What tires are the best?
 

I just put a set of Hankook M/T's on my 97 and with 3,000 miles on them the back two are already showing quiet a bit of wear! I put these on because i'd been told that they wore well, but the little tread grooves in the middle of the tread block is already gone. It's not that i've been smoking the tires or anything, the truck is still at the stock power level, but i do tow a trailer most every day. I have had this same problem on my duramax. i have run several different tires and have never had very good wear out of anything. here is a list of what i have ran and the mileage i got out of them.

cooper atr's- 9000 and down to cord.
cooper s/t-c- 12,000 and bald
maxxis buckshots-14,000 and bald
maxxis big horns- 14,000 and bald
jetzon avengers- 12,000 and bald
dean m/t's- 10,000 and 3-4/32nds left
mastercraft courser m/t's- 14,000 and bald
mastercraft courser at2 - 15,000 and 1/16 tread maybe
mastercraft courser c/t- 14,000 and bald

just wanted to see if anybody wanted to give any advice on something that might last a little longer.

Crap!! How much weight are you towing?!

You may have to rotate them more often if you tow that often. I tow frequently, but not daily. When I do it's heavy. It also isn't uncommon for me to have a pallet of mortar mix (3380lbs) in the bed, a big excavator bucket, hammer attachment, etc. I always get at least 30K out of my tires. I've run the Cooper ATR's, AT3's, Mastercraft Courser AT2's, and right now I'm running Goodyear Wranglers, which so far seem to be wearing better than the others did. They definitely ride better, and grab better in the snow. Regardless, I suspect you have something out of whack or are doing something wrong to only be getting that low life out of them.

Running them at full pressure will kill the centers quick .... I hat Hankook mt's on F250 for 50k and still had tred left .... But I also only ran 50 not 80 psi ... And mine are 10 ply ... E rated .... You may want to step up to a 19.5 if your towing that heavy and that frequently. ...:c:

For weight, anywhere from the empty stock trailer, approx. 5,000 lbs, to a loaded 32 ft. dual tandem flat bed, approx. 25,000 lbs.

as far as having something out of whack, on the duramax i have rebuilt the front end once a year and get it aligned whenever i put new tires on. if i don't rotate the tires then the back will be slick and the front will still have about half tread or more. That is what it looks like is going to happen on the dodge. This is the first set on the dodge as i've only been driving it maybe 2 1/2 months and these hankooks have only been on a month and a half or so, about 3,000 miles, and the little grooves in the middle of the tread blocks are already gone off the rear tires but still deep on the fronts.

and yes i have been running them aired to 70-80 psi and they are 10-ply e-rated 285/75/16's

i do know that putting new tires on twice a year is aggravating.

And expensive. I go about ten months on a set of tires before they're starting to look like racing slicks, it seems like every time I turn around someone is telling me my new tires are shot and I need new ones again. I can't imagine what it must be like for you, and six tires going down the road is a lot worse than four when it comes time for new ones. :argh:

While I'm on things I can't imagine, pulling 25K with only an exhaust doesn't sound like any fun either. I'm pretty sure I could do it as my truck sits, but I'd have to whip the living hell out of it and it has a lot more done than an exhaust. So, I probably could... but I wouldn't. Must be really different with a stick shift.

Both of these truck only have four tires on them. I have pulled that much a lot with the duramax, but day before yesterday was just the second time for the cummins. No fun at all. I made it all the way down to 3rd gear and 35 mph pulling some hills. The duramax will hold 55 and i might have down shift to fifth.That night when i got home and unhooked i went straight to the shop and slid the fuel plate and afc housing full forward. trying to get a little more and still be safe until i get gauges in it. It did make quite a bit of difference yesterday when i hauled some calves.
I rotated the tires earlier and aired them down as, 4x4 suggested, to 60 in rear and 70 in front.

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i came up with 25,000 as the top end because the trailer weighs 6450 and with 15 bales at 1200 each the weight would be about 24,450.

I'm not sure why I thought it was a dually. Hm. Anyway, you do realize that the advertized tow capacity for that truck was like, 13K right?

yes, i know and the duramax was 12,something. I didn't have 2500 in my sig so i put it there. As far as handling the load the dodge does fine. It has the dana 80 hybrid rear end and overload springs. you want good trailer brakes when your pulling this though, because stopping that much weight is a chore. I pull heavy a lot more in the summer hauling hay or tractor and baler and sometimes a bulldozer that weighs 14,000. I've got a cousin who used to haul a 20,000 lb john deere backhoe behind a 3/4 ton duramax and a friend who hauls a jd 550 dozer behind a new 1-ton duramax. Probably the most i've ever seen anybody haul was 2 older john deere 4020 tractors on one trailer behind a 1-ton dodge.

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anyway, back to tires, what tires have you ran that you got good wear out of for the money?

Towing that heavy, I don't know that there is anything that will go better for you. I don't get anywhere near the advertized mileage out of tires, but my ATR's lasted three times longer just scrubbing the wear bars off than yours did popping cords. As such, I doubt any of my experience will be helpful.

thanks anyway. i'm thinking about trying some goodyear duratrac's next.

You might give Federal tires a look. I'm running the new M/T's. They're crazy aggressive and holding up great. I've been though nearly every brand and style as well. I think I paid less for the Federal's than anything.

Federal couragia? i've seen them, but didn't figure they would last very long.

