Researching tires August 2007

[HenryJ]

I have been through the wringer researching available tires for the district again.

The Goodyear MTR has been an incredible survivor. Virtually puncture proof. They can run around with multiple nails and never lose air. Reasonable tread life. Great traction. Government pricing makes them one heck of a good deal.
The bad news. None available again. Between Iraq and the border patrol, they are gone for now.

So I look for the other options.

The Cooper Discoverer ST. Those were bad news and I still haven't gotten over eight of them with a porous bead leaking air. Those are not an option.

Cooper STT. Great grippy tire , but they barely last 20k on most any of the rigs. Light or heavy , they just don't last. Not cost effective.

Toyo M55. Traction is not great. They last forever. They are prone to puncture rather easily. The hard compound is probably the reason for both the good and bad. The biggest problem is the price. Our cost is $230 each.

Prices for AT tires ranged from $115-$190 Wee need a tire with some space between the lugs , otherwise the gravel and rock just eats them up. Most of the AT tires are opting for a closer lug pattern to increase tread life. Some are adding long straight sections to limit squirm and increase tread life on the highway. That just doesn't work for us. I looked to tires that would be the best for the broken basalt, shale, river rock and highway that our fleet sees.

The Mastercraft Courser AT is pretty affordable at $132 each. A 50k mile tire it should have a harder compound. The new AT2 has gone the route of a single line center tread to extend life. That has a tighter pattern and didn't look like it would work well. I did buy a set of the old style AT to try on one of the rigs. I'll see how well they work.

There was little choice in a more aggressive tread. Bigfoot XT looks decent, but at $190 each they are on the high side.

Kumho MT has been discontinued. There is an indian tire called the GT, but that would be dicey? They are cheap at $135, but I'm not really after "cheap". I want quality at a good price.

Yokohama has nothing to offer. The Geolandar AT has been discontinued and the AT that replaced it went way to far toward the highway tire tread pattern to be considered.

Most of the acceptable tires ranged around the $180-$190 mark.

During this I found a pretty good buy on BFG AT T/A KO radials. 30 of them are scheduled to arrive in Seattle, WA. I got a dozen of those at $165. That is $20 each cheaper than summits prices and no freight. I saw this as an excellent price on a premium tire.

I have had great luck with them on my truck and that was part of the decision process. It will be very nice to get them in the fleet and really give them a workout! My crew can tear up an anvil if you give them fifteen minutes and most of that is a coffee break!

[rlrnr53]

I know what you mean. The bunch I work with are mostly former coal miners, and we say they can break the horn off an anvil with a bananna.

[border man]

We didn't take all of the MTRs...... We are having a shortage too. We are replacing our fllet tires with a mix of Firestone Destiny MTs, BFG MTs, Dick Cepeck MT's and some Goodyear Kevlar tires. Of all the new tires, the BFGs seem to come closest to the MTR followed by the Firestones.

[HenryJ]

The Firestone Destinations are really similar to the Cooper ST. I like the look of them, but have yet to try them. They are always just a little higher priced than the next best tire. They also keep changing them. Three times they have discontinued a tread and come out with the "new" version. That makes me a little nervous. What are they trying to fix?
Dick Cepek has some good looking tires. Most are bias aren't they? I know they have some radials too. I always figured they would be priced out of the market. We don't have a good source for those locally.

I still have to come up with a good maximum traction tire. It may have to be the BFG MT? Maybe they can get by with the BFG AT?

Keep us apprised as to what seems to be working in your fleet. Our needs are very similar, even though the hazards have different names. You have cactus , I have Russian olives. Both can flatten a tire just as well.

[bwenny247]

maybe interco MT's? don't know about treadlife though. buy 3 get 1 free might make it a deal

$168.64 for 31X10.50's

[HenryJ]

maybe interco MT's? don't know about treadlife though.

Chip and cut resistant is a big red flag for me. That means soft and no tread life.
Firestone, Cooper, Goodyear, and others offer tire with a chip resistant compound. They rarely last 20k miles.
Most of the Interco line is bias ply. Those don't do well for highway manners. They shine offroad, but beat you up on the highway. Radials are the only option , IMO.
With shipping those are in the $180 each range with the rest. I would likely lean toward the BFG MT for another $9 each. The reputation precedes them at this point.
I did look at a set of Buckshots. They are Maxxis , I believe. I had a set on my old 3/4T and they did really well. I may have to look into them sometime.

Cost effective is the key here. Good life, good performance all around in severe conditions and affordable.