Need a snow tire recommendation

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Marshall

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Nokian Hakkapaliita studded with a set of extra wheels. The Hakks are the the cream of the crop when it comes to snow tires. I run two sets, summer and winter. I picked up a set of extra wheels on craigslist with winter tires for my 1500 for $750, 20” fuel aluminums, freakin steal. I see them pop up all the time.
But for true off road snow travel, chains are the best option.
Those are what I use in winter, hi profile on17” mags, I hate steel, than back to 20” factory in summer
Ice is more of a problem
At my age , I try to stay out of snow banks, In this country on the roads , snow id not a problem, stopping and steering on ice is the problem, going is not a problem, stopping is.
those wheels where just under 100.oo each Ca when I got them 3-4 yrs ago. factory studded, never lost a stud, which can be a problem with add on ones, you have to be careful with the peddles in the garage .
 

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LouM

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I buy used rims for my vehicles to mount the snow tires on, I gave $200 for a full set of RAM 1500 18" "chrome" rims.
I also bought a set of tpms sensors, I think they were $45 or so for the set of 4. Studded snow tires on factory rims and
my "summer" tires are on the stock Laramie 18" rims none of those 20's for me.
I will be cussing my snows at the end of April this year, they are getting down to about 50% wear after 4 winters so I'll
pull all the studs and run them as summer tires for a couple of years.

Also I have seen several mentions of tire chains, to my knowledge most of the RAMs have a disclaimer in the manual
not to use tire chains they didn't give us enough clearance around the suspension or brakes for them.
 

Thomas Obieglo

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I put Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my Ram last summer, and I like them, but I've been stuck in the snow twice now, and it's not acceptable.

I drive a truck specifically so that I can play in the snow drifts and have the ability to push through.

The Ridge Grappler seems to have zero bite when it gets cold.
The secret to getting through snow is... Tall and Skinny. My winter tires are BFG KO2 285/75s on 17"... only because I couldn't find/buy 34 x 10.5" on 17". Another option is Goodyear Wranglers 285/75s on 18" which are 35.1" tall and only 11.2" wide. Buy cheap steel rims for the winter and it won't cost too much. I only run my winters for 5 months at most... so they last for years.
 

Udy2554

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Studded Hakkapelliitas from October till April here! By far, the best icy road snow tire!A903F3C3-00A3-4B55-9587-F4F4B8D06852.jpeg5972250E-050F-4B45-ACB4-4D3F674472C5.jpeg
 

BlackSheepRebel

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I put Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my Ram last summer, and I like them, but I've been stuck in the snow twice now, and it's not acceptable.

I drive a truck specifically so that I can play in the snow drifts and have the ability to push through.

The Ridge Grappler seems to have zero bite when it gets cold.

Hard to beat duratracs in snow.
 

Doug Ram

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I buy used rims for my vehicles to mount the snow tires on, I gave $200 for a full set of RAM 1500 18" "chrome" rims.
I also bought a set of tpms sensors, I think they were $45 or so for the set of 4. Studded snow tires on factory rims and
my "summer" tires are on the stock Laramie 18" rims none of those 20's for me.
I will be cussing my snows at the end of April this year, they are getting down to about 50% wear after 4 winters so I'll
pull all the studs and run them as summer tires for a couple of years.

Also I have seen several mentions of tire chains, to my knowledge most of the RAMs have a disclaimer in the manual
not to use tire chains they didn't give us enough clearance around the suspension or brakes for them.
A couple of things about the new model 2019+ Ram 1500:
There are very few after market rims for their 6 lug wheels. Which makes them more expensive and harder to find than for the Classic Ram 1500.
There are plenty of chains on the market that are made for the new Ram, at least for the standard 18 inch rims.
 

LouM

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From the owners manual of my "19" new model;
1677723134690.png
I'm running the 18" rims from the ORG package and the "spares" that I picked were the same rims.
FCA isn't real sharp with their manuals they list a 17" tire for use with class S chains but they never offered a 17" rim/tire combination on the new 19's.
I know that looking at my 18's on factory rims there is minimal clearnace for tire chains.
My factory stock tires are LT275/65R18/C,
my snows are LT265/70R18's so a tad bit narrower then stock but still not enough room for chains.
 

