BFG Rugged Trail T/As

[WhiteSheep]

My experiences with the BFG rugged trails was down right scary. I too am rather obsessive about vehicle maintenance. I take care of air pressure, rotation, etc. However, I live in Phoenix, which as Buffalo says, is hell on rubber. I also use the little 4x4 lever on the floor more than most.



On a trip to New Mexico with my Ram full of boy scouts, the driver front tire blew at 65 MPH. When I say blew, I mean a section of side wall making up 1/8 of the diameter of the tire blew out. Even the bead was cut I didn't lose the tread, but I did have complete immediate pressure loss. Several people have died from similar types of tire failures.



I would NEVER run BFG on my truck again. I switched to Goodyear MTRs. I know these can take a pounding both on and off pavement. My advice is to get rid of the BFGs and by some real tires you can trust. The extra tread life isn't worth much if the tire explodes before you can use it.

 

[Buffalo]

Hi Whitesheep,



First of all, I, in no way, wish to "challenge" your experiences & opinions with the BFG Rugged Trails. Just trying to gather information for my next tire purchase.



You mention, in another post, that you USE 4X4, probably, more than most of us, which, means you are on rough terrain a lot. That's got to be harder on tires than my, mostly, pavement driving. I wonder if that may have contributed to your catastrophic tire failure.



It's interesting that you mention your interest in the Goodyear MTR's & their apparent ruggedness. Over the years, I've seen a lot of Goodyear products "blow-up" &, frankly, would be scared to own them.



I have a buddy that had Chev. Z-71 pick-ups, for years. Every year, for a couple of years, I had to bring a replacement Goodyear tire up to him, in the White Mtns. , because he would have blowouts on the gravel roads, up there.



I believe Big O tires were made by Goodyear & for a period of time had a lot of blowout problems, also.



Goodyears, early, Marathon trailer tires would "grenade" on a regular basis. Another friend of mine had an, early, Marathon blowout while mounted as a spare tire on the rear bumper of his trailer. Wasn't even on the ground. The newer designed Marathons seem to be more rugged, though. Now that I think of it, I have Tow Masters (Goodyear made, new design) on my trailer & they have served me well, so far.



Is there something about the MTR's, that you know about, that makes them more reliable than in the past? I'd appreciate hearing about them.



Thanks.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[steved]

As just an update... I took my Pirrelli's into a local dealer (out of curiosity) and they said any cracking in the sidewall of a new tire that wasn't from "curb rash" is NOT normal.



Mine appeared as a really fine weather checking... the deepest zone was right near the lettering closest to the rim... if you took your finger and pushed the letters around you could see it was an 1/8" deep (or deeper).



They are being pro-rated and I'm getting a new set of tires... if you look at the sidewall, there is a 4-digit code in an oval... mine was "3004", which meant the tires were made in 2004... even though I bought them last year... there was a little resistance from the store (the "I've been in this business 10 years" type BS... yeah well, I've been goofing with cars for 22 years), but Perrelli didn't even question it.



So, just as an FYI, the cracking isn't normal... if you have warranty, have them checked...



steved

 

[crobertson1]

I took it to have the tires inspected and the guy at the tire store said he'd contact BFG and call me back. That was Thursday, and I still haven't heard from him. Obviously, he's in no hurry to help. I'll try someone else I guess.

 

[crobertson1]

Well, I got my new tires today. The dealer prorated the old ones and so I got a new set for $275. 00. I just went with the same tire and size. The guy pretty much guaranteed the same thing won't happen again. We'll see. I'll keep my fingers crossed.