Truck tire shopping

[ksnow]

It's time for new tires before winter gets here. 2015 GMC Sierra 1500, regular cab, long box, 4WD.
It has BFG All-Terrains on it right now. I have run those tires on the last several trucks. Always been happy with them, but was not impressed with them on this truck. Mainly in the snow on pavement, off road they are still good in my book. I chalk some of that up to the fact that these are 265 wide, and my older trucks had 235 and 245 wide. I firmly believe a narrower tire is better on paved roads in the snow, as it cuts down to the pavement better.
Current size is 265/70R17. Half wondering if 245/75R17 would give me better winter traction on the roads (they are a touch cheaper and lighter also). I don't do much mudding. 
I am also running load range E's, might switch to C's. I like the heavier side wall tires for bombing offroad, less worried about sidewall damage than regular "light truck" tires.
What are your guy's opinions of good all-terrain tires? Looks don't matter to me, I want tires that work.
 

[espo]

You can do a little free tire research by going to Tire Rack. Comm. Do a search for tires by brand. This will let you look at what each company has to offer as to type of tires and sizes. Under "specs" for each line of tire they will show you the measurements for diameter, width, Load ratings, and reevaluations per mile traveled. Prices are of course listed as well. They also give you an option to look at their ratings of a specific tire as well as customer satisfaction reports. Tire Racks ratings are based on their actual testing and give you ratings for traction in the wet or dry as well as snow. Their prices are often better than what you may be able to find locally, and they have a list of tire dealers in your area that will mount and balance their tires at a set fee. In years gone by I have purchased a few sets that even included wheels that they offer. In those cases, they sent them to me mounted, balanced and even have eccentrics for the wheel and hub on your car often thru UPS. I have no other association with Tire Rack other than being a satisfied previous customer.  

[ksnow]

Yep, been looking at Tire Rack the last few days. I think I have it narrowed down to either the same BFG's, or General Grabbers. Wasn't sure if there were others out there I might be missing. Or thoughts on changing sizes.  They have Grabbers in a C load rating in a 22/70R17 size, those are tempting me.

I'll add: New wheels would be nice, as the original steelies are starting to show their age, but not sure that is in the budget right now.

Edited August 26, 2024 by ksnow

[NOBLNG]

I like these on my F250. I haven’t off-roaded with them, but I think they would do pretty well. They perform well on ice and snow. They do tend to pick up stones if you do a lot of gravel.

[DJMar]

The General Grabbers are pretty good. I ran BFG ATs on my 1976 Blazer for years, then switched over to the Generals. I liked them well enough and they were cheaper than the BFGs at the time. I really didn't notice much of a difference in ride or gas mileage between the two brands. The Generals lasted for a good while, no real complaints. Decent off road as well.

I also had Cooper Discoverer AT3s on one of my 1991 Dodge trucks. They worked well, good wet grip, good in the loose stuff like gravel. I only put about 9k miles on them before I sold that truck.

Currently I'm running the Falken Wildpeak AT Trail on my YJ Wrangler. I really like them. The Jeep is stock and only sees light off road use, mainly forest service road and 2 track. Nothing crazy. The Falkens ride really nicely and aren't too noisy on the road.

I've always run a C rating on my 1/2 tons and been happy, but if you need the higher load rating for hauling, go for it. I agree with you on the narrower tire for driving in the snow/slush on pavement. The Jeep had 235/75-15s on it when I bought it. The Falkens are 215/75-15s (closer to stock size) and they work much better in the snow on the road than the wider 235s. It's just under an inch difference in width but the narrower tire feels much better in the slop.

[bobss396]

I buy all my tires from Tire Rack, I bought 3 sets this year alone. You can shop by vehicle, look at reviews and so on. I always get them the next day after I order and can have them dropped at a friend's shop. 

[iamsuperdan]

Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac. In 15 years of doing truck and commercial sales, these are hands down the best tires I've run, and I have swapped these onto almost all of my trucks. Pretty quiet on pavement, great in the rain, excellent offroad, 10-ply, and they're winter rated. Really the best of all worlds.

