I just removed a set of the Goodyear Duratrac tires from the front of my 1997 F350 DRW 2WD truck because they were getting beyond noisy going down the road. The problem was uneven wear and that led to the noise. I just recently had a crapload of work done on the truck including replace timing cover gasket, new water pump, new drag link, inner tie rod, new front coil springs, front end alignment and the two new BFG tires in 215/85/16.

I was wondering about reviews for the BFG tires since I can't seem to find many on the internet. There are zero reviews on tirerack.com for these tires and the reviews on the BFG site aren't good. The shop that did the work recommended the BFG tires and said they put a ton of them on commercial trucks and they have never had any problems with them coming back. They tire is definitely quiet and much smoother than the Duratracs I removed. I love the Duratrac tires which is why I am leaving them on the rear. They are very quiet back there and are wearing perfectly even. They provide great traction and handle my 3,800 lbs truck camper just fine. I'm sure they will get louder as they wear but they are fine, for now.

My truck originally called for "D" rated tires in 215/85/16 but I have been running "E" rated tires since I bought it and running 66 PSI front and 65 PSI which is what it called for on the door jamb. I get good wear and good ride at those pressures, even when loaded.

Has anyone use the BFG tires? If so, what was your experience?

 

My friend used to run them on his Chevy work van. They didn't last long and didn't have good traction in the snow at all....

 

Great info! For that reason, I kept the 2 Duratracs I took off for using in the snow. We don't get a lot here in KY but I travel to places that do, like Colorado. My problem is that my truck only has ABS on the rear so I find my front end wants to slide to the outside when stopping in snow. The Duratracs helped with that.

 

Ironic, the same friend also had duratracs on his 2500 truck and loved them but they wore out fast too. They were great in the snow though!

 

I think that's a given with good snow tires. The softer rubber tends to wear out faster. I can always throw the 2 DT's I took off into the rear rotation but, like I said, they make a lot of noise!

I have looked at putting the BFG Commercial T/A Traction tire in the rear and possibly selling the 7 DT's (brand new spare) I have. The traction tires are "D" rated in my size which matches the OEM specs. I have no problem with the DT's in the rear, so I am inclined to leave them on year around. I do travel gravel and dirt roads on occasion with my TC but that's not a daily thing. The traction tires get good reviews in the snow and off-road and they were my second choice had I not purchased the DT's.

My truck does not have an optional tire size but some of these trucks had 235/85/16 tires as an option. I am on 16x6 rims so I don't know if I could move up to that size without the duals rubbing under a load. I wonder if the rims were different for the 235's?

 

I dont know anything about dulleys, I didnt even know these came with skinnier tires than 235's..