Tire Input

25contender

Veteran member
Mar 20, 2013
1,638
90
Hey everyone. It is time to get some new tires for my hunting truck which is a 2001 7.3 Excursion. The tire on it now are the tires that were on it when I bought it. They are Michelin LTX/MS 285/75 R16. They have been good tires but more of a Highway tire. I am looking for a tire that would be good on the highway and for off road use. I was looking at the Michelin LTX A/T 2 or the BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO. Any input would be great.
 

Timberstalker

Veteran member
Feb 1, 2012
2,242
6
Bend, Or
The BFG A/T will be my next tire. I've had them in the past and never had any issues and they have lasted longer than any other tire I've used. I've never worn a set out, I always sell the rig before I do for some reason.
 

hardstalk

Veteran member
Sep 13, 2011
1,550
43
vegas
The BFG are a great off road tire. I run Toyo Open Country m/t on my truck.
+1 Toyos are the best that I have found for off-road. The sidewalks are awesome. And the tread actually stays intact. But they do have some wind in the highway.
 

tdcour

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2013
1,100
26
Central Kansas
I've run the BFGs and Nitto TerraGrapplers on my trucks. I liked the Nittos, but they didn't perform as well in sticky mud and snow so those went out the window, but they have great grab on dry/loose soil and rocks. I like the BFGs a lot. I put them on my personal truck, then put them on my work truck, and as soon as I burn through the stock tires on my new work truck I'll put BFGs on again. Another option is the General Grabbers. I have heard good things about those and they are very similar to the BFGs from a looks perspective. They are also studdable if I remember correctly. Dad has them on his work truck and likes them.

By the way, when I say work truck, I mean our company farm trucks. We take them hunting, but for the most parts they are just running gravel and dirt roads and mud when it rains. Nothing too extreme, but they have all performed pretty well in the South Dakota and Kansas winters.

As a little bit later edit: We are running 2500 chevy duramax crew cabs that we haul with and usually have some good weight in the back. The heavier trucks (like yours) definitely eat the BFG tread up (and any other tread) faster on the back end when hauling, but on my 1/2 ton personal truck I had 30k on them and didn't really notice much tread wear
 
Last edited:

hardstalk

Veteran member
Sep 13, 2011
1,550
43
vegas
I've had good luck with the nittos on 1/2 tons. When I put them on my diesels they were cup central. Same experience I had with bfg. Some tires seem to hold up better on 1/2 tons then on diesels. It may have been my shocks making them cup..
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,847
2,230
Eastern Nebraska
I have had amazing luck buying factory 2nd tires to save real money. I have bought my last two sets (coopers) at about 60% of full price. Usually mounted and balanced for about $400 for big tires. My first set I got 65,000 miles and the 2nd set was in great shape when I sold my last pickup. They had 50k miles on them. The factory 2nds are not defective- they usually have a very small blemish somewhere. Most of the time you can't even find it! As long as that is an option, I will never buy full priced tires again...
 

NVBird'n'Big

Veteran member
May 27, 2011
1,138
0
Reno, NV
I have had amazing luck buying factory 2nd tires to save real money. I have bought my last two sets (coopers) at about 60% of full price. Usually mounted and balanced for about $400 for big tires. My first set I got 65,000 miles and the 2nd set was in great shape when I sold my last pickup. They had 50k miles on them. The factory 2nds are not defective- they usually have a very small blemish somewhere. Most of the time you can't even find it! As long as that is an option, I will never buy full priced tires again...
How do you go about getting these? Can you just walk in to Les Schwab and ask for em? Thanks!
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,847
2,230
Eastern Nebraska
How do you go about getting these? Can you just walk in to Les Schwab and ask for em? Thanks!
I call different tire stores until I find them. Sometimes it takes a week or two... Some tire stores will get them while others won't. Usually the small stores can get them in. It is something they can request from distributors.
 

25contender

Veteran member
Mar 20, 2013
1,638
90
One of my concerns was mentioned the Expedition is very heavy and I am concerned with fast wear on the tires. I have had BFG ATs and Rugged terrains on my small truck and the rugged terrains have been holding up a bit better than the ATs. I am concerned about BFGs and wear on the Expedition.
 

jims

Member
Oct 5, 2012
95
0
KC Missouri
I have been running BFG AT's on my F250 FX4 Supercab for the past several years. I have been very happy with them. I think they perform well on the highway as well as off-road. They have a more aggressive tread than the stock tires that came on my FX4. As soon as I wore the stock tires out, I put BFG AT's on it about 100,000 miles ago. I had ran BFG AT's on my previous 1/2 ton pickup and on my Jeep Cherokee before that. Always had good experiences with those tires.
 

