Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Thoughts on Tires...
Guys,
Please don't bail out on me here. I've read countless tire discussions and debates about what is best for this and that, but never found anything that answers my question below. But first some background.
This truck spends 90% of its time towing, dedicated for the purpose, and heavy, at near capacity:
* 2017 Dodge RAM DWR, 4x4, 100gal fuel tank in bed, B&W Companion 5th wheel hitch. 235/80r17 tires.
We tow our home around:
* 2018 GDRV model 376th (toy hauler) weights about ~20-21k, with about ~4000lbs pin weight.
We frequently travel around the Pacific Northwest, so we see hot summer pavement, snow and ice winter road conditions, and the occasional dirt road to our favorite destination.
The truck needs tires.
The vehicle is operating perfectly within alignment spec, and in non-worn condition (good ball joints, etc.), but it just seems that the front tires simply cup an AT-type tire way too fast. Sure, they get rotated on a regular schedule of ~3-5k miles (yes, it's expensive) but they seem to finish out their lives early, dying someplace between ~25-30k miles before I just don't feel comfortable running them anymore.
I've already been through a set of the stock Nexan AT tires (~20-25k) and now a set of BFG AT KO2 tires (looking to be ~25-30k) and I've determined that tire wear on these types of 'light duty truck tires' is simply terrible for heavy loads and/or my heavy foot. So, I'm looking for advice on a setup for tires that would be good for basically year round, mostly highway traction, occasional dirt road use and provide a little better tread wear.
My thought here is to consider changing to a commercial-grade (harder compound) and/or even using a rib tire for the front, in an effort to reduce tire shoulder wear and then put a commercial-grade traction tire on the rear (like a Toyo M55) to make up for the loss of traction on the front.
I wonder if this might solve 2 problems for me. One being the frequent tire rotation as the rib tires would simply live their lives solely on the front axle (*not rotated*). And the frustration of seeing the shoulder tread blocks of AT tires on the front disappear so quickly. And two, still provide some traction on the primary weight bearing drive tires to help me get down those dusty roads in the summer, and over those mountain passes in the winter.
My question to the group here is;
Does anybody else run a mixed tire arrangement like this? (ribs+traction)
If so, can you report on how you liked it?
What you didn't like?
Should I simply go rib tires all the way around to get the mileage and stick with my traction chains in the winter when needed? I have fitted chains for both truck and trailer, but honestly, it is such a pain to equip a dually and triple axle trailer with chains on a crappy snowy road in winter and the BFGs have done a tremendous job for me in terms of traction so far. I try not to push through summits when chains/traction tires are required, but that's not the only place when having a good winter traction tires is nice.
Or should I stick with the formula of using the same tire front and rear, and simply go with traction tires all the way around, but use a harder compound commercial tire.
I also hate the thought of carrying an extra set of tires, 1 set of highway tires for summer & 1 set of traction tires for winter, so I'd rather think of this as a last resort. Which is where this mixed Rib+Traction setup sounds nice, 'on paper'.
Some additional notes are that;
* Tire noise really isn't a concern of mine. I've ran plenty of full MT, traction tires before and can tolerate the noise.
* I'd rather stay at stock (or smaller) diameter sizing due to gearing ratios, hitch height, bed clearance, etc. but I'm not opposed to change tire size if they'll clear the brake calipers and maintain or reduce ride height.
* With that, I'm also contemplating going to a commercial tire rim size (19.5) and fit them with tires with size 225/70r19.5 I've been eyeballing the Continental HDR/HSR (traction/rib) in this size.
It seems that I've been getting tire-drunk while doing my own research and thought that the group here might be able to help me see through the trees.
Thanks for making it through another post on tires. I'm looking forward to your feedback.
Nate
Guys,
Please don't bail out on me here. I've read countless tire discussions and debates about what is best for this and that, but never found anything that answers my question below. But first some background.
This truck spends 90% of its time towing, dedicated for the purpose, and heavy, at near capacity:
* 2017 Dodge RAM DWR, 4x4, 100gal fuel tank in bed, B&W Companion 5th wheel hitch. 235/80r17 tires.
We tow our home around:
* 2018 GDRV model 376th (toy hauler) weights about ~20-21k, with about ~4000lbs pin weight.
We frequently travel around the Pacific Northwest, so we see hot summer pavement, snow and ice winter road conditions, and the occasional dirt road to our favorite destination.
The truck needs tires.
The vehicle is operating perfectly within alignment spec, and in non-worn condition (good ball joints, etc.), but it just seems that the front tires simply cup an AT-type tire way too fast. Sure, they get rotated on a regular schedule of ~3-5k miles (yes, it's expensive) but they seem to finish out their lives early, dying someplace between ~25-30k miles before I just don't feel comfortable running them anymore.
I've already been through a set of the stock Nexan AT tires (~20-25k) and now a set of BFG AT KO2 tires (looking to be ~25-30k) and I've determined that tire wear on these types of 'light duty truck tires' is simply terrible for heavy loads and/or my heavy foot. So, I'm looking for advice on a setup for tires that would be good for basically year round, mostly highway traction, occasional dirt road use and provide a little better tread wear.
My thought here is to consider changing to a commercial-grade (harder compound) and/or even using a rib tire for the front, in an effort to reduce tire shoulder wear and then put a commercial-grade traction tire on the rear (like a Toyo M55) to make up for the loss of traction on the front.
I wonder if this might solve 2 problems for me. One being the frequent tire rotation as the rib tires would simply live their lives solely on the front axle (*not rotated*). And the frustration of seeing the shoulder tread blocks of AT tires on the front disappear so quickly. And two, still provide some traction on the primary weight bearing drive tires to help me get down those dusty roads in the summer, and over those mountain passes in the winter.
My question to the group here is;
Does anybody else run a mixed tire arrangement like this? (ribs+traction)
If so, can you report on how you liked it?
What you didn't like?
Should I simply go rib tires all the way around to get the mileage and stick with my traction chains in the winter when needed? I have fitted chains for both truck and trailer, but honestly, it is such a pain to equip a dually and triple axle trailer with chains on a crappy snowy road in winter and the BFGs have done a tremendous job for me in terms of traction so far. I try not to push through summits when chains/traction tires are required, but that's not the only place when having a good winter traction tires is nice.
Or should I stick with the formula of using the same tire front and rear, and simply go with traction tires all the way around, but use a harder compound commercial tire.
I also hate the thought of carrying an extra set of tires, 1 set of highway tires for summer & 1 set of traction tires for winter, so I'd rather think of this as a last resort. Which is where this mixed Rib+Traction setup sounds nice, 'on paper'.
Some additional notes are that;
* Tire noise really isn't a concern of mine. I've ran plenty of full MT, traction tires before and can tolerate the noise.
* I'd rather stay at stock (or smaller) diameter sizing due to gearing ratios, hitch height, bed clearance, etc. but I'm not opposed to change tire size if they'll clear the brake calipers and maintain or reduce ride height.
* With that, I'm also contemplating going to a commercial tire rim size (19.5) and fit them with tires with size 225/70r19.5 I've been eyeballing the Continental HDR/HSR (traction/rib) in this size.
It seems that I've been getting tire-drunk while doing my own research and thought that the group here might be able to help me see through the trees.
Thanks for making it through another post on tires. I'm looking forward to your feedback.
Nate
