Other 10 Ply Tire Options?

[tgrfan2]

My 2018 3500 SRW came with Firestone Transforce AT2 WL tires. I like them very much. The fronts have 75K on them. I ruined the RR at 30K so the two rear were replaced and the tires have only been rotated side to side since. I thought with the 3250# pin wgt they would be worn out at about the same time as the front. I believe they will get 60K with no problem though.
My truck weighs around 8100# with toolbox and Companion hitch. Steering axle 4520# and drive axle 3540# the last time I weighed it empty. With the fiver, steering axle 4580# and drive axle around 6780#.
The fronts would have gotten 80K but the LF has a slight amount of edge wear so I am looking to replace them now. They are nearly 7 years old anyway.
I like this tire mainly because of the beefy outside rib. I think that has given the fronts the extra life. The old timers around may remember that Firestone designed the Transforce for the problems with tire wear on Twin I beam Fords.
There are a bunch of Firestone company owned stores and also a ton of dealers nationwide. In a 40 mile radius, I have one Costco and several dozen Firestones. IMO roadhazard warranty convenience is only as good as your location. As long as I travel, I doubt I will ever stray from Goodyear and Firestone.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Those Firestone's did pretty well for you..so far!

 

[Jigs-n-Fixtures]

Tires are an engineering challenge. Remember the Ford Exploders, which sufered badly from blow outs and resulted in a huge lawsuit against Ford and the tire manufacturer. The Exploder was designed by the truck group, as part of the CAFE compliance for teh trucks. So, the truck suspension designers, designed a suspension, and sent a specification for tires to teh tire manufacturer based on 50 to 60-psi tire inflation, final pressure to be determined as part of teh tire design. When the marketing folks drove the Exploders at the proving grounds, they discovered that it "rode like a truck". They thought the ride was far more comfortable at 35-psi. And a decision was made, without consulting the engineers in the suspension team or the tire manufacturer, to ship the vehicle with dooor stickers which gave an inflation pressure which did not match that on the tires. And predictably, in warm climates, the underinflated tires, threw the tread.

If you want a high mileage tire, the compound is harder. Which means it doesn't do as well in snow or rain. Want good snow and rain performance, the compoound is softer, and it wears faster so you get less mileage on the tire.

I'm running Toyos on my truck, the studded set for winter, is an Open Country, Siped and Studded. The summer tire is also a Toyo, but I can't remember which model. Been going to the same shop for two decades, and I have a good level of trust in them to fit me with appropriate tires.

 

[truck2014]

The trans force tires are terrible.

They are just an OE tire , no better , no worse than any other brand I’ve had that come with a new truck . Best mileage I’d gotten with my Ram 6.7 was running the original Transforce HT’s . Naturally an AT tire is going to knock down the mileage a little with that more aggressive tread pattern. They wore out pretty quick, only downside I saw with them. They were wore out at about 28k. Terrible wear , but handled well , towed a 15,500 GVWR fifth wheel until they wore out .

Since the Transforce I’ve run a set of Toyo AT2’s , I’d take those Transforce over them , IMO for supposedly a higher end tire , I’d call them terrible. Present tire Cooper AT3 XLT’s

. Felt like I bought a new truck when I got rid of those Toyos , and went with Coopers . The first thing I noticed about those Coopers over the Toyos was the handling , especially with the fifth wheel in tow . Time will tell on how well they wear .

 

[Jeepwalker]

....They thought the ride was far more comfortable at 35-psi.

...it was actually 26psi (Ford's ultimate recommendation during the firestone/explorer debacle). Had it been 35, most likely there never would have been the problems that occured. Except Firestone was using old compound at the time too...

There's an excellent book HERE....which is quite a good read.

 

[rvance]

I'm very happy with the Cooper AT3s E rated.

 

[Laughingdoginc]

I bought some Pathfinder HSR tires for an RV, because I learned that a lot of the local package carriers used these tires, good price , great ride and service thus far. Commercial load range E from Discount Tire is my recollection.

 

[Hardracer]

Im running continental terrain contact h/t right now....265/75/20....126S.
Best tire ive had so far on this truck.grip,stopping,wear are good if you ask me.hope they stand the test of time as they wear.i think i would(so far)recommend them yes.
Previously had the nitto crosstecs....decent tire until about half tread then total garbage for me...no traction,stopping in wet weather.im sure road types(old,oiled,worn, etc) can have something to do with that but the new continentals are on the same roads so???..so mad about that due to the nitto being a really nice tire in the beginning.cannot comment on the new crosstec 2...but I'll never purchase that particular model(crosstec)again...other nitto models I would consider.

