Not Sure Where to Post This, But here goes.......

[AL Farmall Boy]

I looked in the "Off Topic" section, but it seemed that it was more about generic discussion. This falls between Generic and Tractor Related. It deals with my Tractor Hauler.

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A/T Tires for a Highway Driver & Tower - NEED HELP

Guys,

I'm going nuts trying to decide on a set of new A/T tires. I am going on a 250 mile trip this weekend and will be towing a tractor on a 18' foot trailer. Then Next weekend I'll head farther to RPRU with a trailer in tow. My tow rig is a 2000 Ford F-150 supercab 4x4 with the 5.4 V8. I currently have some Uniroyal (plain) Street tires that came off my grandmother's Escalade to get me by for a while after I bought the truck. They are 265/70R17 and that is about what I'd like to go back with (unless you guys think differently). They do great, but are now worn out. I'd like to upgrade to some A/T tires for the better look, not too agressive though, and for the OCCASIONAL time I would get the truck and trailer in a wet field/slippery boat launch/slick dirt road/etc. when hauling a tractor. Most of my driving 80% is highway to and from work and hauling a trailer with (2) tractors on it. I also drive in the city daily (20%) while working. I'd like to keep noise down at the most, yet get a good A/T that isn't too agressive and that complies with good wear and towing.


I'm currently looking at (the tire store recommended):

BFG All Terrain T/A KO (was told they were soft tread and would wear out easy) - $1,208 out the door

Nitto Trail Grappler (My favorite tread pattern) - $924 out the door

Goodyear Wrangler Dura Trac - don't have a price.

Hankook Dyna Pro ATm - $922 out the door


I also do not want the steering wheel to shake and it needs to have good wear.

I've done research and searched the forums. I hear good and bad things on all of these tires, but have found no one with my situation. Can you help me choose a set of tires so I can have them put on by this weekend??

Thanks for the Input!

[Peter Person]

I've been running Firestone Destination LE's on our 2002 Chevy Astro AWD Van. We just put the 3rd set on it. Each of the previous sets ran 60,000 miles as advertised and we never get stuck in the snow.
My son is driving my previous company pickup, 2003 F-150 Extended Cab, 2WD, 6 1/2' bed, 4.2V6 with Firestone Destination AT's. They are a 50,000 mile tire and he is getting close to that. They run great and for the first three winters served well as snow tires. The ride is quiet. I almost went with them on the Astro this last time but decided to stay with the LE's.

Check them out.

Peter

[Rick Spivey]

I am biased, because I work for Michelin, who owns BFG. I think you would be pleased with the BFG's, and I don't believe or have any evidence of the tread being softer or wearing out earlier. The All Terrains have a long history of pleasing owners, and are highly regarded by off-roaders. However, I have run them on my truck, and find them to be very mannerly as well. They are quiet, smooth, with no wander or shake. To the best of my knowledge, all sizes in the line are"Made in America" at one of our BFG or Michelin factories, probably Tuscaloosa, or Fort Wayne. Good Luck with whatever you decide!

[ricky racer]

I'm sure Yogie will be along soon with some good insight. In the mean time, you may want to check out this website: http://www.tirerack.com/

It is a good site to compare different brands and see independent reviews posted by other customers. They don't filter out the negitive reviews, they post them all.

Rick

[gitractorman]

If you're mostly concerned with highway (on-road) driving, why are you looking at 4x4 offroad tires? All those that you have mentioned are fairly agressive tires. The BFG Long Trail is a better street tire, and will still give good offroad traction for typical "lawn" type offroading that you mentioned. Another decent tire is the Goodyear Wrangler series (although I pretty much hate Goodyear products). General tires are good tires too, and their AT series should be nice.

Don't bother with the Nitto tires, they'll wear out before you pay off the purchase. They are really noisy too. Yea, they look cool, but their pretty much crap for highway driving. The best one of the bunch that you listed is the BFG AT/KO. They're proven, basically bullet proof, and the choise for anyone who offroads a street rig, but you're paying a lot for something you really don't need.

