Hey guys. Was talking through Walmart the other day with the wife and happened to have at the tire rack and they have general tire grabbers on sale for something like $110 a tire. So from that point I started looking into tires and honestly a 265-70-r17 tires aren't badly priced for our trucks. But I'm curious to what everyone else is running right now?

 

My father-in-law had the General Grabbers on his Ram (can't remember which year) and he hated them, terrible grip he said.

Our 2015 F-250's come stock with a General tire (not the A/T Grabber) and they did quite well in the snow our first winter, now we use Goodyear Wrangler A/T Adventure w/ Kevlar and they work quite well all around.

Last set of tires I bought for my Ram was the Goodyear Wrangler Authority (Wal-Mart) and they worked quite well on my 2wd, but it also cost nearly $1200.

 

I put BF Goodrich AT's on mine. I have no issues with them and have been doing so for a long time. When i bought my 90 ram it had coopers on it, Worst tire ever in wet driving.

 

The Goodyear Wranglers that came on my '98 from the factory lasted less than 38k.
I went with BFG AT's and have been using them ever since... I've been getting 50-75k out of them... ride, handling, and road noise are good.

 

I've had real good luck with the BFG all terrain T/A in the 285/75 R16 flavor. They behave well on the highway and hook up good in most off road conditions. I usually get about 25-30,000 miles out of them, which is good for me. I run a lot of dirt roads, so tires get some accelerated wear.
I ran Goodyear wrangler MT/Rs before they switched patterns and had a decent run with them. Better traction off road, but a little noisy on the pavement. They didn't wear as well as the BFGs, but stayed consistent from brand new to cord showing. Can't speak for the new ones though.
I'll second Moparites' comment on coopers. They don't wear worth a crap, they're the only tire I've ever had get a hole in the sidewall on the highway (from an alligator... blown tire cap), and the only time I felt like I had good traction was climbing around on rock ledges. That was probably because they are a very soft tire.
Big O use to make a good tire, but they went downhill several years ago. Only advantage there was the lifetime road hazard warranty. Tire gets down to 30% just find a railroad spike on accident. Lol

All of the above comparisons are with 285/75 R16s, load range E, typically running 55 to 60 PSI aired down to 10~20 PSI for running around in the rocks and sand washes of nevada. I would air them to 75~80 PSI for any hauling.

As for general brand tires, I've only heard good for mixed driving. Pavement pounders don't like them because of noise and wear... but this is second hand info. I've always been too cheap to try them myself.

Hope this novelette helps with your choice.

 

Opinions will be all over the map on this one. Bear in mind this is MY research and opinions. Take at your own grain of salt.

From my experience and research, I would not recommend Generals or ANYTHING sold at Walmart. Much like other name brand products at other big box stores, the manufacturers typically cheapen the product so that it can be sold at a lower price point. Like lawnmowers at Home Depot.

I like Coopers. Ride nice, look GREAT, made in USA. Had a set of Nittos, rode like bricks. Great for diesels I imagine though. Just remember, you get what you pay for. Usually. My Dad bought a new Peterbilt glider this year and it came with top-of-the-line Michelins and he had a bad vibration that no one could figure out. After 100k, he put new tires on and vibe was gone. One of the best tires made was bad from factory.

I'm on my second set of Coopers. I love them. Coopers have great tread, looks, and plenty of siping. They are not the cheapest nor the most expensive. The AT3 is one of the highest rated AT tires ever built. However, I see many Toyo AT2 on the road. Also LTX or M/S in Michys. Generals are hard tires with bad tread designs. Goodyears are just ugly and waaaay over priced. Firestones are cheap, ugly, and I'm still bitter over their fiasco in recent memory. Bridgestones are okay and have moderate reviews. Nittos are knock-off Toyos and I stupidly got some at a great deal. They wore forever but were hard and ugly with horrible traction.

With current tire tech, most E "rated" tires are perfect for today's trucks. Avoid P "rated" as they are too soft for decent loads and handling. They are fazing out C and D "rated" tires because the E ones are much softer and better than in the past. Again, this is a rating, as no tire has 6, 8, 10 plies like they used to in relation to rating. Some people will say they got 10 ply tires and have Es that actually have only 6. It's how they are built and rated, not how many plies they actually have. That is very old school way of building and rating tires. Today's choices are pretty much P or E. Most AT tires are made in E rating. Some with new tech, some with old.

In general, my research of tires in the AT flavor run this list in quality, performance, and value. Again this is my own list with my own research. I have owned one set of Michelins, one set of Nittos, and two sets of Coopers in 15 years with this truck.

1. Michelin LTX At2
2. BGF TA2
3. Toyo AT2
4. Cooper AT3
5. Cooper ATP
6. Goodyear Duratrac
7. Bridgestone Dueler AT
8. Yokohama Geolander AT
9. Nitto Terra Grappler (Toyo owns)
10. Hankook ATM

 

I have had Yokohama Geolander A/T-S on two trucks now and they have been great with traction and wear. Both times I was able to also get a rebate deal as well so the price has been great.

 

BFG K02 is the gold standard right now for wet or dry traction, self cleaning mud work, and steep grade work.

I drove the vehicles at the Overland Expo East a couple of weeks ago, at a course BFG was using to promote the tires. The traction is really top shelf. I've driven them on other vehicles through mud. I've wheeled with with guys who ran them and watched them do great. They're a little spendy, but you'll hardly find any occasion to regret them.


Another good mention for a budget tire is the Kumho AT51. I have those on my Ram for daily tires. Not too much road noise. Good snow and mud performance. Good on rocky stuff. Mind the weight rating. I run them in the stock size. I think the whole set was like 500 installed on special with Sears.

 

I just installed the general grabber at2. They have decent grip on old forest service roads, and ride the highway quiet. They also have holes to stud them for winter. Probably not the greatest but for $500 in a 10 ply. I feel you get your money worth. I got tired of paying $900 for bfgs mastercrafts and goodyears, so these were an nice comprise

 

I Run Cooper AT3 265/75/16 load range E on my 2500 Cummins . They are NOT cheap but they last well, grip well and I live in a mountainous snow region. I learned the Cooper discovery tires worked well on my lifted 98 RAM WITH 35 inch tires. NO wobble or bounce on washboards like the cheap tires needing 80 pounds of air.