Tires. AGAIN

[dpuckett]

I am beyond disappointed with the Mastercraft Courser CTS I got a year and very short 30k mi ago. They wont make it through winter, if they make it TO winter. Last set went 65k with worn kingpins. Now, I am at half that, with <20%. Needless to say, I will get something different.

I do about 80% highway/paved roads, 15% gravel, and 5% "get a tractor and chain handy, I gotta get through that slop to the barn." So, HT tires are out. I love the tread on the CT- they truly split the difference between an AT and an MT. I dont know if an AT would be quite enough in the now and mud I occasionally go through but these trucks do fairly well in the slop and snow, so they might. I have considered going up to a 19.5 strictly for tread life. If I can pay twice as much, but get 3x the life, it is cheaper by the mile.

So, what are y'all running? Tell me your driving terrain, what tires you have, miles vs tread wear, what you would do over, etc. i dont think 50-60k is asking too much from a set of tires in my use. I'm sticking with the stock 235-85-16 or a 245-70-19.5. I would like to go back to steel wheels with the next set of tires, if I get enough work to afford it. Road noise is not a huge issue, but I dont want my tires drowning out a straight pipe, either. I will give up a few decibels for traction and life.

[matthewh]

I've been running P100 tires on the dually, with really good success. Not sure who makes em, just says P100 on the sidewalls, there defiantly a drive tire, but they have been wearing good, 90% of my driving has been highway or local roads, some mud, couple months of snow and ice. Been in a couple of places doing things I should have thought against, but they clean the mud out good and dig. Have almost 20,000 miles on them since I bought the truck, unknown before and they still look new, I think I'll loose them to the sun, or weather checking before I wear em down.

Friend runs Michelin LTX with great success on his Super Duty. Has almost 90,000 miles on them, and there about 20%, he mainly drives highway to and from work, but his 9 acres is close to the water table, and its always muddy threw out the spring and fall, and any kind of rain makes a mess till it can drain out. If they weren't so damn expensive, id run em too

[BILTIT]

Have you looked at goodyear Duratrac? Around here all the oilfield trucks swear by them and they see alot of abuse, 90,000Km+ on majority gravel roads.

I run them on my truck too but i only put on 2-3000km a year.

[CumminsPower59]

Current set of Goodyear Duratrac's...they are decent tires. My next set will be Cooper S/T MAXX's. Supposedly a harder rubber compound, plus they are triple ply sidewalls. That's where my Duratracs fall short, I'm always afraid of puncturing a sidewall, as they are pretty flimsy on a 315 series tire.

[dpuckett]

For as aggressive as the tread is, I am impressed with the lack of road noise in the Duratracs. I wish I had gone with the 235-85-16 instead of the 265-75-16. They are at least an inch wider than the stock size Michellin tires we put on the wife's 04, both supposedly the same width. Had to remove the runnig boards, but I am also down to a finger width above the bump stops on my front leafs. I think stock height would lift me 3" all around. I am a bit disappointed with the cornering, though. Sometimes the tread or sidewalls seem to get squishy, though it improved at about the 1500mi mark.

[Remps]

I only got 40 000 kms out of my duratracs on the back of my 96. I am a little heavy footed though. The cooper a/tw's I have now are superior in winter driving. Time will tell how long they last.

[firstgenjunkie]

I've been running the Kumho Road Venture KL78's for about 2 1/2 years and almost 28000 miles. Mine is more of a 90% on road/highway and 10% off road at my buddy's ranch out west of here near Hondo. I've been happy with how well they give me grip in the sloppy mud, especially since I still have an open diff. That said, I did lose about 2 mpg when I switched to them.

Had you looked at the Cooper Discoverer A/T3? My buddy runs them on his ranch truck, a F350 4x4 diesel, and he's gotten four years use out of them. It does spend 70% of it's life off road and only drives 6 - 7k miles a year. They're about $160 each which might be too much though. Whatever ya get I hope they work out for you.

Rich

[dazedandconfused]

The best all around tire I've ever ran has been the BFG all terrain. I got 35000 miles out of a used set I got that were 3/4 tread. That's the best I've gotten out of any tire. They did great in the snow and slop that I ran the Duramax through.

[RumbleFish]

I just picked up a set of kenda mt's in a 285/75. They had decent reviews and were very reasonable. I really wanted the coopers in a 255/85 but it was almost an additional $300.

[dpuckett]

5000mi update.

Wish I had gone with the 235/85 instead of the 265/75. Had to take off the running boards, and they till occasionally rub on turns. The tread is a full inch or more wider than the Michellin AT2s on the 04. Both of them are 265s.

Otherwise, I am very pleased with the Duratracs so far. Mud AND snow traction is phenomenal. I used the 4x4 way less in the snow this year than last year (though I still had the hubs locked). Snow was similar, temps were the same. They will still do a 540 on the ice at 60 (road went from dry to ice in 50ft). Practically walked out of the ditch in 4lo. I did spin a fair amount getting out of a muddy barn lot, but still got out. Had chunks of mud on the roof. And pretty much everywhere else.

Road noise in a 1stGen is unnoticeable. If you had a gasser or a quiet cab, you could hear it, but no more than an AT tire, but with way more bite.

Tread still looks new, though I havent measured the depth.

Balance real well, too. Actually smoother than the Michellins we put on my wifes 04 (caveat- she has a TRE and ball joints that need replaced). If they last 60k or more, I will be super happy.

[thrashingcows]

I've been running the BFG Commercial T/A tires for about 5 years now, 235/85/16's. Probably have 40K + miles on them and I still have 8/32nds all the way around. And I rotate the five tires at least once a year. They are a deep tread to start though 11or 12/32nds. I do 80% city and Hwy, with the rest on dirt roads. I have never had any problem with traction in the winter...actually for a fairly straight line tire tread they do surprisingly well in the slush and snow.