Truck Tires

[bearpaw]

We have tried nearly everything. Some of the best offroad tires we have found are the interco's. We have them on numerous vehicles. But I am thinking about going back to Cooper STT's, they are more expensive but they handle 80 mph on interstate freeways better than interco's. The STT has good offroad traction too, much better than the older Cooper ST.

The old les schwab RVT's were some of the best off-road tires ever made, but they discontinued them and now have the bighorn, which is not as good of tire.

BTW - Good offroad tires simply do not last that well on highways, you will have to make a sacrifice in tire life or in traction. You never get it all in one tire....

[Intruder]

I've been hearing good things about the Hancook tires but have no first hand experience. 

While not a hard core off road tire, I've really had great luck w/ the Yokahoma GeoLander.  They make a 10 play that performs really well... only downside is they pick up gravel.  Good on weta and dry pavements, snow, mud, etc.  Last set on my truck lasted over 56K.  Supposedly, they have a new rubber compound that will extend tread wear... we'll see.  However, I'm on my 4th set (2 vehicles) and I'll likely buy em again.

[HUNT]

I bought Toyo MT (285's) last October and 24,00 later they need replacing before they are one year old.... They suck ass.....

A buddy of mine just went through his first set in a year as well.  (Chevy 2500HD)

25,000 miles out of mine as well....  $1400....  Crappy tires (Ford F250 SD)

[Rick]

The old les schwab RVT's were some of the best off-road tires ever made, but they discontinued them and now have the bighorn, which is not as good of tire.

The RVTs are still available. They're made by Multi-mile. Ole' uncle Les may not have them in the store,but they'll get them if you want them.

[Armadillo]

  get chains for traction 

[LOVHUNTIN]

I have went through four sets of toyo mt's 267/75/16 10 ply tires on a dodge 3500.  They look cool but don't really do that well off road.... but either does a dodge 1 ton

They only lasted between 25000 and 27000 miles per set but I drive on a lot of gravel roads around the farm. 

I just got some new bfg at's 10 ply tires and so far are a lot better on and off road. 

people with bfg's that were getting flats were these 10 ply tires/load range E?  This make a big difference.  I know bfg does not make too many sizes in 10 ply...so you need to compare apples to apples especially on 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.

[Mike450r]

I got over 60,000 miles out of my last Toyo MT's but I rotate my tires more often than I change my oil.  Properly rotating tires is vital and other than changing the oil in the differential probably the most ignored maintenance.

[Rgrady35]

Rotation is probably the best thing you can do to get the most out of your tires. They wear more evenly and are less likely to cup. I just bought a set of Cooper Zeon LTZ for my 07 Dodge 1/2 ton. They are quiet and hopefully will get decent traction. I had them sipped also. They cost about 950.00.

[rezboy]

Can't really go wrong with Toyo MT's.  Good all-around tires.  Have run them for quite a few years now and never had a problem.  Les Schwab just pulled a chainsaw file out of my right front tire the other day and the tire was barely losing air with that big *censored* in there.  10-ply is nice to have in the hills.  Have also heard that the Dick Cepek Mountaincats are good tires too.  Their a little softer, but ratings are higher on snow and ice than the toyo's.  

[Rick]

You guys getting less than 30,000 out of the Toyo M/Ts either have a heavy right foot or never rotate them.

The M/Ts on my 1 ton Dodge have over 20,000 on them and they still have 13/32" of tread on them. They came with 19/32" new.

If they continue to wear like they are,I'll get almost 60,000 out of them.

I'm not easy on tires either. I probably have more miles towing something than I do without.

They're VERY popular on the Cummins forums. Most guys are getting at least 45,000 out of them.

[bearpaw]

The old les schwab RVT's were some of the best off-road tires ever made, but they discontinued them and now have the bighorn, which is not as good of tire.

The RVTs are still available. They're made by Multi-mile. Ole' uncle Les may not have them in the store,but they'll get them if you want them.

Thanks for the info....

Some one asked about the Hankooks...I had a set of their mud tires, they went fairly well offroad, lasted fairly well, but I liked the Cooper STT's better.

The Intercos we have been buying we have been getting for about $600 per set of 4 delivered to the door out of a 4x4 magazine, then about 70-100 to mount and balance. But as I said, super traction, but shorter life.

[whacker1]

Ok, I have run 2 sets of tires on 97 F150 and 3 sets on a 94 Ranger and 4 sets on an old 83 ranger before that.  I spent a lot of time asking people about tires, hanging out with off roaders too often.

Here is what I found.

