I've had good experiences with BFG A/T's for as long as I can remember (25 plus years on 4-5 different rigs). I knew I was coming up on needing a new set of tires soon (tread depth was getting pretty thin). Was trying to squeeze it through summer, and have a fresh set on before snow fall. Drove out of town yesterday and noticed a vibration starting in the truck. On the way back to town, the vibration became very pronounced. Went to crawl under the front end this morning to see if my steering stabilizer fell off, and noticed my driver's front tire was very badly cracked all the way around where the tread meets the sidewall. Ends up I had a belt separating in the tire.

Made a few phone calls and short trip to Sam's Club, and 4 new BFG A/T KO2's are mounted, balanced and installed. I went with a slightly larger tire from stock. 265 70 17's instead of the stock 245 75 17's. Last set were KO's, not the newer KO2's. This set I noticed right away they were a quieter tire than the KO tread pattern. I wanted to try the KO2's as they're supposed to be a better winter tire. Never had any problems with winter traction in the KO's, so we'll see.

Last set was almost 5 calendar years old, and 46K road miles. We'll see what we get out of this set. Same load rating, and specific weight rating is 3195 lbs per tire, just like the previous set, so no gain or loss there.

Oh, and the trip home from Sam's Club, zero vibration, truck drove smooth as glass again.

 

I've never had good luck with the BFG A/T KOs. A new set of KO2s came on my truck when I purchased it a couple months ago. Definitely an improvement over the KOs. Time will tell how well they hold up, but even if they are significantly better, I still can't justify the premium price these things come with to ever buy them again.

 

Mine were $228 a piece with $80 off on the set. Not sure I'd call that a "premium" price. I've always found that the key to these tires was keeping them balanced and rotated regularly.

 

I went with KO2 shortly before trading my 2014. Kept them and had the dealer switch them over to my 2016. I'm happy so far. I have a friend that manages a tire store and feel that I got a fair deal.
I can tell you that the ride is much better than the Firestone Transforce AT they replaced. Time will tell how good they hold up. I don't mind paying a little more if the quality is there.
I've been getting my oil changes done every 5k at the dealer because it's actually cheaper than the fast lube place I'd used for years. Plus, Ford now has a record of the services performed if there are issues in the future. They rotate the tires at every oil change, which the fast lube place never, ever did.

 

Poncho,

I was having the dealer rotate my tires at every oil change too. Was getting my oil changed for free, and they charged small fee to rotate my tires. Only problem is, they weren't checking the balance like I thought they were. Not sure if this contributed to the problem or not. I did not find out until the last rotation that they weren't rebalancing them. I was noticing some faint, light cupping of the tread right at the very outside edge of the tires, and asked them about it when I took it in 1K miles ago. The guy told me if I didn't specifically see a separate charge on there for "balancing", that they weren't balancing my tires. Even though every time I made the appointment to bring the truck in, I always said "rotate and rebalance" on the phone.

I'll be having this set rotated and rebalanced at Sam's Club now, they will do it for free for the life of the set.

 

I put BFG ATs KOs on all my trucks and have had good luck with them . My current set has 48k on them and they still have 5/32nd tread left. I plan on replacing them before hunting season though with some of the new KO2s. Dealer just quoted me $1100 after rebate for 4 285/70/17s.

I rotate mine every 5k and keep the pressure around 65lbs when not towing/hauling. I don't balance them everytime unless I notice a vibration or uneven wear.

 

Check out Sam's Club fordman,

After discounts, mine were $208 a tire for the set of 4.

 

I have no input on the ko2's, I've never ran them. But I've ran many sets of the Ko's. For a long time, I think they set the standard, always got great mileage out of them and liked the looks. But I went with nitto ridge grapplers this time, and I can honestly say they are light years ahead. The traction is superb, they are quieter and smoother, and much more aggressive looking. All of this in a tire that is 5" taller and 2" wider than the ko's sitting in my garage with less than 15k on them. Time will tell with mileage. I hope the ko2's are better, because I believe the ko's are out dated in comparison to some of the new tires that are out.

 

Cooper m&s. best snow and ice tire.

 

I went from the KO to the KO2. Quieter tire, smoother ride, better snow and ice traction. Only 15k so far, but they don't appear to be wearing out fast.

Overall, I like them.

 

I didn't like the pricing on the BFG's so I went to Discount tire and bought Corsa tires although mine are the 16" not 17", but mine were $110 ea. Good deal I thought, they ride well and aren't very loud on the road either.

 

BFG set the standard with their AT...over 20 years ago. Remember Jurassic Park (1993)? Remember the OWL tires on every vehicle? Yeah.

They let their design and technology stagnate, and today, many manufacturers make a superior all-terrain at a significantly cheaper price point. That being said, if you guys are happy with them then don't mind me, but I highly recommend you look around at other options next time they start wearing thin.

 

I sell a lot of the ko2's. my price would have been $250 each installed on those.

 

I was in the waiting room and the truck wasn't visible to me during service. But it's my guess that the balance wasn't checked just like your situation.