My 1997 Dak came with Goodyears and they were horrible. They lasted all of 33k miles and I was happy to get rid of them. I went with Firestones from the local dealer. They didn't stick as well as the Goodyears but they lasted longer, rode well, and I had no problems with them. I kept Firestones on that truck until it was totalled by Katrina last year--windows got blown out and the insurance company said that with hurricanes salt spray will ruin the electrical system over time. So I bought another Dak.

It, of course, came with another set of sorry Goodyear tires. The initial set was replaced at 8000 miles, I asked that they replace with Firestones. The dealership said that they could only replace with Goodyears. The 2nd set had trouble until my best friend (who sells road force balancers and knows what he is doing) properly balanced them. No problems since then.

I recommend Firestones. I have also used Michelins on my wife's car and they are very good. I have also had good luck with B.F. Goodrich tires.

NOTHING could tempt me into buying a set of Goodyears though.

 

What do you plan to do with your truck? minor weekend offroading? snowy winters? etc?

 

Yay for three feet of snowfall in an hour's time!!!!!!

I love winters here!!!!!!!

 

Basically my truck will see any mud puddle I come across.... Living on Long Island does not provide too much good off roading ground, but obviously we have all kinds of beach trails. But once you air down your tires, it doesn't really matter what type of tire you run(in the sand).
I really like the BFG All Terrains simply for the look - they're big n beefy, with a nice rugged edge. I had them on my '94 Ranger, and it just brought out the "mean" look in the truck. Winter time in LI is especially brutal as the plow guys don't really know what they're doing, unless of course you happen to live on the same street as any local politician. So the A/T TA's would be nice for the snow too. Other than that, I score a lot of highway miles... kinda killing the need for an A/T tire. But hell, I got $$$ to blow.... yeah right!!

 

they are a good tire for the daily driver/weekend offroader

but, have you thought of the General Tire Grabber AT?

http://www.generaltire.com/generator...master_en.html

similar to the BFG, but a bit different look, so you wouldnt have the same tire as everyone else

 

Those Grabbers are pretty nice looking actually - how do they compare in price? Here's another question - should I stick with the same size tire as the OEM, or can I (or even should I) go up to another size? I wouldn't want smaller than what I have now - only the same size or bigger. I do not plan to do any lift in this truck.
That leads me to my final question, veering slightly off topic. I've seen before in these postings the front end leveling kit. What are, if any, the pros and cons of this kit?

 

from what Ive seen they are about $20-$30 cheaper per tire than the BFG All Terrain... all mattering on where you shop for them, and what size

Honestly, I wouldnt try to get too much of a bigger tire than stock, you may have issues with rubbing, plus it would also decrease your mpg.