What tire works for you?

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Onestep

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Hey all! I'm getting ready to hit the road fulltime in 3 months. I'll be pulling a 19' travel trailer with my Pickup truck. The OEM truck tires need replacing. What would you suggest? Current tires are P rated (passenger) and I'd like to replace them with something that would better stand up to gravel roads. I plan to mostly boondock. I guess I'm looking for puncture resistance and durability. Fuel mileage & quiet ride not are not priorities... but would be 'nice'.  :D

What tire works for you. Suggestions?
 
The right tire is the best tire you can afford to get. I still to this day keep telling my kids not to cheap out on tires. It is the only thing between you and the road.

With that said I would look at all the options that work for your truck. I would also be looking more at something like an E rated tire. I have a Ford Transit and the factory specs call for a load rating of around 3200 lbs per tire. There were not a lot of choices that fit the factory specs and fit on the factory rim.

I did luck out and found a set of BFG KO2's that have a pretty beefy all train tread and meet the factory load specs. So far I absolutely love these tires. I won't be going off roading any time soon but they have a great tread for mud, snow, dirt roads. The kind of places I might end up.
 
deadwood said:
I did luck out and found a set of BFG KO2's that have a pretty beefy all train tread and meet the factory load specs. So far I absolutely love these tires. I won't be going off roading any time soon but they have a great tread for mud, snow, dirt roads. 

Yeah, I'm not looking to go "off roading", my truck is 'only' 2WD. Durability and puncture resistance from sharp pointy rocks is my primary concern. The BFG KO2's do fit the bill. My co-worker highly recommends them too.
 
Get LT tires (light truck) rather than passenger tires. They'll hold up better under the loads of towing.

I get around just fine in my off-pavement driving with all-season tires rather than all-terrain tires. Right now I have Cooper Advernturer H/T's on my van. Their tread is somewhere between highway and all-terrain -- slightly more space between tread blocks.
 
I would recommend a LT load range "E" all terian tire from what you describe the intended use. you didn't mentioned what size rim you have. I would get a made in the USA tire from one of the major manufacturers. Costco and Walmart will get you the best road hazard and the cheapest price. highdesertranger
 
Last week, I installed Les Schwab "Back Country All Terrain" tires on my Promaster camper van...I love them! Quiet, E-rated, beefy, 60K warranty. Admittedly, I live in Oregon and there are LS stores all over, so might not be best choice for others.
 
I use E rated tires on my compact truck, a bit of overkill for my load rating but the hazard protection is worth it. The politics of the Discount Tire owner are abhorent, but they do a very good job at a very good price. I used the Cottonwood Store this spring to replace a full set. There are a few here in Colorado should I need service.
 
I went with General Grabber HTS60. (they also have an AT model with more aggressive off road tread)
1999 Ford E250 (3/4 ton van)

LT245/75-16 E rated

Made in USA

General is owned by German company Continental.
 
I have 15" rims so had a hard time finding load range E tires. I did find one brand. They are Nokian Rotiiva AT, (not misspelled, has two i's). They are 10 ply rated.
I never heard of them but they are a well respected tire in Europe. They are made in Sweden I believe. I just went to their web site and they are opening a factory in Dayton Tenn.
I ordered them through Walmart online. I have taken them on some pretty rough rocky roads, (like the road to the racetrack in Death Valley), and they have done well. https://www.nokiantires.com/all-season-tires/nokian-rotiiva-at/review/#product-review-navigation
 
Onestep said:
...I'll be pulling a 19' travel trailer with my Pickup truck...

Don't forget more rugged tires for the trailer.  :D
 
Not suggesting any particular tire but you should include a look at tirerack.com once you narrow down what you are considering. I use their site to get reviews and there's a tool that compares traction, road noise, etc so you won't end up with 120 decibel tires on your truck.
 
General Grabber AT2 is worth looking at. Some sizes come with 17/32 tread depth. Good beefy tire, good in snow too. Don't expect a quiet ride as they will develop quite a drone after about 5000 miles. Mr tundra came stock with Michelin LTX AT2s. I'm very impressed. It's basically a street tire that can handle off road. Quiet, low rolling resistance, capable off road, unbelievable mileage, expensive but with the mileage I get out of them the cost is lower in the long run. Still not what what you described as what you're looking for, I had to throw that out there...
 
Chief said:
Mr tundra came stock with Michelin LTX AT2s. I'm very impressed. It's basically a street tire that can handle off road.

I put Michelin LTX M/S2's on my van when I got it. It's an all-season highway tire that did fine off-pavement. One reason I got them was the low rolling resistance and quiet ride since most of my driving is on pavement. They're pricy, though.
 
I agree, they cost. In my almost 40 years of driving the most I've gotten out of any tire was about 25K miles out of the Dunlop radial rover AT..they don't make them anymore lol. Now with these Michelin first set got 40, and I never got mad cause they perform pretty good off-road..I didn't wanna get aggravated when my all seasons performed like all seasons ha ha. Very well mannered tire. The Michelin all seasons that also came on the tundra wear like steel, but the corners chunk right off on mild off-road rocks, and they just slide down hills on mud. For my driving, I'm sold until they stop making these...sometimes you actually do get what you pay for. I wouldn't expect them to hold up or perform well for extreme off road but that's not what they're for I guess.
 

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