Tires for a 2021 3500 Diesel

[Greg S]

I am replacing the KO2's on my 3500 Diesel, 2021. They lasted about 25k miles. Apparently, the 3500 is hard on them... I'm looking at the Michelin LTX A/T2, the Cooper AT3 XLT or the Nitto Ridge Grappler. Does anyone have experience with any of these - or other suggestions. They're all pretty expensive and of course, I'd like to get as much usage from them as possible!

 

[Turbo Terry]

When my 2022 Firestone HD wear out end of next summer I to will be shopping for new tires. I’m going to look at buying one of your first two choices. Coopers always seem to get good reviews on here

 

[AH64ID]

I would go with Cooper AT3 XLT’s or Falken Wildpeak AT3W’s.

When I get tired of these trashforce I’ll be going with AT3 XLT’s.

 

[Greg S]

When my 2022 Firestone HD wear out end of next summer I to will be shopping for new tires. I’m going to look at buying one of your first two choices. Coopers always seem to get good reviews on here

Thank you, I'm hearing good stuff about the Coopers.

 

[wyosteve]

I've had Michelins and Coopers that have been good. My current truck has the Nitro Ridge Grapplers, but not enough miles yet to see how they will do. I had a Nitto on my 2015 and they didn't last, but can't remember which variety.

 

[Cummins2014]

I would go with Cooper AT3 XLT’s or Falken Wildpeak AT3W’s.

When I get tired of these trashforce I’ll be going with AT3 XLT’s.

Yup Cooper AT3 XLT's , running them now . Totally better handling tire than my previous Toyo AT2's , time will tell on the wear. . The Ram 3500 is a bit rough on tires IMO .I got less than 30K out the OE firestones , and less than 40K out of the Toyo's, always rotated every 5K, although I do tow a fifth wheel a fair amount of miles . Anything 40K plus I will stick with. If the Coopers don't do that good , I may give the Falken a shot , but these Coopers so far are great as far as handling .

 

[Cummins2014]

I've had Michelins and Coopers that have been good. My current truck has the Nitro Ridge Grapplers, but not enough miles yet to see how they will do. I had a Nitto on my 2015 and they didn't last, but can't remember which variety.

Michelins would be my last choice ,with Toyo's being second . I considered Nitto's , but my son runs them ,not impressed at all with the wear he gets , but his previous sets were mudders , not a fair comparison . He put on the Ridge Grapplers on his 22 Ram 3500 same time I put on the Coopers ,we will see which one does the best on wear .

 

[AH64ID]

I still don’t get exceptional mileage out of the AT3 XLT’s but I do a lot of dirt road towing and towing in general, so I’m happy with what they give me and they have a mileage warranty.

 

[Cummins2014]

Mine sees very little dirt , but as said tows a big fifth wheel a fair amount . Yes I like the mileage warranty on the Coopers , if I remember they are 50K ? I know I won't see that , but would like to see 40K or more , but I think it's wishful thinking .

 

[AH64ID]

I think I got around 35-37K on mine, so I got a decent amount back with the warranty.

 

[Cummins2014]

We will see , it takes awhile for me to wear out a set , third set of tires on my 2014 , 72K. Not a lot for a nine year old truck .

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

The original Firestone transforce highway treads didn't last long but gave decent mpg. Bridgestone HT's were better. Nitto AT's wore OK, not great, but cost 1.5 mpg towing or solo. I am now trying Kumho 52's with mountain/snowflake rating. They are supposed to be good highway tires as well. I don't expect them to give quite as good mpg as HT's.

 

[Topzide]

SO far the Laufenns that I put on mine are giving good ride and handling. Not enough mileage to know how long they will last. I kinda rolled the dice when shopping for tires. There under the Hankook umbrella, so I ordered a set and they went on after Christmas '22. They were around $175 a tire which wasn't bad hit to the wallet! Time will tell and so far it's a plus!

 

[AH64ID]

I got a quote on some AT3’s today while I was getting an alignment. Gross!!!

LT285/65R20’s are $444/ea.

 

[Ozymandias]

If someone is trailering only on hard surface road - there is no benefit from running an AT tire.
MT is about 50% negative thread.
AT about 25%
RT just 10%
Guess which one will have the best milage.

