Hey guys I need some opinions and I keep bouncing back and forth. I have the following on my short list and just can not decide, nor can I find enough information.

I am looking for an All-terrain tire with a strong sidewall as I will be hauling my family + 8,000lb travel trailer. My Excursion is only driven on the weekends or during towing trips, I have a work truck I daily drive in and the wifes escape we run errands in.

Due to short tread life (usable tread) the TA/KO's are not high on my list. However their sidewall strength for towing in an AT tire has always been highly regarded. Both the Hankook and Bridgestone tires have had guys with heavier trucks complain about sidewall flex when hauling heavy. I do want / need an AT tire that will stand up to (normal) Alaska winters.

The reason I have chosen these is dealers close to me that would service / rotate.

Knowing I would clock maybe 5,000 miles per year on these tires what would you go with? Again out of these three, need actual experience not just driving but hauling with the load range E tires.

* BFGoodrich TA/KO 2
* Hankook Dynapro ATM RT10
* Bridgestone Dualer AT Revo 2

 

what measurement or guideline are you using to judge sidewall strength ?

 

Tire size? I don't tow anything yet so cant help there, but I have Cooper ST-Maxx 295/70/18 and the tread life so far is pretty darn good.

 

if you are only driving 5000 miles a year then I don't think tread wear should be your priority since the rubber will likely weather check before you wear out the tread.

since you mention " Alaskan" winter I would think traction would be more important then tread life. if it were me I would get a MT tire with Load Index of 117 or higher to handle the GVWR of the Excursion.

I have run both the Bfg and Bridgestone AT tire. I would call them a tie even though neither one of them stand out as a great choice to me.

 

All load range E tires, 3400lb+ carrying capacity per tire. The reviews come from reading up on different forums where guys have complained about the sidewall strength going from tire A to tire B feeling soft.

The Bridgestone Dualer AT Revo 2's I owned on a half ton but never towed on it. My buddy had them on his Ram 3500 MegaCab which he towed a toy hauler, and he constantly complained about them. I drove his truck a few times and there was a weird soft feeling you would get when braking into turns with his toy hauler behind it.


Tire Size : Debating between LT265/75/16 or LT285/75/16. I notice with the 285's they go up about 300lb's for additional carrying capacity. But I am not set on the 4.30 gear swap just yet so was debating on sticking with the 265.

 

What would be your recommendation besides those? My work uses Cooper AT3's and they handle HORRIBLE in the winter, literally slide downwards on a mountain road due to loss of traction.

If it's a brand I can get locally I would be willing to look into them. Problem with stuff I can't get locally is they want to charge 300+ in shipping to get them here.

 

if you don't like the Cooper AT in the snow I don't think you are going to like any brand of AT in snow, sure one brand may have some marginal advantage over the other in certain conditions but at the end of the day they all are limited by the All Terrain tread design. I'd think that just about any MT is going to be better then an AT in the traction dept just by the nature of the deeper and more aggressive tread pattern. I've used BFG, Goodyear, Nitto and Interco's in snowy winter conditions and liked them all. Go with the ones that are avaiable and priced right would be my recommendation. ( as long as they have the correct Load Index for your GVW of course )

 

The Cooper AT3's are weird to me. They last a VERY long time which is why my company purchases them. However they have a much harder rubber compound compared to others, which is when the siping would come into play I would think. I keep thinking of going with the TA KO2's knowing they are a softer rubber for winter traction but have a proven sidewall which doesn't flex.

I have personally never tried the Dualer AT Revo 2's on one of my full-size trucks, and never tried the Hankook. However Hankook I-Pikes are pretty awesome up here.

 

tire sidewall flex is important for ride comfort, traction even breaking, to much flex ( usually from under inflation or overloading ) can be detrimental to stability.

ever driven a sports car with 35 series low profile tires ? about as minimal flex as you can get as well as a horrible ride, fantastic directional control however.

unfortunately for you the stiff sidewall hard riding highway tire you are looking for as your ideal tow rig tire is the polar opposite of the flexible off road tire you want for maximum snow traction. you either need 2 sets of tires or will need to make some compromises. that's why they make AT's

 

And that isn't a bad way at looking at it. So if I were to go with a HT tire, any good recommendations for 90% highway with 10% gravel roads? I had the Micheline LTX MS/2 on a previous truck but for 230/tire I was hoping for other options haha.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ch-folder.html

Tire reviews.
2nd page halfway down.

 

I have not filled out the tire review that Mark linked to yet but I run the Nitto Dura Grapplers on my EX. I do not go off road or drive it in the Winter but have read reports from others who have been pleased with their performance on both loose surfaces and snow, I think AK has some of each of those.
What can tell you is how great they do towing, I know what you mean with wanting a solid feeling tire for that job and these deliver. Mine are the 305/70R18Es (35.28" tall) so I have taller sidewalls than a stock 265 will have and these are as solid feeling of a tire that I've had. I tow an 11,000lb TT 5 to 6 thousand miles a year and have had these Nittos for 2.5+ years. They are also the quietest tires I've ever had on a truck and are wearing exceptionally well. I have these mounted on 8" wide rims and have had them inflated to 65 PSI since day 1 with perfectly even tread wear. If they continue to deliver the same performance that they have so far I will absolutely replace them with more of the same, that is if I can ever wear these ones out.
I think the price of these may be about equal to the Michelins.

 

Been running the KO2's for several months now and I'm happy with them. They've towed 11,000lbs with no issues, although the car and tandem axle flatty have been more common and come in around 65-7000lbs. The original KO's I was never impressed with, but the 2's are a lot nicer. About 15,000 miles on them and no discernible issues with tread life other than trips to the drag strip that have worn the rears down a hair more than the fronts.

 

if you are driving 5000 miles a year, with 4500 of those miles being highway and 500 being on gravel roads,

how many of those miles are in winter or snow covered roads ?
how many of those miles are towing on summer roads ?
how many of those miles are towing on winter roads ?

the point being, tires are one of the biggest compromises we make on our vehicles in terms of performance as I vaguely illustrated earlier.

in a nut shell.
HT or Highway Tread is going to be stiff sidewall and tread with the most stability but least aggressive tread with the lowest traction resulting in a quite but produce the harshest ride. they last the longest and if there is any Mpg's to be gained these would be it

AT or all terrain are going to be a less stiff sidewall simply because they are expected to provide more traction then a HT and need to flex. they typically ride softer and are a bit noiser. they also wear out quicker then a HT.

MT or mud terrain will flex similar to the AT but add an aggressive lug pattern to the tread and will be the loudest tire while giving the most traction in snow, dirt, mud, wet roads.

if summer highway towing is your primary use then get a HT and they will do ok for those 500 miles of gravel road. they are going to suck in winter conditions.

if winter traction is your primary concern then get the MT, they will get you were you are going when winter dishes out the worst it had to offer. towing will be less then ideal but if your trailer hitch is set up correctly the wallow from sidewall flex is manageable.

if you want some of each, HT and MT performance then get an AT.

personally I have always been disappointed in AT tires, they just do not excell at anything. I prefer a tire that excels at what is important to me and I can manage the short comings of the traits it lacks.

 

I would argue against MT's providing the best reaction on wet roads over an HT, unless I'm misreading your intent/wording. I have yet to use a mud tread that'll out perform a dedicated road tire.