Hey all. I have a 2015 F-250 CC 4X4 PSD. My toy hauler is a bumper pull with a GVW of 11,700 lbs. The tongue weight is 1050 lbs, and I am using a weight distributing hitch. The truck has rear air bags as well.

I always used A/T tires on the truck for boon docking out in the desert. I was also told that the A/T's had a stiffer sidewall which helps with heavier loads. Well, sold the SXS and toys, so just using it as a camper now, and loaded with all my crap, it scales out to around 10,000 lbs. Certainly not towing heavy.

These all terrain tires are noisy, don't last as long and, oh yeah, they are noisy. For those of you towing with Highway tread tires, do you notice any tire roll or squirmy feel with them? I really would like to make the switch, but don't want to feel like I am losing a little control in windy conditions, etc.

Any input is appreciated!

 

My old Excursion scaled at 8080lbs (evenly split at 4040 per axle!) with my wife and I and 2 medium dogs along with my travel tools. I ran 2 sets of Nitto Dura Grapplers in 305/70R18 (35.25”X12.8”) and they were the quietest truck tires that I have ever used. That EX towed a 12/13K lbs 3 slide TT with 1680lbs of tongue weight for over 80K miles and it always felt very well planted and stabil. And I think those highway tires also helped to deliver better MPGs as a bonus.

 

Falken Wildpeak AT4 in 295/70/18 on stock wheels. 6.7 CCSB. I am only a little over15k when towing our small camper. Currently at almost 40k on these tires and I have nothing but good things to say about them. They stick to the road in all conditions, they are quiet and they are wearing great. I will easily get 60k out of these tires. These tires are 3 ply side wall and are designed for HD trucks towing. Not sure what kind of AT tires you are running now, but I can highly recommend these AT tires, and reading around, I am not the only one. I was pleasantly surprised at how quite they were... I hear more wind noise than I do tire noise, and that's if the radio is off... even with it on and turned down pretty low I still don't really hear them unless I am listening for them.

 

Thanks for the response. Those particular tires are already on my radar. Glad to hear you had a good experience with them and didn't feel any tire squirm.

 

295 65r20 BFG AT's has taken the place of 12.5x35 cooper AT's and also 10.5 width's on my F 350 cc lb, i also have airbags and heavy tongue weights, these P series tires are better for tracking,steering,no noise, better road handling, they are not as aggresive tread as say a terra grappler but still get around in deep squishy mud. ratings are higher in all catergories,
best boondockers were 37"s and really got the rpm's down traveling the interstate

 

For starters, I think you might be misinformed as to weight capability. A load rage E is a load range E, regardless of tread design. And a good "off road" tire will not have stiff sidewalls, in fact typically they are deflated to provide better traction through increased flexibility. Do various tires of the same load range have differing sidewall flex? Yes. As for road noise, wear and all that, I don't think there's a direct correlation to load capacity. I apologize if I misinterpreted your statement.

My take is, if you want to categorize tires into three buckets, you have MT's, AT's and Hwy tires. The tread type is going to make noise, some more than others. IMHO size matters. The rim diameter has just as much to do with noise transferred into the cab, which is why I'd like to run 18" wheels over the 20's the KR came with, BUT, the increased sidewall height will have more flex which is not desirable for towing. Aluminum is lighter than rubber so the larger diameter wheels compared to smaller, given the same tire diameter, will, according to the OEM's, give better MPG's. I believe that to be true.

If you are going to run Ø37" tires, as an example, it isn't going to tow as stable as the same wheel with a Ø33" tire.

I have run Michelin HWY tires(M/S2's?) for over 20 years, stock size, and have been very happy with their towing performance, tire wear, and noise. I would definitely not categorize them as AT's for sure. And I'm not foolish enough to think an 8000 - 9000lb CC diesel truck is going to be an off-road warrior no matter what tread it has. I'll probably get flamed for this, lol.

 

If you boondock offroad, you should have a good offroad capable tire. You can get away with a highway tire a little, but I would never do that. I agree with the others about tire noise. If your AT tires are loud, it seems like they're crappy tires, bad tires, worn tires, or very wide tires. There are many makes of AT, Hybrid AT, and mud tires that are not loud, unless your tire is extra wide. Once you get to 12.5" wide, I think you will hear any tire at least a little.

 

Every single tire I recommend, any brand, is generally quite noisey. Unless we're talking about DRW tow pig tires.

