Help narrowing down tires

[DavesCountry]

Hello all - I was hoping to see what Black Friday would bring in terms of tire deals, but a puncture the other day kind of advanced my search. I am looking for that right mix of traction for my conditions, mileage, towing performance, noise, etc. Seems like towing info is the hardest to find online when looking at reviews, but maybe that is because I am tending to look at AT tires more.


I probably drive about 12k miles per year. Mostly in the Midwest. My driving has lots of variables but nothing extreme. I tow, but am kind of in the mid=range of my towing capacity. I go off road more frequently than most – but not into mudding or rock crawling. I drive in bad weather that can be pretty sketchy ranging from ice to snow to freezing rain - but not like what I might see in Montana or something. So, a little bit of everything.


Here is a better breakdown -
• About 3k to 4k per year are towing a camper, I want to say dry weight is about 4500 lbs, so fully loaded maybe 6000 lbs. As a percent of miles, this is pretty high, but total days are fairly low - maybe 15 or 18 towing days per year.
• Live in KS, so lots of rain and wet conditions. Pretty important to perform in the wet.
• Snow and ice maybe 10 or 15 days per year, but those can pretty important days to be able to reliably get around. They also often correspond with needing to drive long distances on the highway, maybe 145 miles or so
• Like to hunt, and spend time working on the farm – maybe 45 days total. So, need to be able to drive on wet ground, gravel, pastures etc.
• Gravel roads – lots of driving on gravel roads. I don’t know what kind of rocks they use in SE KS on gravel roads, but they are tire killers. Actually what just took out my factory tire was a rock puncture.

Here is what I have narrowed down to so far and was wanting opinions on, particularly as they relate to towing. I don't know that I *need* E rating, but maybe I do and just don't know it.–
• Cooper Discoverer A/T 3
• Nitto Dura Grappler - $143,
• NEXEN Roadian AT Pro RA8 –
Also like the Geolandar, Toyo Open Country, and Hankook DynaPro (although with this one, I have seen some reviews saying doesn’t do so well on wet pavement, so not so good around here. )

A partial list of what I have looked at and rejected – loved some of he Pirellis I saw, but heard they were terrible for towing. Also Nitto Terra Grappler , CONTINENTAL TerrainContact A/T (Price), BFG KO2 (same deal – Price – seems like can get something similar for less). Falken Wildpeak, Dra Trac, Michellin Defender, Cooper Evolutio, Wrangler AT/S. All rejected for various reasons.

 

[lpennock]

I would avoid Nexen. My truck came stock with them and 2 of the 6 had slipped belts by 12.5k miles. Sold the other 4 and went to General ATX.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[canadiankodiak700]

Not really sure why you rejected the Falken wildpeak at3w, as they will easily outperform any of the three tires that you have on your like list. Probably one of the best choices out there to do exactly what you're asking of a tire

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[OC455]

Nitto Terra Grappler G2's were what I had on my 2018 Big Horn. Great tires, 65k mile tread warranty, Good in snow from my experience, wet weather they handled good.

 

[Travelin Ram]

Brand is a subject thing. Of the ones you like, I’d go Nitto.

I would not buy a tire made in a Chinese plant, no matter what brand name.

E rated will be a stiffer ride, less compliant on imperfect surfaces. Better for towing. More puncture resistant. And rougher ride.

 

[NH RAM]

I'm curious why you rejected the Falken Wildpeak AT3W; I had 275/65/20 (E rated) Falken Wildpeak AT3W on my 2016 Ram 1500 and saw plenty of snow, ice, and highway miles. The standard 275/60/20 I had first wore down pretty quick, so I upsized to the E-rated tire and they worked very well plowing snow and hauling my 7000# travel trailer. They are severe weather rated. Don't confuse these with the original Falken Wildpeak, those were junk.
I opted for the General Grabber ATX this time just to try them out but haven't made it to winter yet to comment on winter traction.

 

[DavesCountry]

Thanks for the replies so far.

The reason I am looking past the Falken's is this. I read on several sites where they performed comparable to the Cooper's, but in my market the Falkens are $40 - $50 more per tire. Also, I believe the Coopers have a better load rating, and are a bit lighter. Those seemed like two good things, but admittedly I am putting more thought into this than I normally do with tires, so my logic could be flawed.

It is kind of the same logic I had for Nitto Terra Grapplers. They seem like great tires, but compared to the Cooper's, would be almost $200 more. I included the Dura Grapplers on my list since they seem notably different.

 

[RAM DRVR]

I like Toyo Open Country A/T's. Have had them on several vehicles over the years, quiet, 40k+ miles and good traction.

Jus put 35's on my truck and drove it from SC to Oregon hauling a 16' loaded enclosed trailer. Will be hauling a 30' TT with it also. They aren't the cheapest tire on the market, but they are very good tires. IMO

 

[JohnnyMac]

Thanks for the replies so far.

The reason I am looking past the Falken's is this. I read on several sites where they performed comparable to the Cooper's, but in my market the Falkens are $40 - $50 more per tire. Also, I believe the Coopers have a better load rating, and are a bit lighter. Those seemed like two good things, but admittedly I am putting more thought into this than I normally do with tires, so my logic could be flawed.

It is kind of the same logic I had for Nitto Terra Grapplers. They seem like great tires, but compared to the Cooper's, would be almost $200 more. I included the Dura Grapplers on my list since they seem notably different.

Most of the tires mentioned above are fine tires and would probably serve you well, but my two cents I always throw out is that Cooper is an American owned company and their tires are made in American factories by American workers. Buy American.... Plus they are a good tire. I run Mickey Thompson's which are a subsidiary of Cooper and love them. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[HDGoose]

Most of the tires mentioned above are fine tires and would probably serve you well, but my two cents I always throw out is that Cooper is an American owned company and their tires are made in American factories by American workers. Buy American.... Plus they are a good tire. I run Mickey Thompson's which are a subsidiary of Cooper and love them. Good luck with whatever you choose.

On a truck made in Mexico?

 

[JohnnyMac]

On a truck made in Mexico?