Jeepwalker

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That's probably true for on-road driving. Because there are so many variables with snow types: hard-pack, fresh, really deep, super-cold, really wet snow, deep slush ...or all those in a single drive to work! Ya have to pick a tire/tread which matches the type of driving ya do most. That's how I look at it.

Then, does the tire that performed great when brand new, ....how does it perform when the tread is half worn? Lot of variables. Good suggestions from forum members on this post though.
 

TestPilot57

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As others mentioned, General Grabber ATX are an excellent all year tire, and they are pinned for studs, which really improves their ability on icy roads, and on wet, hard packed snow. I know you are looking for a "winter" tire, but I ran these tires year round on 2 different F150's and where I live (New Brunswick, Canada) they lasted for 61,000 and 67,000 miles.
Many locales/states do not allow year round use of studded tires.
 

huntergreen

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If your truck has the "auto" 4X4 ,you might be better off seeing if Brandon-W has any of his transfer case switches in stock.The 44-44 t-case leaves alot to be desired as a transfer case in the snow
In north jersey, the auto 4x4 works well on snow and ice. Also works well on gravel muddy boat launches. It’s really not up for muddy trails and such. I would use my wrangler for those conditions. Just my thoughts.
 

Wild one

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In north jersey, the auto 4x4 works well on snow and ice. Also works well on gravel muddy boat launches. It’s really not up for muddy trails and such. I would use my wrangler for those conditions. Just my thoughts.
As long as your moving it's not a bad t-case.But if your stuck in snow needing to have a certain amount of rear tire rotation,before it kicks the front tires in,leaves a bit to be desired as the rear tires have dug a hole by the time the front diff kicks.This video shows the downfall of the 44-44 t-case,it's in 4 low,idling and the back tires are spinning,but the front tires aren't doing a thing

 

TomB 1269

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If you want an outstanding year round tire check out the Cooper Discover AT3 4S, it must have the 4S as that is the blended compound with more sipes verse regular AT3. It stays "soft" at colder temps then a standard all terain all season tire.
With factory tire I used 4x4 in almost any snow, now I can wait until there is a couple of inches before putting it in 4x4 as the 4S grab and go.

FYI, in our stock size we can get P rates vs light truck which ride much firmer

 
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huntergreen

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As long as your moving it's not a bad t-case.But if your stuck in snow needing to have a certain amount of rear tire rotation,before it kicks the front tires in,leaves a bit to be desired as the rear tires have dug a hole by the time the front diff kicks.This video shows the downfall of the 44-44 t-case,it's in 4 low,idling and the back tires are spinning,but the front tires aren't doing a thing

Gues I forgot to mention street use. Lol
 

Justin33

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Duratracs man I have to make it want to slide out. Just got a foot of snow so I’ll report back in a bit. Most snow we have gotten since I dropped a few bands to get these on.
 

BlackSheepRebel

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I have considered them. Have you ever driven a true snow tire to compare them to?
Not since I was a kid and I don’t trust my memory that well. Haven’t done anything studded, etc in many decades.

I did run duratracs for a decade or so. I’m almost regretting switching to KO2’s. Great heritage, very capable, looks good, but have had loss of traction some places I did not with duratrac.

There were several times where I navigated several hundred miles of ice (not just snow) including blizzard conditions and ruts in the road deep enough I wasn’t sure I had the ground clearance but the duratracs pulled through. Granted, I was probably dumb for trying in the first place and the good lord was doing the driving.
 

TestPilot57

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Seriously thinking about getting studded Duratracs - they have one that is approx 11 x 34 which would be barely acceptable (could be narrower and taller...) - and putting them on only in the winter. Especially now that my Grapper AT/x will have 30k miles on them at the start of next winter.
 

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