The classic Michelin LTX tread pattern was always quiet. Many brands have copies. You didnt mention size, region, or terrain. In my AO, we're on a Kenda kick right now.

https://automotive.kendatire.com/en-us/find-a-tire/cuv-suv-highway-light-truck/klever-ht-4s/




My trucks need as much offroad capability as possible. I dont know why every AT/MT thread turns into a dick measuring contest with lil jeeps. A good flooded road, or a muddy farm, is no joke. Lockers and MT's are a nessesity in my life. Getting my bike to the trail head, isnt hardcore jeeping, but a jeep cant get any bikes to the trail head. I loved my jeeps, but anywhere a fullsize truck fits, it was always the superior machine for the task at hand, when equipped properly.

And good offroad tires absolutely have firmer armored sidewalls. They have to be driven for some time at extremely low pressures to break them in, for good flex. I had a jeep that ran at 3 psi in snow. If we got stuck, we'd remove the valve cores. The downside is less wet ROAD grip, in an apples to apples comparison. This is part of why Firestone MT2's have good winter rating. Softer sidewalls.


Firestone Destination XT and Kenda AT2 would be my real recomendation for mild boondocking tires. Your rotaion schedule would be the key to keep noise down.

For rock hard sidewalls and tread, in a cheap towing tire with thin sidewalls, the Firestone Transforce AT is king. Generally in budget tires, adding some width greatly increases the tires lifting strength, giving a firmer sidewall feel. The skinny Transforce AT seems to buck this, a bit. Popular with evil van thing motorhome crowds.

These should be silent. I dont consider them an AT, even though, they worked well on my 2008 F250. I consider them a rock hard tow tire with excellent snow stability (not drive).

 

Nitto Terra Grappler G3's. 295/65R20. Not noisy. I learned real quick with the stock tires and a muddy campground that highway tread wasn't going to work.........

 

I believe the opposite is true. Going to highway tires will make it less squirmy. You might lose a little capability offroading in the desert, but the improvement on the road will be quite a lot.

 

An internet search regarding A/T vs H/T tires shows multiple sources claiming the reinforces sidewalls on the A/T tires make for a better sidewall with less flex. I however have no actual real life data to prove that as I have always ran A/T tires.

Regarding the Michelins...... do they still dry rot fast?

 

Actually, i stated earlier we sold the SXS and bikes since moving to Tennessee. I am waaaaay to old to do the type of off roading they do here. So we don't desert boondock any more. Thats why I am considering the change to H/T tires. I still have the toy hauler but for the last 3 years, the only time I have used 4X4 was to get out of my gravel driveway the few times the snow turned to ice here.

Current tires are Cooper A/T3's, stock size of 275/70R18. Can't wait to get them off my truck....

 

Really? That's good news. We sold the toys but kept the hauler, and now reside in Tennessee. I really have not felt the truck was not firmly planted on the ground with the A/T tires, so it sounds like the H/T would not be a change....

 

Funny you should ask this. It seems like most folks have forgotten about this. I won't buy Michelins, starting because of a set that I had back in the late `90s. I've seen the issue pop up from time to time since then, but I seem to hear about it less as time goes on. Last time I've heard of it was a few years ago. Unfortunately (and fortunately at the same time), I haven't owned a set in a couple of decades to be able to say from personal experience, and there are too many other great brands out there to choose instead and avoid the risk.

Yes, I hold a grudge sometimes, especially with corporations that handle their issues poorly just because they can. The issue in the late `90s was one vehicle out of 13 that were purchased as a fleet. This vehicle was assigned to me and nobody else ever drove it, except in and out of the maintenance bay at the fleet shop. The sidewalls on mine were badly weather-checked in about a year. When I asked the fleet maintenance folks about it, they told me they'd had more than half of this fleet have blowouts from the same bad Michelin tires. Same make/model/year vehicle, all were delivered at the same time, they could probably all see each other on the assembly line, similar light usage on heavy-duty vehicles. The Michelin and the vehicle manufacturer would do nothing about it.

 

A lot of the squirm in tires is the tread. Lots of highway tires have nearly solid tread on the shoulders to wear better with weight and cornering, and also to quiet the sound of the rest of the tread between the sides. The individual tall lugs that clear easily and each stand far from each other make for all that noise and enhance the squirm. Highway tread that is fairly continuous along the shoulders, and heavily connected and interlocked everywhere reduces both. Check out these two examples of these tires from the same manufacturer that both fit my 1999 F-350 PSD 4x4 CC LB: