M/T vs A/T and General Tire Discussion

[bartonmd]

Mike, is that considered an AT?

I think it's considered a "commercial traction" tire, but it's really right in the middle between AT and MT.

Mike

[Ole Blue]

I got the wardens because they have some offroad durability in my opinion. I mainly work during the week (six days a week) and is mainly highway driving. Yes, in my profile pic they are guarddogs they lasted me about 24 to 25k that's with daily driving, towing, and some trail riding. All in all I have no regrets but I got the wardens not only for the new price but to compromise for my daily driving and a little more tread life. More than likely I'll be getting the guarddogs again after these wear down.


Failure is an option

[Trail X]

Having had both M/T and a couple different A/T, my vote is the tires I have on my K2500HD, that I like so much on there that I'm selling off my half used set of BFG AT on the TB and putting a set of them on the TB early next week. The Wrangler Duratrac! Absolutely unreal snow traction (snowflake/mountain symbol rated, and are as good in the packed snow as any snow tires I've had, and are better in deep snow than anything I've ever driven), not very much louder than the BFG AT (and not anywhere NEAR as loud as an MT), perform great in wet grass (where ATs rock and MTs suck), perform very well in the mud, seem to perform well on rocks (what little I've been on rocks with the 3/4 ton. Given the flex and biting edges, I'd expect them to perform like an AT on rocks, which is better than an MT), and have good road manners.

The only potentially bad thing I can say about them is that they are only a 2-ply sidewall, but I haven't seen any more "blew up on the trail" than anything else, so whatever... They also squirm a little bit for the first 1000 miles or so, but that goes away. I absolutely can't say enough good about them.

Mike

I had definitely looked into them. The problem being that they just don't have the size offering that I'm looking for. They have a 285/70R17 (33"), but I really wanted to go above 33 into the 34 territory. The largest 17" tire they have is a 34.5", which I'd be all for, but it's a 315/70R17, and I'm really not interested in going wider than a 285.

[bartonmd]

Having had both M/T and a couple different A/T, my vote is the tires I have on my K2500HD, that I like so much on there that I'm selling off my half used set of BFG AT on the TB and putting a set of them on the TB early next week. The Wrangler Duratrac! Absolutely unreal snow traction (snowflake/mountain symbol rated, and are as good in the packed snow as any snow tires I've had, and are better in deep snow than anything I've ever driven), not very much louder than the BFG AT (and not anywhere NEAR as loud as an MT), perform great in wet grass (where ATs rock and MTs suck), perform very well in the mud, seem to perform well on rocks (what little I've been on rocks with the 3/4 ton. Given the flex and biting edges, I'd expect them to perform like an AT on rocks, which is better than an MT), and have good road manners.

The only potentially bad thing I can say about them is that they are only a 2-ply sidewall, but I haven't seen any more "blew up on the trail" than anything else, so whatever... They also squirm a little bit for the first 1000 miles or so, but that goes away. I absolutely can't say enough good about them.

Mike

I had definitely looked into them. The problem being that they just don't have the size offering that I'm looking for. They have a 285/70R17 (33"), but I really wanted to go above 33 into the 34 territory. The largest 17" tire they have is a 34.5", which I'd be all for, but it's a 315/70R17, and I'm really not interested in going wider than a 285.

Having had them, for my driving, I'd go with a size that they sell the Duratracs in, rather than go to a different tire. It's all personal preference, though. You can probably have a shop sipe any MT and make them pretty good in the snow.

Mike

[bartonmd]

Actually, what tires are in the 34" range, aren't above 285, and are on a 17" wheel? I've looked around a bit this morning and am not finding much...

Mike

[Trail X]

See my post on the prior page:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5507#p108498

[mikekey]

James, any reason why you want to stick with the stock rim? To avoid using spacers?

[Trail X]

I have spacers, not adapters. So I'm stuck with the odd stock stud pattern. That and I see it as a needless thing to change. Just more expense for no functional benefit. If I were to ever change, I would just get steels in the end stock pattern for the reason in that they are less prone to cracking.

[bartonmd]

See my post on the prior page:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5507#p108498

I had seen it, but that's pretty much it?

The only two in there that I'd consider for my use are the Terra Grappler and the K02. The Terra looks to be a little close on the tread pattern for anything sloppy (maybe closer than the BFG AT?), but the K02 looks like it could also be a good mix, similar to the Duratrac.

Mike

[mikekey]

I have spacers, not adapters. So I'm stuck with the odd stock stud pattern. That and I see it as a needless thing to change. Just more expense for no functional benefit. If I were to ever change, I would just get steels in the end stock pattern for the reason in that they are less prone to cracking.

No functional benefit? So having a wider selection of tires is no functional benefit? Okie dokie then. Narrow tire, Narrow rim, Narrow selection. Gotcha.

[Trail X]

I had seen it, but that's pretty much it?

The only two in there that I'd consider for my use are the Terra Grappler and the K02. The Terra looks to be a little close on the tread pattern for anything sloppy (maybe closer than the BFG AT?), but the K02 looks like it could also be a good mix, similar to the Duratrac.

