best (in your opinion) AT tires

'17 3500 4X4 mega TD. Stock aluminum rims 8", not lifted. Looking for new tires, I believe 35s will fit. Considering BFG KO2, Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac, Nitto Terra Grappler G2, Toyo Open Country AT2. I drive a lot, 20K + miles/yr, and tow a 12K trailer about 25% of the time. Would like somewhat quiet tires, good tread wear, decent traction mild off road and snow. maybe somewhat self-cleaning in the mud. I am not a hard core off roader with this truck. What are anyone's opinions on these tires, and how did they work for you? THANKS!!

Tire sizes considered are 35X12.5X18 or 285/75/18. something bigger than stock 275/70/18.

 

comrade - bfgko2 wore out the fastest for me. 13,000 miles bald...( i live on top of a mountain at 9400 feet ) very good in the snow.

- duratracs are currently wearing great - 16,000 so far - beyond excellent in the snow, little noisy, might get a year and a half out of them....

- toyo all terrain 2 - lasted longest - 20,000 however, they are a little harder and were NOT that good in hard pack snow/ice. they seemed a little slippery to me. especially braking on snow packed roads.

above tires stock 18 inch 275 70 18

between 2016 2500 tradesman and a 2018 2500 tradesman

cheers!

 

I've ran the Duratrac and Tera Grapplers (not the G2) in your list. The Duratrac gave good snow traction but wore quicker than I'd of liked during the summer months and towing. Somewhat expected given the tread pattern. Terra Grapplers (not G2's) wore better but were worthless as teats on a bull in snow, mud, and wet grass. I literally got stuck in wet grass with them on multiple occasions. Hard pan, wet Dewey morning and an empty trailer and had to grab the short stick on the tunnel.

My next tire will be Toyo Open Country C/T (commercial tire). They carry the mountain snow flake rating which speaks for itself regarding cold weather operation and carries high remarks on durability. I have no experience with them but on paper they look really good.

https://www.toyotires.com/tire/pattern/off-road-tires-open-country-ct

 

I am running the Nitto EXO Grapplers, which are the Nitto version of the Toyo CT. They are wearing well, are not too noisy, and are very stable towing. I did get in a little snow in Flagstaff and they worked well.

 

Currently using Yokohama Geolander A/T G015, 235/85R16 and are wearing well with great traction in cold temperatures on slippery road surfaces with snow and ice, slice through heavy rain at highway speeds, quiet on the interstate, handle well in corners and do well for light off road use.
Been using them since first arrived on the market 20 years ago as Yokohama Geolander AT and have improved significantly which each new version/updated design.

Michael

 

I was a BFG guy for a long time and I was excited when the KO2's came out. Then I had to warranty them out after ~20k due to sidewall failure on all four tires so...running 37" Nitto Terra Grappler G2's now. They are nice and quiet but seat of the pants says the traction isn't as good as the BFG AT's were off road. It's still extremely rare that I need to use 4wd unless I just want the gear reduction in low for the rough stuff. The Nitto's are wearing very well and don't chunk the tread like the BFG's always did (and they throw fewer rocks at my fenders too).

 

I've had multiple sets of the Toyo AT's and currently am running the Toyo AT II's. Good ride, OK in the snow. Long wearing.

The ones I really liked were the Open Range by Mazama/Les Schwab. Way quieter than the Toyo's and great ride. But I took them back to LS due to the tread holding rocks. Not just a couple, a lot! I swapped them for the AT II's reluctantly. Both in 35/12.5/20.

I also had the EXO Grapplers for a winter, they were great in the snow and light off roading. They were a 285/65/20.

 

I had EXOs and they were alright but the got quite loud and a little rough as they wore. I recently installed Cooper XLT s. I’ve got a few thousand miles on them. They ride great, are quieter than the EXOs and come with a 50,000 mile treadwear warranty. Nothing I’ve ever run has gone more than 30,000 so we will see how these compare.

 

Toyo Open Country is my go-to tire on all my vehicles from the Jeep Liberty CRD, 66 D200, wife’s Expedition and my 2500 CC. Great wear, good traction and quiet.

If you don’t mind a little noise, Toyo M-55 is a great tire. Very heavy duty and almost impossible to have a flat. I’ve run a set of them on my 1995 2500 for about 4 years now, all over Alaska, on and off road with excellent performance and wear. If I remember correctly, they have limited size offferings.

 

I have Duratrac's also. I'm hoping to get 25K out of them; hoping.

My next tires will be Toyo M55's or open country r/t

 

I'm currently running a set of Cooper Discover AT3 40k miles on them so far and I think they will go another 10-15k. I hated them at first until I found a shop that could balance them correctly. Now I'm very happy and will probably get another set. I'm running 295-70-18's I plan to up size to 325-60-18's when I do. They are 1" wider and 1/2" smaller dia than the 295's which I feel will be better for towing gear wise.

 

How is the traction on the M-55's in rain? Does the noise indicate harder rubber or just indicate more aggressive tread?

 

What size LT and load rating are you running on the the Jeep CRD??

 

I have owned Nitto Terra Grapplers, Bridgestone Dueler Revo 2, Toyo open country AT2’s.

Out of all three I like the Toyo AT 2s the best they are very durable.

And they look nice and aren’t as loud at the terra grapplers.

The duelers are the quietest but aren’t that good for A/T

 

Just curious, what is ELT?

 

I appreciate all the input I have gotten so far, Thank-you.

Can anyone comment on sidewall strength? Reading through a lot of reviews, some of the tires seem to have a lot more sidewall failures.

so what I think I have learned so far -
If the tire has good snow ratings, the tire will have a more flexible compound and will wear rapidly on hot summer driving.

The Toyo open country c/t tires look pretty good, has anyone used them ?

I should have pointed out that I live in the southwest USA where road surface temps are quite high a lot of the time.

 

Coopers had a very bad rep in the southwest for coming apart. I do think they have addressed it, but the reputation persists. One of the reasons I have run Toyos and Nittos is the "three ply" sidewall on their heavier tires, not the ATs, by the way. Not knocking the ATs, mind you, I just like the toughness, and the lack of wobble with the tougher sidewalls.

 

Do you live in higher or lower elevation?

Anything that carries the mountain snowflake rating will by nature have a softer compound. Non snow tire compound harden in cold temps and traction falls off as ambient temp drops.

I know a few roustabouts that run the M55 that Don mentioned and swear by them. I dont believe they are snow flake rated, probably a better wearing tire than the C/T.

Its all a compromise, either iron wear and poor traction in mud and snow, or good traction and not so good wear. Tires are far from a one size fits all in regards to wants and needs of the individual.

 

i think he meant LT

 

The Toyo OC AT2 12.5/35/18 comes in two versions...an E and an F. Would I be correct to say the F rated version has a 3 ply sidewall and the E version has a two ply? I could not find this info on the website. THANKS!!