BFG mud terrain's last longer and perform better than most if bought in the right number of plys.  Many people under ply the tire, go with an 8 instead of 10.   Plus they look nice.  However, they charge enough for them along with the Goodyear Wrangler MT that I could buy an extra set of tires on every third or 4th purchase of alternative tires.  That will never make up the mileage difference.  I got 35,000 miles out of the last set of Dunlop's MT, but changed them out 5000 - 7500 miles early based on loosing a sidewall on a tire.   Dunlops claim to fame is that they are a very quiet Mud Tire.  Not the best performance off road, but better than many of the alternatives.

I replaced the Dunlops with a Pro-Comp - MT,  Their claim to fame at the time was a 3 ply sidewall instead of 2.  and at the time they were doing a buy 3 get 1 free sale, and it worked out to costing about $75 less for the set than my other choices.  Dunlops, Coopers, etc.  They are wearing very good.  22,000 miles and lots of gravel, and snow use.  tread depth is still around 13/32 vs. 19/32 they came with.  Pro-comp's performed pretty well, and I was fairly impressed.  I would sipe them more if I bought another pair, the factory siping isn't enough on a little harder tire for winter use.  The biggest downside, they throw rocks, but I have a 97 F150, so I don't care.

94 Ranger,
3 sets of Dunlop MT - 45,000 miles per set.  Usually traded out with 5/32 left on them, based on hunting season approaching.  Ranger front ends aren't known for great where in these years.    Again, main advantage for a smaller truck is that they are quiet and perform pretty well.

83 Ranger
My favorite tire - hard to find if available at all.  Was the mid-90's Wild Country MT.  Cross bar z-pattern.  Back in the day Les Scwab sold hundreds.  They were known to throw rocks, to be loud, but they performed well, and I ddin't have any problem getting 50,000 miles out of them.  And when I had the horsepower, they were turning, because I was young, and that is what I did.   I have seen them come out new in the last year on smaller vehicles, but haven't seen any of the bigger sizes. 

I am not a fan of the newest style of the Toyo Open Country M/T - They do not clean well in the mud, unless they are spun fast enough to spin out, then they start to clean.  Two of my hunting partners unloaded them on their 3/4 tons pickups, because they didn't where very well and didn't perform very well either.

I usually weigh cost vs. how many more miles I will get out of a BFG vs. any other brand.  I probably won't be using the pro-comps again, unless I hold on to this truck longer than expected.  I don't want a newer paint job getting tore up by rocks. 

I have been looking at the Cooper STT's to see how they perform.  They look very similar to the Pro-comp, so I can only assume they would be loud.  But tread design is only one of a few components that make them loud.  My other choice for a nicer truck will probably be the BFG.  But time will tell.  Still a year or two out before I change rigs. 

For those that have mid-size and smaller SUV's where tire sizes are a problem.  Our Explorer with the big rims, wouldn't take any of the light pickup tires, because the sizes were wrong.  We put a Nokian Vativa A/T on the Explorer and I was extremely impressed on the winter performance last year in feet of snow.  In fact they probably performed as well or better than the pro-comps on the pickup.  probably because they are siped like crazy.

sorry for the long post, but I am a little passionate about Tires.

[swanny]

Well my decision has been made, got a set of Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's put on yesterday. For as aggressive as they look, they are super quiet and provide a smooth ride. Probably be a week or two until I get on a dirt road, but so far so good. I'll provide some more info on them later if people are interested at all.

BTW...they look pretty good too

[zhunter]

The cooper stt have been a great tire i run them on my dodge 285/70/17. they are wearing very well not to noisy at all and traction last winter was great when the weather sucked snow ice mud it didn't matter the performed well.

 some of you emailed me on prices for tires hope you received them if not let me know.

[cohoho]

You guys getting less than 30,000 out of the Toyo M/Ts either have a heavy right foot or never rotate them.

The M/Ts on my 1 ton Dodge have over 20,000 on them and they still have 13/32" of tread on them. They came with 19/32" new.

If they continue to wear like they are,I'll get almost 60,000 out of them.

I'm not easy on tires either. I probably have more miles towing something than I do without.

They're VERY popular on the Cummins forums. Most guys are getting at least 45,000 out of them.

Rotate them every 3,000 when I change my oil...  I drive my truck like it should be driven...... STOLEN.......     Those tires still completely suck ass compared to good old Coopers for snow and ice and general crappy conditions....  Toyos are probably better for sloppy mud, but how often am I driving through that...  It is funny to hear a bunch of highway gods (on another forum) state how great these tires are...  and of course the snot nosed kid at Les Swab, whose snow and ice experience is his annual trip across the pass to the East...