Mike

Yes that's pretty much all that I can find that meets the general size I'm looking for. Why would you not consider any of the M/T options?

No functional benefit? So having a wider selection of tires is no functional benefit? Okie dokie then. Narrow tire, Narrow rim, Narrow selection. Gotcha.

I'm not sure I'd want to go wider than 285 anyways, even if I had a wider rim.

But yes, unfortunately that's where I am currently finding myself, narrow rim, narrow tire, 34" diameter, and a limited selection. I just don't find the mainstream sizes to be optimal for my situation.

[Moots1288]

I had seen it, but that's pretty much it?

The only two in there that I'd consider for my use are the Terra Grappler and the K02. The Terra looks to be a little close on the tread pattern for anything sloppy (maybe closer than the BFG AT?), but the K02 looks like it could also be a good mix, similar to the Duratrac.

Mike

Yes that's pretty much all that I can find that meets the general size I'm looking for. Why would you not consider any of the M/T options?

No functional benefit? So having a wider selection of tires is no functional benefit? Okie dokie then. Narrow tire, Narrow rim, Narrow selection. Gotcha.

I'm not sure I'd want to go wider than 285 anyways, even if I had a wider rim.

But yes, unfortunately that's where I am currently finding myself, narrow rim, narrow tire, 34" diameter, and a limited selection. I just don't find the mainstream sizes to be optimal for my situation.

So it's not a functional benefit for you... Not everyone else.

[bartonmd]

I had seen it, but that's pretty much it?

The only two in there that I'd consider for my use are the Terra Grappler and the K02. The Terra looks to be a little close on the tread pattern for anything sloppy (maybe closer than the BFG AT?), but the K02 looks like it could also be a good mix, similar to the Duratrac.

Mike

Yes that's pretty much all that I can find that meets the general size I'm looking for. Why would you not consider any of the M/T options?

MTs suck in the snow and the tread doesn't flex as well and grab rocks and such. You could have the tire shop sipe them, but I figure that kind of defeats the purpose of an MT, when there are open MT/AT combo tires like the Duratrac and likely the KO2. If there are no MT/AT combos in the size you need, siping an MT is probably better all around (except on dry or wet pavement, because of the tread to void ratio) than a full-on AT. Plus, even after siping my MTs, they were still louder than my 12-valve Cummins.

Mike

[ErikSS]

I just don't find the mainstream sizes to be optimal for my situation.

I intentionally went with a mainstream size for 2 reasons. Cost, and easy to find a replacement.

[Moots1288]

I was thinking about KO2's as my next tire, didnt know they were coming out soon.

[DirtyBacon04]

I still love my BFG A/T. I'm not sure how many miles are on them, but time-wise, i put them on right BEFORE the whole Pinyon Squeeze incident... They've got several road trips, including cross-country, plus countless miles through desert and mud. Plenty of tread still on em. I'll probably buy them again. Then again, barton got me considering them Duratracs.

[bartonmd]

I still love my BFG A/T. I'm not sure how many miles are on them, but time-wise, i put them on right BEFORE the whole Pinyon Squeeze incident... They've got several road trips, including cross-country, plus countless miles through desert and mud. Plenty of tread still on em. I'll probably buy them again. Then again, barton got me considering them Duratracs.

Hell, my BFG AT are at half (or more) tread, and they've got like 40k miles on them. If I could wait until Christmas to put new tires on (baby coming, etc.) and if it was my vehicle to DD, I'd definitely try out the BFG KO2! As it is, though, I'm putting on the tires that I know are the best tires I've seen/heard about/run in the snow, and my wife (who drives everything like a //// nascar) is going to be carting our infant daughter around in this all winter. There is a Kelly tire that's quite a bit cheaper, that looks like a pretty similar tire, but I have no frame of reference for how they perform. I'm putting on the safest tire that I already know works, that I can.

Mike

ETA: It's the Kelly Safari TSR: http://www.kellytires.com/en-US/tires/safari-tsr
However, no snowflake/mountain symbol, so they can't be that great in the snow.

[navigator]

Has anyone run a mix like At on one side and mt on the other or front/rear? I'm torn about my next tire as well. My truck spends most of the time on the road. We also spend some time in beach sand. That lends to an AT tire. We also have some deep soupy mud where an MT would be better but the MT isn't as good in the sand. The cooper st max looks like a good compromise between the two.

[bartonmd]

No, that would be the worst of both worlds.

[Diacom]

I have spacers, not adapters. So I'm stuck with the odd stock stud pattern. That and I see it as a needless thing to change. Just more expense for no functional benefit. If I were to ever change, I would just get steels in the end stock pattern for the reason in that they are less prone to cracking.

James, here was my reasoning for swapping lug patterns. The odds of finding someone with a spare that would fit increase dramatically due to the changed lug pattern vs our stock. In a situation where you've gone through your spare or two and might possibly need another, the odds of finding a chev, toy or other more standard lug wheel are greater. It's a matter of having a larger selection of backups.

The secondary reason was a better selection of wheels to choose from, which you've already said is a moot point for you. Though to be honest, most of the time when I've run with others, they either have 8 lug axles or jeeps with their standard pattern. Neither of which do us any good.