Looking for tire recommendations

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Minnesota Dan

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May 6, 2018
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I have a 2018 Ram 1500 and need to replace the tires soon and I was hoping I might get some recommendations for a new tire. The tires that came with the truck are Goodyear P275/60R20 and I'm not the happiest with them. Mostly the truck is either my daily driver or towing my trailer. I live in Minnesota, so I need tires that are good in the snow. I drive offroad only once in a great while.
 
Is it a 4WD? Anyway, if you don't want pure snow tires go with all-terrain tires. They are reasonable in snow, but not as good as snow tires but a lot better than normal street tires. Note these are NOT the same as "all-weather" tires.

I also own a Dodge Ram 1500, and perhaps the most important thing in the snow is to have extra weight in the very rear of the truck bed. I kept a bunch of large heavy bricks back there for winter driving in snow. If you do not do this, you will never be happy with the truck in the snow regardless of what tires you put on it. And then it can be dangerous. Perhaps you already discovered that.

-Don- 79765
 
I am about to replace the tires on my 2019 RAM. A guy in town at the tire shop has some really nice looking A/Ts. I am gonna swing by and look again before I buy.

I've been happy with Bridgestone A/Ts on a couple of past vehicles - Jeep Liberty & Jeep Cherokee.

Mines 2WD and no snow here but I'd like a more aggressive tire for the occasional muddy spots.
 
Toyo C/T's and AT3's is what we run on our Ram 2500 and Jeep. Running Goodyear Duratracs on our Chevrolet K1500. All our tires are 3PMSF rated. Never slip.

We have run BFG KO's and KO2's on several trucks. The issue is in extreme cold the rubber became hard as a hockey puck and worsen with tire age. If you want to really slide around on black ice, then get these. We lost a Jeep with brand new BFG KO2 tires in Gunnison, Colorado in subzero temperatures.
 
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What you now have is "Passenger Car" grade tires (Type P), optimized for a smooth, quiet, and comfortable ride. I'd say the first decision is whether to stick with those or move to a type LT (Light Truck), which is geared more toward heavier loads and towing. In an LT type you will have more variety of tire models available, including some that will have tread that performs better in snow or mud, but some of them may be noisier or stiffer riding. LT tires will have stiffer sidewalls than P tires, so are near-always better for trailer towing.

That said, there are P-type tires that are mud & snow rated too, so the tradeoffs aren't always real clear. What I can guarantee, though, is that better mud & snow performance requires a more aggressive tread and that means more tire noise, slightly lower mpg, and often reduced mileage life too.

You didn't mention the GY tire model you now have - there are a couple with different tread designs. Nor did you say what made you unhappy with them. That makes it tough to suggest what you might view as "better". Perhaps you could elaborate more on what your priorities are?

The BFG All Terrain T/A is a great tire but maybe a little more oriented toward off-road or poor road use than what you want on a daily driver. I had a set on a big SUV that was a daily driver and they were overkill and I was happy to switch them to a softer riding Continental. The GY Wrangler Authority A/T is similar, but other Wrangler models are relatively smooth & quiet.
 
I don't have a dog in this hunt, but if I did I think I'd refer to the guy who lives where those type tires really matter.
 
I put Cooper Discoverer AT3's on my Silverado 1500. They are load range E and do ride a little rougher than the P rated tires that came on the truck. I run them at 40-45lbs without the trailer and 55-50lbs hooked up. Max pressure 80. Decent all around tread pattern.
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Bumping this for F150 with 20's
Les Schwab has Vredestein Pinza AT that I'm curious about.
275/55R-20 117H PINZA AT. Load range XL which falls to 4 ply, load index is 117 shows carrying capacity of 2833 lbs.

GVWR of 26' travel trailer is 7800 lbs.
Hitch weight ~610
WD bars are 801-1200
Airbags set at 35 lbs.

Current set of tires are KO2s which are great, but I hardly drive this truck. We've put 10k-15k miles on it per year so I don't see the need for KO2s again.

Not interested in E range, do I need to look for something closer to C1 (6 ply 50 lb) or D2 (8 ply 50 lbs) rating?

Does anyone have experience with the Vredestein Pinza?
 
What you now have is "Passenger Car" grade tires (Type P), optimized for a smooth, quiet, and comfortable ride. I'd say the first decision is whether to stick with those or move to a type LT (Light Truck), which is geared more toward heavier loads and towing. In an LT type you will have more variety of tire models available, including some that will have tread that performs better in snow or mud, but some of them may be noisier or stiffer riding. LT tires will have stiffer sidewalls than P tires, so are near-always better for trailer towing.

That said, there are P-type tires that are mud & snow rated too, so the tradeoffs aren't always real clear. What I can guarantee, though, is that better mud & snow performance requires a more aggressive tread and that means more tire noise, slightly lower mpg, and often reduced mileage life too.

You didn't mention the GY tire model you now have - there are a couple with different tread designs. Nor did you say what made you unhappy with them. That makes it tough to suggest what you might view as "better". Perhaps you could elaborate more on what your priorities are?

The BFG All Terrain T/A is a great tire but maybe a little more oriented toward off-road or poor road use than what you want on a daily driver. I had a set on a big SUV that was a daily driver and they were overkill and I was happy to switch them to a softer riding Continental. The GY Wrangler Authority A/T is similar, but other Wrangler models are relatively smooth & quiet.
Agree with Gary. LT type tires. I just put 4 new Michelin Defender LTXs on my van. Been using these for over 20 years on this van and they tow very well, and also provide a pretty good daily ride. A little noisier, but not too bad. As Gary said, the sidewalls are stiffer than your normal passenger tires. I see barely any flattening when I drop the trailer on them. Of course, I don't do any off roading with it, so decide what type of driving you do most, and go from there.
 
Bumping this for F150 with 20's
Les Schwab has Vredestein Pinza AT that I'm curious about.
275/55R-20 117H PINZA AT. Load range XL which falls to 4 ply, load index is 117 shows carrying capacity of 2833 lbs.

GVWR of 26' travel trailer is 7800 lbs.
Hitch weight ~610
WD bars are 801-1200
Airbags set at 35 lbs.

Current set of tires are KO2s which are great, but I hardly drive this truck. We've put 10k-15k miles on it per year so I don't see the need for KO2s again.

Not interested in E range, do I need to look for something closer to C1 (6 ply 50 lb) or D2 (8 ply 50 lbs) rating?

Does anyone have experience with the Vredestein Pinza?
Never heard of them. Probably Chinese. I would pass. You want at least D load range in my opinion.
 
You should buy the Load Range or Index that matches the tire load on that axle. Basically that means divide the axle GAWR by 2 to find the tire load when the axle is at its max (but I'd plan on at least 10% more than that, to account for uneven loading).

Vredestein is made by Apollo, with factories in India and the Netherlands. Better known in Europe than the USA. Not considered a no-name brand, but I know nothing about their quality record or warranty service in the USA. Several major US tire retailers handle the brand.
 

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