Duratrac
 

https://www.dieselbombers.com/member...3-imag0321.jpg
Here is a pic of my 94. I love these tires. They are two years old now (this pic is when they were new). I do use mine daily in the summer pulling a trailer (lot less weight). I have maybe 10k on them now. I've rotated them property and they still look great.
I can get current pics & mileage if interested.
Also, very slight road noise. Nothing like my old Nitto Mud Grapplers. But it's there. For some reason my buddies Explorer (same tire) had more tire road noise tham my larger tires.?
Mine are E rated.
These will be going on my Ford when its current tires die. Also, another of my friends will be installing them on his F-350 after his 3rd set of Nitto Terra crappers gives out.
Can you tell I like these tires...
Rain- good (maybe diesel torque & lightweight reg cab)
Snow- awesome
Mud- awesome
No experience with rock or wet grass slopes.
Hope it helps.:tu:
DD

No offense but all those tire's are garbage except for the coopers. I would try good-year, michelin or event bf goodrich. Maybe also try going with a little less aggressive tread. These are aggressive but I had 40,000 on my f-350 with bfg mud terrains and I sold them with a little less then half tread. Also I always go with the max psi listed on the tire (no they wont wear in the center unless you have the wrong size rims). the only really good cheaper tires are Kumho road venture a/t's

You're not gonna get good milage out of MT's add towing heavy and you're just compounding the problem. Do you need the traction of a MT ?

thanks DD for the info on the duratrac's. Thanks oldmansimek for the info, i think i'll try the duratracs next. Tireman, yes, i know that m/t's won't get the mileage of at's, but i'm in the pastures, mud, cow lots,etc... every day. Do i need them every day? not in the summer mostly. Do i like having them when i need them? yes, positively. I have ran some at's but the wear was no better than their m/t counterparts, so why not have the m/t's?

Try the Cooper AT3's .... Not super aggressive but they will toss mud if needed ...i love them on my F250 ... And it actually handles the road nice too..:tu:

I got better mileage out of my ATR's than my AT3's, but I liked the AT3's way better.

Thanks for the input. That gives me another option to look at. I started this thread to see what other people were running and having good luck out of.

Also on my dodge 2500 I'm running Ironman tires .. there A/T's .. look just like the michellen tires ( LTX at ) ..

thanks for the info.

My Michelin LTXs are 7 years old, have over 70,000 on them, and well more than a 100 passes down the track. Still have good tread, and stick well enough to do mid 10s with them.

Holy shit!

wow!

these Ironman tires hold quite well as well .. and i got 4 for 650 installed here locally .... :rocking:

That would be nice also. What i want is something that will last a while, have good traction, and not cost a fortune. Supposedly the Toyo open country m/t's last good, but they also cost over $300 a piece. I don't really want to spend $1200 to see if they last any better or to run a stob in one.

they melt off.. been there done that !!!!

Might want to look into 19.5's .. they arnt cheep .. get steel wheels and some aggressive treads and you will go WAYYYYYY further :choochoo:

I have looked into them before. I've got a friend who's work truck is an f-450 or 550 with 19.5's. He wasn't very impressed with the first set that came on it. Do you know of anybody who has ran them on a 3/4 ton? How long will they last?

I had them on our flatbed .. 14.5' ... they lasted nearly 100K ... be he dosent haul 20K every day ...

others have lasted 50K and they haul nearly everyday ... :tu:

that sounds awfully good.

Well either go 19.5's or get a dulley ... Twice as much tire on the ground will wear half as fast .... Your really just putting too much on the expectation for a srw truck honestly ... But I too do understand ... Can't just go burly a good truck with good looks ... I would up a creek ,no paddles, no boat, no nadda :):nope:

thanks!

I know ... its not what anyone wants to hear ..... :argh:

Well the hankooks lasted 14,000 miles and are just above the wear bars. I tried the Goodyear wrangler duratracs were about the same above the wear bars at 12,000 miles. I have the federal couragia m/t's on there now and they are down enough that they are rubbing in between the big outside tread lugs. I swapped in a dually rearend Saturday and am thinking of trying the cooper s/t maxx on it next. Any thoughts?

Awesome tire. Great in the snow, little bit noisy. No idea on mileage, but I know they need to be rotated religiously or they wear like crap in no time. That all having been said, in the time it takes you to blow through tires, it probably doesn't matter.

That's true. When I called the tire guy in town and wanted him to check on the price for them he said " what for your only going to get 10-14 thousand miles out of them anyway."

I'm not sure that there's a ten ply tire out there that's going to make a difference for you.

I'm just going to say up front that I don't actually know what I'm talking about with this suggestion, so it may be reeeeally stupid. Either way it's a significant investment- but you may want to look into 19.5 wheels. This will allow you to run load F or G rated tires. You'll have to shop carefully because they aren't all created equal, and the compromises may not be worth the benefits if you don't get the right one, but we're really skating out of my park of familiarity now. The cost of entry, if you don't find a deal somewhere, is outrageous. That said, there are deals to be had, and it doesn't sound like this is your DD so there may not be any compromise for you at all if all the truck does is pull hay around. You may be able to double your mileage. I don't know, but it might be worth looking into. I'm not recommending this particular package, as I know the price is just silly, but it may be a good place to start your research:

Rickson 19.5" wheels and tires

It's not a silly idea, I have actually looked into it. After having drove an f-450 with the 19.5's I'm not as interested as I was. It chased every seam in the road and the first set that the my friend had on only lasted about 40,000 miles anyway. It also doesn't do well in the mud. This is my daily driver, but I pull most days with it. It's hooked to the stock trailer now and will be most of the week. I am going to put duals on it shortly though. I swapped in a dually rearend last Saturday after the Dana 80 hybrid messed up. I didn't know that you had to raise each side up so the oil would run out to the bearings. It was running out of the end of the tube when I was working on it but apparently was not sufficient to lube the new bearing. It lasted about 30 miles. :td:

Dura-Tracs are my tires of choice. Buddy had them on his welding truck and got almost 100k miles out of them. I've got 40k on mine and they still look new. I don't do a lot of hauling and I don't run them at max psi.