Van Tire Recommendations?

[skyl4rk]

I would like to replace the tires on my Dodge Ram 3500 van (RoadTrek Class B).

We do a combination of highway, local roads and gravel.  The best campsites are found 5 miles in on bad two track roads. So far we have been from Southern California to northern Ontario, so the tires have to work in everything from rocks to mud to snow. Currently in Florida but will be heading to the Midwest soon.

I am looking for recommendations on tires, where to get them and how much should I budget for them?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

For the best possible traction, and least chance of getting stuck off road, I would suggest different tires front and rear.  The rear axle should get some real off-road tires.  Something marked as an All Terrain or A/T rather than a Mud Terrain.  More conventional street tires on the front will probably give you better steering, but if you really expect to be dealing with snow, you might look for something with the mountain and snowflake symbols that means a real snow tire.  Whatever you do, don't get so called all seasons.  IMNPHO.

https://expeditionportal.com/head-to-head-mud-or-all-terrain-tires/

 

[poncho62]

Your Roadtrek probably weighs quite a bit. I would suggest you go to an LT (Light Truck) tire rather than passenger car tires......All Terrain tires come in P and LT ratings....I would go for the LTs, a bit more money but worth it in my mind.

 

[highdesertranger]

x2^^^. get LT load range E, all terrain tires. for max traction get mud terrains. I would keep all four the same so you can rotate them. highdesertranger

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Look at the Hankook brand. That's what I have *favored* for my future van endeavour.

Bookmarked these from my LONG list -- https://www.amazon.com/Hankook-Dyna...e=avp_only_reviews&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=7

 

[jonsun]

I bought the hankook 100k mile ones from walmart with load index 108 (pretty sure that's 6-ply). Not off-road worthy though. The goodyear wrangler's might be a good choice.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Goodyear-Wrangler-Radial-Tire-P235-75R15-105S/4404150

 

[Almost There]

I asked the same question almost 2 years ago!

Group consensus at the time was Michelin LTX MS2's

Definitely need LT and E ratings for either of our vans!

Mine came in around $200 a piece mounted and balanced. Strangely there was less than a $10.00 per tire price difference between running to Lansing for them or getting them locally...and that didn't include currency exchange...go figure that one out!!

 

[MrNoodly]

Use the type of tire you have until they prove themselves inadequate. If you get aggressive treads -- mud, off-road, etc. -- or even all-terrain tires, you might hate them on the highway, and I'm guessing that's where you do most of your driving. RoadTreks are heavy and have low ground clearance, so it's not like you're going to be off-roading. You'd get high centered.

I've had all-season tires on my van for four years. I've been up and down some crappy dirt roads.

 

[DuneElliot]

I've had BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain tires on my Yukon which sees most of what you are talking about yearly as it is currently my daily driver; it does gravel, pavement and some rock crawling. They have lasted so well (30,000+ miles and still lots of tread) and have great traction while still doing great on the highway. I love my A/Ts from BFG for my 3/4 ton truck but they are more expensive. $850 vs $1250...but either way you can't go wrong with either.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

One of the reason I choose the Hankooks was for the sidewall protection (the tire on my want list).

LT tire

 

[bullfrog]

I am trying the opposite. I am running the same street tire that came on my 4 x 4 truck when new. The cheapest longest lasting highest mileage tire I could buy. Since most of my miles are highway miles and for snow and ice I carry cross bar chains for the rear wheels. I do go off road but only 1,000 miles or so a year. Last year I had 5 flats, one or two each trip up into the Henry Mountains where there is lots of slate and sharp rocks. I did 4 trips scouting for deer and bison and carry a plug kit and 12 volt air compressor. Two of the tires were replaced under warranty which is mileage based. The truck gets a slight if any better MPG with highway tires probably because I carry a 1,000 lb load most of the time. There was a similar truck with me on all 4 trips with Goodyear Wranglers and he had no flats at the same speeds on the same roads and he was lead vehicle most of the time. My highway tires last almost one and a half times as long AT tires and cost even with warranty replacement less than half what the Wranglers do so I'm saving money. If I can afford the Wranglers I will probably buy them but only because of my off road trips and in snow Colorado Highway Patrol will allow me to travel snow covered roads without chains legally.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I would like to replace the tires on my Dodge Ram 3500 van (RoadTrek Class B).

We do a combination of highway, local roads and gravel . . . so the tires have to work in everything from rocks to mud to snow . . .
I am looking for recommendations on tires, where to get them and how much should I budget for them?

I drive a 3/4T, 4X4 pickup with camper, weighing ~8000 lbs.  It has BFG Rugged Trail LT265/70R17 - E tires with 60,000+ miles, so I am in the market for new tires.  Rugged Trails are great hiway tires, good on gravel roads (don't throw rocks), poor on grass, suck on wet grass, in snow, packed snow, terrible in mud (tread fills and they become slicks), nothing is good on ice (IMHO).  I drive about 75% pavement, 20% maintained dirt, 5% snow, packed snow, and mud.

