My 2014 Ram 2500 came with 275/70-18 Firestone Transforce HT (hiway) tires. At 19,000 miles and little towing, they are at less than half tread and one is down to the wear indicators. Additionally, they are terrible in snow, wet roads and almost anything off road. So, I am ready for a new set of tires. I have been researching everything under the sun, and I think I am going to go with Cooper Discoverer A/T 3's. They have good reviews overall, though you certainly cannot please everyone. Is there a big difference in MPG going to an A/T vs a hiway tire. I assume there is some, and 20-25 miles per tank would be reasonable....I certainly do not want to drop my MPG by 2-4 mpg....ugh!Has anyone towed with these tires? Reviews I have read say that they are pretty stable towing but you guys are the experts...I don't do a lot of off road stuff, but my current Firestones got stuck in my back yard when I was unloading wood pellets...had to go into 4wd to get to the front yard!!ANyway, and information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated..thanks in advance.

I don't think you'll notice much difference in MPG as they aren't an overly aggressive tire. I've had BFG ATs and over sized Nitto Terra Grapplers on past trucks and mileage only dropped by 1mpg. Unless you go with a mud tire I doubt it would be any worse. Biggest difference was road noise due to the deeper tread.Keep us updated when you do switch. I'll be needing to change mine out at some point.

Oh yes....noise is certainly an issue. I had some really cheap mud tires a few years ago and the hummmm was unbearable.Can anyone comment on the noise level of the AT/3 or other A/T tires???

zogg I no longer have my trucks but I have a Jeep Wrangler 4 door. The stock tires were a Bridgestone Duelers. They were quiet but not a great tire for traction. I switched over to the brand new BFG KO2 A/T tires. I was expecting a bit more noise and a rougher ride, to my amazement they were not. I kept listening for the expected 'humm' from the tires, but got very little. Same for the rough ride, it just wasn't there. I have been very happy with the ride quality and how quiet they were. Even the tire store owner that took my Jeep for a ride was amazed how quiet they were.As for MPG, hard to tell at this point since I switched over 1st of November about the time winter blend gas hit. I am expecting a slight decrease, but not much.

y-guy....I was contemplating the new KO 2's but I had a set of the KO's on a prior truck and they were noisy enough to bother me on a long trip....wife hated them too. They were by far the best tires I ever had, but just too noisy. I just assumed the new KO2's would be loud, too, so I wasn't thinking about them as a possibility....maybe??

I run Hankook Dynapro MTs which are a mud terrain in 285/70/17 Load Range D on my truck. They are slightly noisier than the Cooper Highway tread tires they replaced but they handle great even with my heavy 5th wheel.I had Cooper AT3s on my wifes old Tahoe and liked them a lot. Not noisy at all.

All Terrain Tires vs Hiway Tires for Towing | Good Sam Community

ksss
Explorer
Feb 27, 2015
I had Hankook ATMs on my last 2500HD great wear, decent traction considering the tread. I think they are a really good tire. I put NITTO EXO Grapplers on my 3500HD. I wanted more traction than what the ATMs could provide and did not want their mud tire. The EXO Grappler seems to be a good aggressive AT tire. So far I really like it. Most of the driving has been snow/ice and they grip very well. They bite well in the mud and clean out well. So far as good as they perform if I can get 45K out of them or better, I will buy again.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Feb 27, 2015
nevadanick wrote:
I buy tires at Schwab and get any brand i want, not limited to Toyo though thats what i usually buy. I dont let them work on my vehicles.

Good call! On tire installation they are famous for running up the lugs with air impact to over torque specs then hitting them once for show with the torque wrench.
4X4Dodger
Explorer II
Feb 27, 2015
zogg wrote:
My 2014 Ram 2500 came with 275/70-18 Firestone Transforce HT (hiway) tires. At 19,000 miles and little towing, they are at less than half tread and one is down to the wear indicators. Additionally, they are terrible in snow, wet roads and almost anything off road.

So, I am ready for a new set of tires. I have been researching everything under the sun, and I think I am going to go with Cooper Discoverer A/T 3's. They have good reviews overall, though you certainly cannot please everyone.

Is there a big difference in MPG going to an A/T vs a hiway tire. I assume there is some, and 20-25 miles per tank would be reasonable....I certainly do not want to drop my MPG by 2-4 mpg....ugh!