My last vehicle, Dodge 2500 4x4 came with Michelin LTX tires, and they were by far my favorite tire. In 130,000 miles, I only used 2 sets of tires. Definitely get what you pay for with Michelin products. My new vehicle is a 2012 Pathfinder, that has the BFG Long Trail tire, and it appears very similar to the Michelin LTX, and seems to be wearing just as well. I also have pulled the boat up the wet, mossy, launch ramp many times now, and never once spun a tire pulling a 3,000 pound boat.

Good luck,
Bill

[Don McCombs]

I have Michelin LTX M/S2's on my 4WD F150. Very good tire. Good traction on snow, ice and wet grass. I'll buy them again.

[Gator809]

I deal with a city fleet of over 3k vehicles. They all run Goodyear tires of various flavors. Despite having city workers abusing....er driving them they all hold up great. I personally use the Goodyear silent armor tires and love them on my 2000 F-250 diesel with great satisfaction.

I was a tire man for 6 years before, and I defiantly will say buy a good name tire, they are your only contact and control your truck has.

Hank

[Rick Spivey]

OK, so I wasn't thinking straight earlier, and should have given more information. I still stand by what I said about the BFG All Terrains, but if you are considering the BFG's then you aren't too far away from the price for the Michelin LTX M/SII, like Don recommended. I run those on my SUV's, but my price is hard to beat! So I was not trying to steer you to a more expensive (purchase price) tire...however, the guys are right, the use you describe would be well served by the Michelins, being only occasional "off-road" use. They are quiet and comfortable, and with proper inflation, you should see 90,000 miles of use. The LTX A/TII looks more aggressive, but I actually prefer the LTX M/SII.

I've worked at Michelin for 32 years, and I can truly say they are the BEST tire available.

If not Michelins, then Bill is right also, you should at least consider the Long Trails, for a quieter highway ride.

At least look at the price for the LTX's (likely $1300), make sure all those prices include mounting and balancing, and then make your decision. Best of Luck!

[ntrenn]

For years I avoided Michelins for various reasons. That was until they came on the Aurora I bought 7 years ago. I've put 90,000 miles on more than one set of the tires and they are still going. I know they aren't truck tires, but I'm sure you can't go wrong with the Michelins if you can scrape together that much change. If not, Firestone tires have been a good second choice for me.

[outdoors4evr]

Tires are priced according to typical wear mileage. A 30K mile tire will be cheaper than a 80K tire.
I am sold sold sold on Michelins. They cost more but have great wear and great road contact. You probably don't need offroad tires, but a nice set of 80K mile Michelins will treat you well.

[CharlieK]

JMMHO a load range E tire will be better if you're haulin weight--I prefer BFG AT--they came stock on my 2500 dodge

[Tezell]

Rick Spivey is right on. I have ran Michelin LTX's for years and I repeatedly get more than 100,000 miles out of them. You will pay more and as almost always, you will get what you pay for. That is just my 2 cents worth.......I would always purchase the Michelins....they have never let me down.

[TexCub]

I'm on my second set of Firestone Destination A/T on our '01 Suburban. Seems to be consistent with about 50K miles/set. They're a nice quiet ride on the road, handle well and have just enough traction to get off in the dirt or grass occasionally.

Dave

[AL Farmall Boy]

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I agree that Michelin Tires are great, however I was trying to stay around $1,000 so I could spend more $$$ at the RPRU. haha. Having my truck is about to roll over to 200k (I talked to a guy last night who has the same truck all original with 374k on it), I sure hope I'd get 80k out of a set of tires and be able to put another set on it!!

He was telling me that Cooper is a good tire and the Cooper ST (more street tread), and the Cooper STT (more aggressive than ST) would be a good choice. WHat do yall know about those?

[Jim Becker]

My bigger trailer came with Coopers. My experience was not that good. Of course, trailers are a little different deal than on a pickup. A dealer in Fredericktown had a Cooper sign on the wall, but commented that they didn't sell many any more because they were so poor with warranty claims.