 

 

[von Zipper]

I need a more aggressive tire on my truck , 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Having friends in the tire biz, all my truck tires have been takeoffs for decades, so whatever I can get two or four of with decent tread in 225 or 235/15 is my favorite. 

If it snows, I stay home. And since neither pickup has a limited slip diff or 4wd, tires don't make a whole helluva lot of difference anyway.  

Edited September 2, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy

[ksnow]

Well, some times plans change and some times for the better. I found a set of alloy Chevy take off rims that are in very nice shape, for $400. And a set of takeoff tires that have 10 miles on them. They are P metric Bridgestone Dueler AT's. $75 apiece. I couldn't really argue with that. I will miss the LT tires somewhat, but my uses have changed and I don't really NEED them any more.

Thanks for all the input.

I'll have to get used to Bowtie center caps on the GMC truck. For the price they want for replacement center caps, I'll live with it.

[espo]

6 hours ago, ksnow said:

Well, some times plans change and some times for the better. I found a set of alloy Chevy take off rims that are in very nice shape, for $400. And a set of takeoff tires that have 10 miles on them. They are P metric Bridgestone Dueler AT's. $75 apiece. I couldn't really argue with that. I will miss the LT tires somewhat, but my uses have changed and I don't really NEED them any more.

Thanks for all the input.

I'll have to get used to Bowtie center caps on the GMC truck. For the price they want for replacement center caps, I'll live with it.

Check around on web sites for wheels and supplies. Years ago, I put a set of bow tie style emblems with a peel and stick backing for the centers on a set of GMC wheels. Tire rack comes to mind, but I really don't remember now, but they cost around $10 for a set of four. 

[ksnow]

1 minute ago, espo said:

Check around on web sites for wheels and supplies. Years ago, I put a set of bow tie style emblems with a peel and stick backing for the centers on a set of GMC wheels. Tire rack comes to mind, but I really don't remember now, but they cost around $10 for a set of four. 

I did just that over lunch today. Found several places that have them for about $20. Thanks.

[espo]

1 minute ago, ksnow said:

I did just that over lunch today. Found several places that have them for about $20. Thanks.

Well, it was some time ago so with inflation $20 might not be out of line now. 

[stavanzer]

Really, 20 bucks sounds cheap to me.

[ksnow]

12 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Really, 20 bucks sounds cheap to me.

Yep, I will order a set here in the near future.

[von Zipper]

On 9/2/2024 at 4:51 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

 

If it snows, I stay home.

Around here that could be a problem because if it snows and I stay home , Every one stays home.

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 hours ago, von Zipper said:

Around here that could be a problem because if it snows and I stay home , Every one stays home.

Do you run chains or studded tires on that, or are the grippy M&S tires enough?

[von Zipper]

19 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Do you run chains or studded tires on that, or are the grippy M&S tires enough?

The Only time I have to put the chains on is when we get an ice storm , usually some time in February . Id rather deal with a foot of snow than a half an inch of ice.

[Mattilacken]

Here if you dont run a studded tyre as Nokian Hakkapeliitta you run a studded STT pro. Sadly most AT tires are not legit to use in EU/Sweden even though they have snow rating in the US. 

best example of Hakkapelita is what @iamsuperdan sell, the Arctic Trucks AT44.

 

[ksnow]

In many states in the US, studded tires are illegal to use on roadways, as they are very hard on the road surface.

[Mattilacken]

21 minutes ago, ksnow said:

In many states in the US, studded tires are illegal to use on roadways, as they are very hard on the road surface.

They are here in some regions as well. And in manny citties you are not allowed to use them either. But here above the Arctic Circle most people use them or same tire but the version without studs.

[iamsuperdan]

We used to run studded Nokians on my wife's Volvo XC90. They were amazing. But when it came time to replace them we went with the non-studded version of the same tire. For no particular reason.