Tire Recommendation for 2011 Sport for towing travel trailer

[mrbillohnoooo]

I'm towing a 5500 lb travel trailer with my 2011 Sport 4x4. Tire size is 275/60R20. Time to replace. My dealership sells the following brands and offers a price match guarantee, free rotation, etc etc for Michelin, BF Goodrich, Goodyear, and Bridgestone. I live in the Pacific NW, with rain (of course but not much this year!), and some snow/ice in winter. When towing, I'm 90% on pavement, 10% on gravel. When not towing, gravel % might increase some (20%?). I may occasionally venture on some dirt roads, but nothing extreme (avoiding deep mud).

I'm debating on whether to go with the Michelin Defender LTX M/S or the BFG All Terrain T/A K02.

Pros on the Michelins are: approx $40 cheaper/tire, good up to 70K miles. I think they'll be fine on dirt roads I might take? They don't have the snowflake symbol, and I've read some comments that they are "squishy" when towing.

The BFG would be no issue on gravel/dirt, and have the snowflake. Sounds like they do well on highway driving too, although some commented on possible road noise. They are more expensive, and only good up to 50K miles.

Appreciate any comments/recommendations. And if there is another recommendation among those 4 brands, let me know. Thanks!

 

[OC455]

Find a XL rated tire with a higher load index than the OEM tires.

 

[kurek]

Man those Michelin defenders are probably the most recommended truck/suv tires in history. I've had them on an Escape and they lived up to the hype.

 

[Smokey613]

I was looking at the Michelin but after some research decided on the Continental TerrainContact H/T. They have good reviews and are slightly less “squishy” than the Michelin. Our 1500 is our only ride and I wanted a good compromise between stiffer sidewall and comfortable ride when not towing. These Continental do ride stiffer than the factory Goodyear but they feel very stable pulling our TT and are outstanding in heavy rain while towing.

TerrainContact H/T

continentaltire.com

 

[CamperMike]

Can't go wrong with michelins. With the size trailer you have, the OEM weight rating should be more than adequate... as long as you have a WDH the axle shouldn't be anywhere near overloaded. I recently got Goodyear Trailrunner AT on mine... but that was mostly due to cost/availability. They are better than the SRAs... but I still don't know how long they will last.

 

[mrbillohnoooo]

Can't go wrong with michelins. With the size trailer you have, the OEM weight rating should be more than adequate... as long as you have a WDH the axle shouldn't be anywhere near overloaded. I recently got Goodyear Trailrunner AT on mine... but that was mostly due to cost/availability. They are better than the SRAs... but I still don't know how long they will last.

Yep. Have the WDH. I’ll be going with the Michelin’s. We had them on our 4Runner and were happy with them, although we didn’t tow with it. Thx!

 

[mrbillohnoooo]

Thanks, everyone. I’ll be going with the Michelin’s.

 

[drmoreau]

I've tried all kinds of tires and my favorite for a truck are the Falken Wildpeak AT3W. They have the mountain symbol which designates good traction for snow and ice. Not bad off road either. Quiet on the highway. Not cheap, made in Japan (which today indicates quality), and decent durability.