This is what I am looking at (all LT load range E tires):

1. Hankook DynaPro AT-m (RF-10) - 5 aquaintances recommend them highly.
2. Cooper Discoverer AT3 - rated highest in above linked ExpeditionPortal tire test.
3. Falken Wildpeak A/T3W - Basically a clone of BFG A/T KO2.  More aggressive than the above tires.  A little noisier on hiway, not sure about milage.
4. Cooper S/T Maxx - More agressive, an all terrain/mud tire compromise.  Noisier on road; probably won't get more than 40,000 miles from them.

I would look at Tire Rack to get pricing on the tires you want and then shop around:  https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/tires.html
They will give you a good number for cost.  I budgeted $1000; probably will spend < $800 (mounted & balanced).  If you haven't had it done in a while I would recommend an alignment check.

April is (supposedly) tire sale month.

 -- Spiff

 

[Mattkcc]

I am trying the opposite.  I am running the same street tire that came on my 4 x 4 truck when new.  The cheapest longest lasting highest mileage tire I could buy.  Since most of my miles are highway miles and for snow and ice I carry cross bar chains for the rear wheels.  I do go off road but only 1,000 miles or so a year.  Last year I had 5 flats, one or two each trip up into the Henry Mountains where there is lots of slate and sharp rocks.   I did 4 trips scouting for deer and bison and carry a plug kit and 12 volt air compressor.  Two of the tires were replaced under warranty which is mileage based.  The truck gets a slight if any better MPG with highway tires probably because I carry a 1,000 lb load most of the time.  There was a similar truck with me on all 4 trips with Goodyear Wranglers and he had no flats at the same speeds on the same roads and he was lead vehicle most of the time.  My highway tires last almost one and a half times as long AT tires and cost even with warranty replacement less than half what the Wranglers do so I'm saving money.  If I can afford the Wranglers I will probably buy them but only because of my off road trips and in snow Colorado Highway Patrol will allow me to travel snow covered roads without chains legally.

I had the same trouble with flats when traveling gravel roads in the Ozarks. The crushed rock they use is the same stuff Indians made arrow heads out of. I solved the problem by slowing down, haven't had a flat for years, also needed fewer front end alignment's.

 

[Ballenxj]

x2^^^.  get LT load range E,  all terrain tires.  for max traction get mud terrains.  I would keep all four the same so you can rotate them.  highdesertranger

This is what I did for mine. The E rated tires are not only rated for the weight, but are usually 10 ply. They are going to be a bit more expensive, but I will bet they are recommended for the van by the manufacturer of the van as well.
Don't skimp on tires, risking your investment.

 

[Mobilesport]

This is what I did for mine. The E rated tires are not only rated for the weight, but are usually 10 ply. They are going to be a bit more expensive, but I will bet they are recommended for the van by the manufacturer of the van as well.
Don't skimp on tires, risking your investment.

Will the van ride rougher with E rated?

 

[Almost There]

Will the van ride rougher with E rated?

Yes, but if you want a smooth ride, get a Cadillac or a beamer. A van is a truck, you're not going for luxurious comfort here!

 

[highdesertranger]

well said almost there. I could not agree more. if you want a smooth ride get a car with car tires. if you want to get away from the crowds get a truck with truck tires(and by truck I mean vans included). highdesertranger

 

[SternWake]

What is the rim and desired tire size on this road trek? What does the door placard say to use?



I got AT tires, for the reasons many here list, and have not really gotten to use the all terrain part of them to any significant degree where now, 5 years later, I felt they would be a benefit over a tire like the michelin LTX MS2.

They look OK and give me warm and fuzzies, but I could have spent less for better road manners, less noise and slightly better MPG's.

Roatreks I have seen do not have much ground clearance, so burly AT tire for the occassional 'just in case' could yield little to no benefit, and decrease MPG while adding roadnoise and increase stopping distances on wet asphalt/concrete.

Don't get me wrong, I love the look and confidence of an aggressive off road tread that has earned praise from those who offroad regularly, but when 99.998% of the miles to be accumulated are paved, and ground clearance is limited......

 

[MikeRuth]

Just an FYI, a couple years back I had selected a tire I wanted on my E-150 when I got to my tire shop they refused to install them as they were not a 10 ply tire. Actually I was OK with that and selected the appropriate tire at a slightly higher cost.

so you might want to make sure hey are 10 ply right off the bat. I'm guessing the E rating would be equal to that as mentioned in above posts.

Mike R

 

[steamjam1]

It's going to depend on the total weight of your rig. If its a class B 3500 Dodge then your gonna want to run a Load Range E tire.