Tow Vehicle Tires

[F.M.]

Alright, its time to buy tires for my Ram 2500. Not really looking forward to having to fork over the cash to replace a set of 35s, but over got no choice.

So...I've got a buddy that owns a local tire shop and he recommended either the BFG AT KO2 or the Cooper SST Pro. I've owned a few sets of the older BFG AT KO but have no experience with Cooper tires at all. I feel like the BFG might get slightly better teeadwear, but the Coopers don't get bad reviews and look better in my opinion.

Anyone have any real world experience with either of these?

 

[haknslash]

I've had Cooper tires on my F150 and really loved the XST Zeon's compared to the Nittos, BFG's, Michelin's and other brands I've run on my 22's. I wished my tire guy still got Cooper as I had by far the best ride quality, quietness and tire wear performance from the Coopers over the others. Obviously not the same tires you're looking at but just wanted to say the Coopers exceeded my expectations. I had never tried them before and wished I had sooner. Good tires IMO.

 

[Jgorm]

I've had the bfg ats on lots of vehicles, even my rv. I'm thinking about going to the toyo open country mt 35s for my Jeep. They look cool and are a bit cheaper.

 

[2kwik4u]

I bought my truck last October with 36k miles on it. Have 50k miles on it now. It had BRAND NEW (like still had the stickers on the tread when I signed the papers, new) BFG AT KO2's. I'm 14k miles into them already and they show zero signs of wear. They ride OK, and tow decently. They are noisy however, even in the relatively small size I run (I think they're 255/45/20's.....I'll check at lunch). So far I'm happy enough with them that I'll probably buy another set.

I had a previous set o BFG AT's years ago (before the KO series) and they also wore well. They had a TERRIBLE wet traction issue though. These are not that way. In fact the rubber is sticky enough that you can hear the "squeaking" of the treads if you have the windows down and make a turn in a parking lot, or pulling out at the ramp. Zero traction issues with these new KO2's

Another item to note. I'm currently fighting a vibration at around 72mph. I think this is unrelated to the tires, however it's on my list to have them road force balanced before I make a road trip next week. I'll report back on how that goes. I suspect the vibration is the dreaded "Chevy Shake" that this particular model seems to get at this mileage (wish I knew about this before I bought), but I'm going to start with the easy fixes before I start throwing parts at it.

*edit*
Here's the truck. The tires are a great compliment to the styling. Looks MUCH nicer IMO with the slightly beefier/aggressive tires. They're loud though.

 

[PEARCE]

When I had a set of BFG AT's on my 2500 I wasn't impressed with the wear I had with them. I only got 25k miles on a set with regular rotations. I switched to Bridgestone Dueller A/T Revo 2's and have been very happy with them. They wear well and are quite on the highway. Mine are on the factory 18in rims that are 285's so I think it's a 31in tire. Still a pretty penny to replace!

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

No experience with either - if it's an option I would look into the Nitto Terra Grappler G2s. I did extensive research between those and the KO2s and ended with the G2s and loved them. Had 25k miles and they looked new when I traded in. IIRC the KO2 will do a bit better in snow, looks a bit more aggressive on sidewall, but also weighs significantly more, so your truck is a bit slower and worse mpgs. I think they cost about $300 more when it was all said and done as well.

 

[Jameson Clark]

I have never been a fan of the BFG's. They just never seem to wear well and don't last. I am currently running Hankook Dynapro ATM's on my F150 and put them on my brother's Xterra. Really loving them!

 

[F.M.]

My typical commute to jobsites is 15-20 miles and distance to my favorite boat ramp is 10-15 miles. So while mpg is important, tread life is my main concern. I only put 26k miles on my truck last year, but 18k of that is with a 5-7k lb trailer.

 

[F.M.]

I have never been a fan of the BFG's. They just never seem to wear well and don't last. I am currently running Hankook Dynapro ATM's on my F150 and put them on my brother's Xterra. Really loving them!

I just got back from a trip to NJ with friend in an Excursion with literally brand new Dynapro ATMs. They seemed to handle well and have very little road noise on the interstate. So I have considered those.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

My typical commute to jobsites is 15-20 miles and distance to my favorite boat ramp is 10-15 miles. So while mpg is important, tread life is my main concern. I only put 26k miles on my truck last year, but 18k of that is with a 5-7k lb trailer.

You only got 26k out of the KO2s? Even with a trailer I would expect more. I don't remember what I found of life expectancy on them, I know from reviews the G2s were getting an easy 75k, and a few reviews of 90 plus. Obviously a trailer makes it worse but 26k seems really low.

 

[PEARCE]

You only got 26k out of the KO2s? Even with a trailer I would expect more. I don't remember what I found of life expectancy on them, I know from reviews the G2s were getting an easy 75k, and a few reviews of 90 plus. Obviously a trailer makes it worse but 26k seems really low.

That's all I got with mine too! With a 40 mile roundtrip commute during the week and either towing our lightweight camper or the boat on the weekends. Very disappointing for what we paid for them.

 

[F.M.]

You only got 26k out of the KO2s? Even with a trailer I would expect more. I don't remember what I found of life expectancy on them, I know from reviews the G2s were getting an easy 75k, and a few reviews of 90 plus. Obviously a trailer makes it worse but 26k seems really low.

You read that wrong. I currently have Open Country MTs, which have got around 45k miles on them. 26k is the mileage I put on my truck last year, not the total mileage of my current tires.

 

[LukePrinsloo]

I've always been a fan of the Michelin MS/2's They have the same tread pattern on the New Defender tire.
I'm at the same point myself. Looking at the new version of the Michelin;s, Cooper's, or the Hankooks.

 

[F.M.]

Decided to go with the Cooper STT Pro in a 35x12.5R20. Now I've just got to get by the stealership to get my TPMS reprogrammed for the new max psi. And yes, I know my truck is way past due for a bath.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I am surprised you don't have a tuner on that thing! Tires look great.

 

[Jameson Clark]

Decided to go with the Cooper STT Pro in a 35x12.5R20. Now I've just got to get by the stealership to get my TPMS reprogrammed for the new max psi. And yes, I know my truck is way past due for a bath.

View attachment 78749

I doubt the dealership will be able to do that. There are strict laws about TPMS and it usually cannot be messed with by the dealers.

 

[F.M.]

I am surprised you don't have a tuner on that thing! Tires look great.

I will once the factory warranty expires!

 

[Slfmde]

35’s Toyo RT, they are awesome I had Toyo AT and really like the MT better. The road noise is the the same which is minimal and wet/snow traction is very good. Mine are over 12” wide as well and still not much noise. Tread wear is great so far with about 20k. No problem at all towing an AR240 and I would buy them again.

 

[PEARCE]

Decided to go with the Cooper STT Pro in a 35x12.5R20. Now I've just got to get by the stealership to get my TPMS reprogrammed for the new max psi. And yes, I know my truck is way past due for a bath.

View attachment 78749

Nice looking tires! Why do you need to have MAX pressure reprogrammed? I didn't know tuners could do that. What pressure are you trying to run?

 

[F.M.]

The stock tires were much smaller Firestones and the system is programmed to 70 front and 80 rear I think. The max psi on these is 65.