Tire shopping

[Cubey]

I am close to being ready to buy a set of tires for my Class B van.<br /><br />I am on the fence about if I should stick to Highway all-season or go with on/offroad tires. I see myself perhaps going off road a little bit maybe.. but with a big heavy 2WD Class B, it's not like I will&nbsp; be going mudding or anything like that. Maybe down a dirt or gravel forest service road at most.<br /><br />My main concern is going to be getting the tire with the lowest rolling resistance in Load Index E/115 (2675lbs). I wouldn't go with anything less than 112 (2469lbs) but prefer E's which are the highest weight capacity tires they make in 225/75/16.<br /><br />Price is also a concern, with $180 per tire being about the max I can afford. I figure I may buy a set of 4 really good ones and buy a cheaper one (maybe $150) for a spare.<br /><br />I was considering Nexen tires from WalMart for $120/each.. sure can't beat the price... and they're Load Index E! But an unreliable source told me they aren't any good. Hmm... anybody here have any of the Nexen Roadian HTs? I may try them anyway since they are only $120/each and being Wal-Mart... nationwide road hazard coverage on them. <br /><br />Even if they last only 3/4 as long as higher priced tires, the lower price makes them comparable. So I may go with the Nexen Roadian HTs after all ....<br /><br />Others I am considering are:<br /><br />Dunlop Rover H/T (Highway All-season - $157 from WM)<br />BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain T/A (On/Off-road All-Terrain - $168 from WM)<br /><br />But knowing me... I'd probably end up rarely ever leaving pavement and wishing for better mpg tires... so I should probably stick to the Nexens or the Dunlops and stay away from the Rugged Terrain tires.

 

[dborla01]

try tirerack.org for ideas and ratings for your van.<br />Darrell.&nbsp; ps: good resource

 

[Cubey]

Yes... I have looked around on there some.

 

[dborla01]

how about costco or sams club also in addition to walmart?<br />just thinking...Darrell again. PS the smoother road tires are also a lot quieter.

 

[Cubey]

Yes, I looked online at Sams Club prices and they weren't so great. Not much selection. Prices were higher than Wal-Mart on some I think.<br /><br />No Costco here. I also checked Sears (I caught them claiming a car needed an alignment when it didn't some years back) and Discount Tire.<br /><br />I'm not so much asking about WHERE to buy tires as what tires folks here use and if they know anything about the Nexen tires.

 

[Cubey]

I am seriously considering "Cooper Discoverer H/T" from Discount Tire for $125/each. That's really cheap. The F150 I had for a while had those on it and it seemed fine. <br /><br />Cooper isn't a big a name as BFGoodrich, Goodyear, Dunlop etc but I feel they do probably care about their image and wouldn't make a complete garbage tire. <br /><br />They MIGHT be made in USA too since Cooper has a few US plants. I'm sure I can go back and ask them to bring out one of the tires for me to look at to see what it says on it. Some Google results say that tire is made in USA but who knows for sure.<br /><br />When I went in to DT and explained what they would be going on, he suggested the Coopers and said they'd be about the same as the much more expensive BFGoodrich ones at $177/each. The Coopers have 60k mile warranty too vs 45k of the BFG ones. $52/each cheaper, 15k more warranty and might be made in USA. And yes, they are load ranged E. Sounds like a winner to me.

 

[Guest]

I have BFG's on our truck with pop-up camper and like them a lot....and just passenger tires on my little Chinook van...I will replace the Vans tires with light truck tires when I buy next....<br />I would make a choice by the thickness of the sidewalls myself...that way you can keep a lot of the sway out of your vehicles suspension. <br /><br />I have never bought tires at Walmart.<br />Bri

 

[Les H]

My 1 ton bus/van came with goodyear wrangler " pro" tires on the back. They are a nice compromise between traction and handling, are loas range E and have lasted an honest 25kmi that I have put on it with half the tread left. I dont do serious off road,, but irf you hit a muddy patch of washed out nfs service road, you will be glad for the extra traction. And 4-6" of snow is no problem either if you live or travel in those regions.

 

[gypsydreamer]

<br />edited to say:<br /><br />Suggest you google Cooper tires for TT's.

 

[Cubey]

Well, I ended up getting the Dunlop Rover H/T at Sears.<br /><br /> Wal-Mart didn't have ANY in stock in the size I needed. Sams only had horrible "no mileage warranty" tires in stock. DT had the Coopers which i was weary of. (The next cheapest were $177 each!) <br /><br />Sears had the Dunlops on sale for $142/each ($160 reg price) and had 4 in stock today. That will do me for now. I can get a spare one next month. The shop said one of the tires had a bad split and probably wouldn't even make it home. I went ahead with road hazard warranty on them since I know how bad condition roads are and how people drop nails and screws out of their trucks.<br /><br />The Dunlops have a $40 mail in rebate for a set of 4 so it's an even better deal: <br />http://c.shld.net/assets/reb/spin_prod_698650201.pdf