I know there are tons of tire threads but I’m having a hard time finding tires that meet my specific need. I have a 1996 Ram 2500 with the Cummins 5.9 turbo i6, RWD. (I love this engine).

Most of my driving will be around town and on dirt roads/forest roads. Some highway driving but not much, noise and ride comfort are low on my needs list. I live in Portland so it snows ever so often and I need to drive this truck in the snow, luckily it doesn’t get deeper than 6-8” max.

I couldn’t find a 4x4 so currently driving a 2x4. Every time I would find one I could afford someone would buy it before I could get to it. I’m on furlough so my budget is small. Having two sets of wheels and tires is out of my budget. My current tires are shot. I do have experience with lots of different tires but not snow tires.

What I need is an A/T tire that can handle some snow on a RWD truck. I don’t know if that exists.

I’ve consisted AS tires but am not sure they will do well in snow or in the forests with a RWD truck.

I’m wondering if I should get a set of ATs and keep a set of chains in the cab during winter. I would like to avoid chains but not sure what else I can do. Winter tires year round won’t work.

Any help is much appreciated.

New to the forum, new to the Ram world, not new to Dodge or Dodge trucks and I’m on several other Dodge forums. I had a 2000 Dakota CC 4.7l for about 13 years. Had to scrap it because of an accident. I really miss that truck. I currently have a Challenger Scat Pack, that is a fun car.

 

Just wanted to mention... The stock tire size is 245/75x16. The rear tires the truck has now are 265/75x16. Another size that works is 265/70x16.

One of the issues I forgot to mention is weight rating. The truck requires a 116 (class D?) or some places won’t install them. I know I can use a lower weight rating since I’m not doing any heavy towing but it’s still a concern for me.

 

Go with some BF Goodrich All Terrain T/As. With der diesel, I would go with 265/70R16s. If you have 4.10 gears, run 285's. They are good on the street, reasonable in the wet, go thru snow, and will be great thru the woods. Not to loud either. Load range E for your truck please.

 

Even though I’m not currently a snow guy, I will +1 on that recommendation.
During development testing (all road conditions) of the ‘98, 265-75R16’s were the chosen tire (4WD... 265-70R16 2WD), but the bean-counters won out with Goodyear Wranglers as the factory fit.

I’ve always used BFG’s and been very happy with them... I did live in Michigan for 7yrs and Pensilvania for 3yrs.

 

I would love a set of BFG TAs. Unfortunately they are out of my price range right now. I had a 1984 Diesel Suburban 4WD with a set of those. It was a monster. Never took it in the snow. I actually might have to buy rear tires now and the front tires later. Money is tight and unemployment is a joke.

 

Living in CO I've had good experiences with Firestone Destination ATs

You might watch CL or FB MP for used tires.

 

I'm running Michelin LT285/75/16 LTX AT2 tires on my truck. These tires are load range E. They are very quiet, have plenty of traction in all of the conditions I've driven in and I'm very happy with these tires. They work perfectly with 4.10 gears. If you have a lower numerical gear ratio (ie: 3.54), you will find the truck to be a bit sluggish on take-off. These tires wear extremely well and should last quite a while. Shop online to find the best prices.

 

Look for something with "severe snow" rating which is the "three mountain peaks with a snowflake" logo on the tire itself. The BFG ATs have that rating, the Firestone and Michelin don't. Personally I can recommend the Kumho Road Venture AT51 that I run on my 4th gen. While my truck is 4x4 I rarely used it last winter heading up Cascade Lakes Hwy.

 

I just started seeing the ATs that have severe weather rating. I’m gonna go with an inexpensive set of those and keep chains in the truck.

thanks.

 

I've had Michelin LTX AT2 tires (and their predecessor) on my Dodge truck and excursions for years and have been very happy with them for longevity as well as snow/rain performance (though I do have 4WD on everything). I use the LT265/75R16, I think the last set I had installed ran about $1000 with lifetime free rotations from local dealer. I think with all the sets I've had on my vehicles, I've only ever had 1 or 2 flats, and I run them down pretty thin, with a lot of gravel driving.