 

[Different Drummer]

Im running continental terrain contact h/t right now....265/75/20....126S.
Best tire ive had so far on this truck.grip,stopping,wear are good if you ask me.hope they stand the test of time as they wear.i think i would(so far)recommend them yes.
Previously had the nitto crosstecs....decent tire until about half tread then total garbage for me...no traction,stopping in wet weather.im sure road types(old,oiled,worn, etc) can have something to do with that but the new continentals are on the same roads so???..so mad about that due to the nitto being a really nice tire in the beginning.cannot comment on the new crosstec 2...but I'll never purchase that particular model(crosstec)again...other nitto models I would consider.

I agree. I am running the exact same tire and size.

 

[tgrfan2]

...it was actually 26psi (Ford's ultimate recommendation during the firestone/explorer debacle). Had it been 35, most likely there never would have been the problems that occured. Except Firestone was using old compound at the time too...

There's an excellent book HERE....which is quite a good read.

I am going to get that book. I always felt FS got the raw end of the stick trying to "fix" Ford's problems.
I had a bro in law that ran them on his Pathfinder and had no problems. A traveling salesman with an Explorer told me when he heard they were being recalled that he bought another set to keep. Both ran theirs at 35 psi. When a radial looks low in TP it is really low so 26 psi was asking for trouble.
I believe I read that the Exploder tire that failed most often was the rear on the gas tank side. That should tell the experts something.

 

[tgrfan2]

Again….. are Transforce and Defender “commercial tires”?

What makes any of these tires "commercial"? Tire Rack has an excellent website. I plugged in my truck and found my FSs to be one of the lightest tires at 50# and exactly the same wgt as the BS Dueler. No surprise there. The GY "commercial" is middle of the pack at 56#. The LTX was one of the heaviest at 59#.
Back when 150s and vans came with "extra load" tires you could really tell the difference in the weight and sidewall stiffness of the tires as well as the load carrying capacity. I suspect this is more marketing than tire construction.

 

[HEMIMANN]

What makes any of these tires "commercial"? Tire Rack has an excellent website. I plugged in my truck and found my FSs to be one of the lightest tires at 50# and exactly the same wgt as the BS Dueler. No surprise there. The GY "commercial" is middle of the pack at 56#. The LTX was one of the heaviest at 59#.
Back when 150s and vans came with "extra load" tires you could really tell the difference in the weight and sidewall stiffness of the tires as well as the load carrying capacity. I suspect this is more marketing than tire construction.

Tire Rack classification from manufacturers.

 

[Jeepwalker]

I am going to get that book. I always felt FS got the raw end of the stick trying to "fix" Ford's problems.

I hope you enjoy it. I thought it was riveting ...plowed through it in a couple days, I couldn't put it down.

Your local library probably has it too. It dispells a lot of bar stool myths some people tend to toss out when they know 1/8th of the 'facts'. A good friend of mine had a co-worker get killed in an Explorer tire shred incident back in the day. Rural Dakota road, sunny dry day, good road. Company car for a major Chemical corporation with deep pockets and a strict safety program. The company is a household name (and larger than Ford...at the time). Tire popped and car rolled. They investigated it themselves for quite some time my buddy said ...they were none too happy about it. My buddy said shortly afterwards, the company put out an edict for everyone with Explorers (which my buddy had ...it was a popular corporate vehicle at the time) must get new tires installed Pronto and use higher air pressure.

What you'll find out is it was an unfortunate confluence of factors from both companies. The wrong people looked the other way when the facts were presented (early on) and they could have hit the 'stop' button and didn't. Anyone who's worked higher up in a large corporation will understand how something like that could occur. It only takes one or two high-placed morons or incompetent people with questionable scruples, that can lead to something like that. Whereas another person with the right moral foundation would have the courage to stand up and re-do it. I've had many instances where I or my old project manager had to stop and say, "that aint right" ...and course-correct even if we lost money on a job. We never really money on jobs but in big construction you have to make decisions almost daily to do the right thing.

 

[BuschLatte420]

I'm liking my Toyo AT3's (replaced the OEM Toyo AT2 on my '17).

I'm liking my Toyo AT3's (replaced the OEM Toyo AT2 on my '17).

out of curiosity do you have a 1500 that came with those in a LT E from factory? Curious as to what PSI the factory recommended, toyo recommended 50 PSI to me. Stocks were P rated 265/70r17s. Switched to a at3 E rated tire.

 

[rule18]

@BuschLatte420 Yes, 2017 Rebel came from the factory with E-rated Toyo AT2s. Cold PSI factory recommendation is 55 front, 45 rear. I messed around with the PSI for a while and settled right back to the sticker cold PSI. LOL.

 

[EdGs]

I got these a few years back at WallyMart. Cooper A/T "E" rated. Mine were LT265/70R17. I got 81k miles out of them. Under $700 out the door, with road hazard as well.


Now, since Goodyear bought Cooper, I have no idea if the quality has changed. I do know that the look of the tire has changed. I also do not know if they are available in the size you want.