Has anyone towed with these tires? Reviews I have read say that they are pretty stable towing but you guys are the experts...

I don't do a lot of off road stuff, but my current Firestones got stuck in my back yard when I was unloading wood pellets...had to go into 4wd to get to the front yard!!

ANyway, and information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated..thanks in advance.

I am looking ahead at the time I will need to replace my Transforce LT that came on my '14 Dodge Ram....I actually like them and find them good in snow...I now live in Minot ND. I drive in 2WD with an empty bed with no problems...in fact I am often surprised by how good they grip in snow and dirt.

Having said that I am on the lookout for a bit more aggressive tread but I dont want the road noise or loss of MPG...and I want to keep the load range of the LT Transforce.
4X4Dodger
Explorer II
Feb 27, 2015
ib516 wrote:
Some reading for you - All Terrain tire test

Thats a great test and done well. Expedition Portal is a great site for all kinds of information relevant to RV'ers and their magazine is a great read too.

I am definitely looking at those Cooper AT3's now. And they come in 18" LT's

Thanks for the link
K-9_HANDLER
Explorer
Feb 27, 2015
LowRyter wrote:
I got stuck on wet grass with Firestone TF. 2500 Duramax XCab.

I'd like to go to all seasons at least for the rear tires. Should I do all 4? I want quiet and best mileage but it's crazy to get stuck like that.

Yeah that sucks. They offer deals/rebates when you buy four. I got mine from discount tire direct. Cooper had a $50 rebate and discount tire had a $70 prepaid visa when you bought four tires. I got into my 10 plys for under $600 bucks. Had a local guy mount them.
RJCorazza
Explorer
Feb 27, 2015
I have the BFG All Terrain on my F150, and yes, they are loud. Great traction though.
On my F250 I opted for the BFG Rugged Terrain, which are quiet enough and still have good off road traction. I prefer the traction over small mpg gains of a strictly highway tread.
LowRyter
Explorer
Feb 28, 2015
K-9 HANDLER wrote:
LowRyter wrote:
I got stuck on wet grass with Firestone TF. 2500 Duramax XCab.

I'd like to go to all seasons at least for the rear tires. Should I do all 4? I want quiet and best mileage but it's crazy to get stuck like that.

Yeah that sucks. They offer deals/rebates when you buy four. I got mine from discount tire direct. Cooper had a $50 rebate and discount tire had a $70 prepaid visa when you bought four tires. I got into my 10 plys for under $600 bucks. Had a local guy mount them.

I am not sure I see the benefit of all seasons on all 4 corners, was thinking about highway tread upfront and all season on rear ....

still, I want quiet, traction, quiet and mileage.
zogg
Explorer
Feb 28, 2015
I have been doing a little more research and found that the "unsprung weight" (stuff on the ground---tires, wheels, etc) is the biggest killer of MPG and performance. Looks like going to oversize tires and wheels hurts the mph and is power robbing too.

Anyway, I looked at the actual published weight of several tires, and the Firestone Transforce HT weighs in at 50 pounds, and the Cooper AT3's are about 54-56, depending on the site.

The BFG KO2's are about 58 pounds, and are the heaviest AT tire I found.

Overall, there is not that much difference, I guess.

While I'll probably go with the Coopers, I really like the look of the new KO2's....if they weren't so loud?!?!?!
goducks10
Explorer
Feb 28, 2015
My KO2's on my 12 Ram 2500 aren't any louder than the OEM Michelins I had. Better ride as well.
spoon059
Explorer II
Feb 28, 2015
zogg wrote:
y-guy....I was contemplating the new KO 2's but I had a set of the KO's on a prior truck and they were noisy enough to bother me on a long trip....wife hated them too. They were by far the best tires I ever had, but just too noisy. I just assumed the new KO2's would be loud, too, so I wasn't thinking about them as a possibility....maybe??

I have them standard on my truck, E rated. Currently have about 50,000 miles and expect another 10K miles before I change them. They will still have plenty of wear left, but with snow I prefer more than the minimal tread.

They make some noise, but its really not bad at all. If the radio is on low volume (which it almost always is) then we don't really hear them. For me, I'll take a little extra noise for All Terrain tread and better mobility in the snow. The KO2's have been an EXCELLENT tire for me. They are pricy, but at 60K miles per set it is an acceptable cost.