OregonJim

Very Active Member
Feb 19, 2014
795
0
Oregon Coast
I have BFG AT/KO on my wife's FJ, I also have had them on a Willys Wagon and a CJ.

I was all set to put them on my Tundra about three years ago and the salesperson at Tire Factory talked me into Goodyear Durotrac.
After about 10K I was so impressed that I put a set on my daughter's Z71 Silverado.

I have run the crap out of my truck during the last three years to the tune of over 25K per year.
The tires have about 80K on them with regular rotations and one repair.

I will not need to get a new set until right before hunting season and that should be at least another 15K.
My kid has not faired quite so well (not rotating them as she should) but I haven't heard anything about new tires.

I will be getting the Duros in the fall. The AT/KOs on the FJ are original as well and they are at 60K so both are pretty good tires.
 

hardstalk

Veteran member
Sep 13, 2011
1,550
43
vegas
I had dura tracks on a 3500 cummins that did pretty well. A lot less road noise than the Toyos. But not quite as meaty. I remember ripping a few treads off in the rocks. But a pretty good tire and cheaper than the Toyos.
 

hardstalk

Veteran member
Sep 13, 2011
1,550
43
vegas
I have been running BFG AT's on my F250 FX4 Supercab for the past several years. I have been very happy with them. I think they perform well on the highway as well as off-road. They have a more aggressive tread than the stock tires that came on my FX4. As soon as I wore the stock tires out, I put BFG AT's on it about 100,000 miles ago. I had ran BFG AT's on my previous 1/2 ton pickup and on my Jeep Cherokee before that. Always had good experiences with those tires.
Is your fx4 a diesel or gas?
 

Musket Man

Veteran member
Jul 20, 2011
6,457
0
colfax, wa
I have Cooper Discoverer A/T3's on my powerstroke rightnow that I have been real happy with. I have run BFG A/T's and been happy with them too. My girlfriend has Toyo A/T's and they have been good too. All are good tires. If your towing alot you might want to go with a 10 ply (load range E), otherwise an 8 ply will be fine.
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,847
2,230
Eastern Nebraska
One of my concerns was mentioned the Expedition is very heavy and I am concerned with fast wear on the tires. I have had BFG ATs and Rugged terrains on my small truck and the rugged terrains have been holding up a bit better than the ATs. I am concerned about BFGs and wear on the Expedition.
My coopers were on full size, extended cab, pickups. I pull a loaded trailer occasionally but most driving was unloaded so I'm not sure what the weight comparison is. A lot of my miles are in the snow which is really nice on tires... they would last forever if we only drove in the winter!
 

hardstalk

Veteran member
Sep 13, 2011
1,550
43
vegas
I have Cooper Discoverer A/T3's on my powerstroke rightnow that I have been real happy with. I have run BFG A/T's and been happy with them too. My girlfriend has Toyo A/T's and they have been good too. All are good tires. If your towing alot you might want to go with a 10 ply (load range E), otherwise an 8 ply will be fine.
I have those coopers on 20's on the wife's Tahoe. She prefers the "feel" of them better than the bfg all terrain that were on it. She says they feel softer. And they may be. The bfgs were 5+ years old.

Her- " babe, I don't need mud terrains on my car, I don't go off-roading like you do"

Me- "but if I do ever get stuck, your first on the speed dial. I need you to have tread".
 
Last edited:

grizzly

Active Member
Dec 3, 2013
195
1
UT
I had the Michelin LTX AT2 on my truck and really did not like them. My last two trucks have had Goodyear DuraTrac and they have been awesome. Highly recommended.
 

tdcour

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2013
1,100
26
Central Kansas
I forgot about the duratrac tires. Had those on a gas engine 2500. they were wearing pretty good, but they have a lot of noise on the highway. I also noticed that if I didn't run the tires full I could feel some "sway" on the highway. I'm guessing running high pressure helps stiffen the sidewall, but I hate running my 10 ply tires at 80 all the time. Other than that they were pretty good