Applies to fuel mileage the same, the more aggressive the thread, the higher the fuel bill will be. And it's not little, I make a couple MPGs in the end from worst to best.

 

[AH64ID]

If someone is trailering only on hard surface road - there is no benefit from running an AT tire.
MT is about 50% negative thread.
AT about 25%
RT just 10%
Guess which one will have the best milage.

Applies to fuel mileage the same, the more aggressive the thread, the higher the fuel bill will be. And it's not little, I make a couple MPGs in the end from worst to best.

Absolutely, it costs to play. The way I use my truck an HT tire wouldn’t suffice, and I already have MT’s on different wheels for hunting.

 

[Ozymandias]

Absolutely, it costs to play. The way I use my truck an HT tire wouldn’t suffice, and I already have MT’s on different wheels for hunting.

Yeah, my comment as more tailored to the Trailer crowd running down the interstate all day long with the only gravel ever seen is the patch at the camp ground.

 

[crispyboy]

I am running Michelin LTX AT/2 tires this time around. Most of the miles are on the highway. The have a good ride, good traction on the dry and wet highway so far. On two recent 500 mile highway trips the truck pulled 20.5 mpg at 70 mph cruise control. I wouldn't expect too much out of them in the mud. I'm not sure why they even have an AT designation. They do make noise on the highway which surprises me. I don't expose the truck to snow and salt so I can't give any report on that. They do chuck gravel so I'm glad to have rubber mud flaps both front and rear. The tires seem to support the load of the engine and loads of the various trailers I pull. I adjust air pressure depending on the intended load. If I recall it took quite a few miles to get rid of the new tire squirm but that's typical. I would probably purchase them again. Both my brother and a friend of mine have had good luck with the Cooper AT3 tires. These tires were on a Ram 2500 and F250.

 

[Cummins2014]

I got a quote on some AT3’s today while I was getting an alignment. Gross!!!

LT285/65R20’s are $444/ea.

 

[slowmover]

m700 Duravis

I went with BRIDGESTONE commercial traction m700 Duravis this time around. First two tire sets (Michelin) lasted almost a quarter-million.

https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tire/duravis-m700-hd/



I don’t expect tire life to be that high as those (A/S & M/S LTX), but starting then keeping the trailer underway on low-traction surfaces now more of a priority. Rear axle stays above 4,500-lbs in non-hitched use, so:

A) Want to leverage that weight to best effect.
B). Will trade some high speed competence & very longest tire life + MPG for low-speed ability in low-traction conditions.
C). Preservation of Long Life/MPG potential is via closest match of tread width & rim width (with weight-scale derived pressures to maintain) and a basic “rib” tread configuration with closed shoulders.

— Other Duravis users report long life, and the 726-series on big trucks with somewhat similar tread design was a godsend in the Texas oilfield (life & traction). Fingers crossed.



With new tires came a new set of 4600 Bilsteins + CounterAct balancing compound. Seen this way it was close to $500/tire after all expenses tallied.

Find your tire expense per mile. My last set given same price was .022-CPM. (This is a significant big truck expense metric as its placed directly behind fuel cost).


A note for research: Big truck tire choices at each position are flat bewildering there are so many. A long list of questions to answer.

For pickups and similar it starts with expected daily loads: Occasional versus near-constant heavy load and/or towing.

Greatest satisfaction (money spent) will be to best match.

In Michelin it’s LTX Defender for the RV’er otherwise a daily driver versus for the contractor it’ll be the Agilis (is an example of how the manufacturer makes recommendations.)

1). Quality pays for itself, first.
2). Design is the piece to match what’s reality, not wishfulness, for a given level of quality.
3). Truck lifetime operating expense is seriously affected by good/bad tire choice. Higher fuel consumption past what’s necessary shortens trucks’ economical lifespan.

Also,

I see an amazing number of bad highway tire choices on pickups passing me on the Interstate at 80-MPH. (Highest risk during greatest number of miles).

— All tires are a compromise versus conditions expected. If 3% of miles have priority (off-pavement), then the tires won’t be high speed wunderkinds. Slow the F down.


Take your time in research. (Pays in cash money).

Expense — and Risk — both have real weight.

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