas]

Good to hear, thanks for the info.

Just got my tires (feeling ok right now).

Shimmy is completely gone, tires look good.

Tire guy said the tread had separated and I was lucky I hadn't had a blowout.

He also said I shouldn't have been using the hercules for towing.

G

[chessy56]

I've grown accustomed to the BF Goodrich Commercial TA Traction tires. Mine are "stock" @ 245/75R16E. I get around 90-110K on them, which is mostly highway miles. The last set probably would've gone a bit longer, but I prefer traction in the Wisconsin winter months. They've lasted longer than the others I've tried, although they do have some inherent road noise being they are "aggressive". I'm on my 3rd set now and would buy another. They are meant for commercial applications.

[gary_lucas]

I've had the coopers for about a year now, towed to San Fran and back.

Great tires so far :)

[chessy56]

I've had really good performance from the BFG Commercial tires- available in all season and T/A Traction treads. I've been using the Traction treads on mine and they last well. I've had in excess of 100K on one set, usually somewhere between 80 and 90K. I do a lot of highway traveling and they're a bit noisy, but when you need the grip in mud and snow, they seem to do quite well.

[More Power]

Just bought a set of Cooper Discoverer A/T3 tires in 265/75R16 size. $835.80 out the door from a local Tire Rama tire store, which included mounting, balancing and new metal stems.
http://www.cooperdiscoverer.com/
http://www.tirerama.com/

These replaced a set of Michelin LTX that had nearly 60K on them. The Discoverers are pretty aggressive looking, but are quiet - so far, and should work well during our Montana winters. The truck's handling appears to be pretty good too.

Now at half life, I can say that I would not recommend them again for those trucks that rarely leave the pavement. As my Coopers aged and approached half-life, they became increasingly noisy. I just can't take it anymore...

I plan to replace them soon with another set of Michelins.

[jbplock]

Now at half life, I can say that I would not recommend them again for those trucks that rarely leave the pavement. As my Coopers aged and approached half-life, they became increasingly noisy. I just can't take it anymore...

I plan to replace them soon with another set of Michelins.

Jim, I had the same experience some years ago with Cooper tires on a mini van. Ever since then I've been running Michelins with no complaints .. The original Firestones that came with my 03 2500HD D/A were so noisy and rough riding that I swapped them out for Michelins at 9k. That set went 55k and were still running smooth and quiet when I put the second set on which are currently at 50k - also running smooth and quiet with plenty of tread left to go. :)

[gary_lucas]

Jim, I had the same experience some years ago with Cooper tires on a mini van. Ever since then I've been running Michelins with no complaints .. The original Firestones that came with my 03 2500HD D/A were so noisy and rough riding that I swapped them out for Michelins at 9k. That set went 55k and were still running smooth and quiet when I put the second set on which are currently at 50k - also running smooth and quiet with plenty of tread left to go. :)

Interesting, the truck is loud... Maybe it's the tires. No budget to do them in 2018 but their due in 2019 (7 years now... Wow... But only 60k kilometers...) Next year before we head to Disneyland for sure.

G

[JeepSJ]

I went with the Nitto Dura-grappler Highway Terrain on the dually and I have been super happy with them. I have about 10K miles on them so far. Quiet. Ride nicely. Improved handling over the Coopers that were on it.