Hi All,I am looking for a new pair of shoes for my truck that hauls my truck camper 99% of the time. I currently have on the Michelin LTX M/S2's that were terrific on the highway, smooth and quiet.I am now looking to get a more aggressive tread pattern for the times that I do off road ( rocky forest service roads and sandy desert trails. I am also interested in a tire with a firm sidewall as I tip the scales at 14,000 lbs. Load range E obviously.Some of the contenders that I have listed so far in my research are:Toyo M55Toyo Open Country A/T IIGoodyear DuratracCooper Discoverer A/T3BF Goodrich T/A KO 2Thanks!!

I run the Cooper tires with about 20,000 miles on them. I'm pleased with them and they don't make a lot of noise. I think any of your choices will do fine.Bill

I would go with the Toyo Open Country personally, I ran a Toyo 608Z which is very similar to the M55 on a 450, I was not happy with them as a steer tire, wear was terrible with a lot of cupping on that extreme open shoulder design.

Which brand has the highest max load capacity.......go with that one

One you left off the list is the Michelin AT2. Not as aggressive as the ones you listed, but very well in the snow and gravel roads. I managed very good wear, never had a problem on the gravel roads and worked very well on up to 6" of snow or packed roads.I think the BFG KO2 while will have great traction will wear very fast with your heavy load.Of the ones you listed, I think the M55 would be my choice if you aren't worried about a little tire noise. Most folks swear by them but a few complain about quick wear.

Kevlar in the sidewalls..Have no idea about these tires, but they say 35% more sidewall protection, maybe others with Kevlar also?

Tires LT235/80R17 | Good Sam Community

35 Replies

okan-star
Explorer
May 11, 2016
I sold my 03 dually with a set of Goodyear silent armors on it , they seemed like good tires , but I had a set on my SRW Dodge and they where trouble, had to have 3 replaced because of bad casings, I guess that's why they discontinued them , only got about 35k on them too
I just bought a set of 7 Cooper AT3`s - 235/80/17 (dually + spare) from Discount tire for 1455.79 , have about 5k on them ,they are quiet and no sidewall flex .They have real good reviews , looking forward to 50k +
Reddog1
Explorer II
May 10, 2016
CAJW wrote:
egarant wrote:
Only put 50 miles on the Goodyear Kevelar's, wife noticed immediatly that the tires didn't seem as "squashed' as they looked with the Michelin LTX's on.

They are riding smooth as glass on the highway and no noise at all.

I can tell they might be riding a but stiffer, but that is a good thing in my book.

Report back in a bit.

Any update to this report? My "replace tire appointment" is fast approaching and am interested in what you and Reddog1 have to say about your Goodyear's.
So far, my experience is the same as egarant, and about the same number of miles.

I appreciate there are many differences to consider, but my 2004 4x4 DRW 3500 Quad cab with TC loaded rides like my previous Cadillac. This is with the OEM size Goodyear's. With the windows down absolutely no tire noise at any speed. I am very pleased so far, time and miles might change my experience. I expect to put another 100 miles on this week..
CAJW
Explorer
May 10, 2016
egarant wrote:
Only put 50 miles on the Goodyear Kevelar's, wife noticed immediatly that the tires didn't seem as "squashed' as they looked with the Michelin LTX's on.

They are riding smooth as glass on the highway and no noise at all.

I can tell they might be riding a but stiffer, but that is a good thing in my book.

Report back in a bit.

Any update to this report? My "replace tire appointment" is fast approaching and am interested in what you and Reddog1 have to say about your Goodyears.
twodownzero
Explorer
Mar 10, 2016
I had the Goodyear Silent Armor on my little truck. They didn't last long and they were replaced with a set of Michelin MS/2s.

My Dodge, which carries my camper, has the Nitto Terra Grapplers installed. The newer version of that tire looks even better. Sadly, it doesn't have a treadwear warranty.
egarant
Explorer III
Mar 09, 2016
The DOT "birthdate" of my tires were 37/15....so sometime in September of 2015 they were manufactured and I installed them last day of February, so they were about 5-6 months old when installed.
Farmerjon
Explorer
Mar 05, 2016
We have turned down tires that were almost a year old.
The dealer happily had the supplier send out another 6 tires that were much newer.
We use Cooper AT/3s and are very happy with them. They are a good compromise for highway and gravel and dirt roads. the noise level is less than our previous tires which were Cooper S/Ps.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Mar 05, 2016
I am a bit uneasy. I called the store today, and ask what could I expect to be the oldest date of manufacture on new tires. They said three years. I ask what was the oldest tire they would mount on my trailer, and the answer was four years. I wonder if this typical of all Goodyear stores. I would/will not accept a tire more than six months old.
MORSNOW
Navigator III
Mar 05, 2016
jmckelvy wrote:
egarant wrote:
Only put 50 miles on the Goodyear Kevelar's, wife noticed immediatly that the tires didn't seem as "squashed' as they looked with the Michelin LTX's on.

They are riding smooth as glass on the highway and no noise at all.

I can tell they might be riding a but stiffer, but that is a good thing in my book.

Report back in a bit.

Please continue to keep us updated as you get more miles. I considered these when I last purchased new tires but decided against them.

I have not had good luck with Goodyear tires since I had the original Wranglers on a 1979 F-150.

I boycotted Goodyear also for years, but I bought a set of Wrangler Duratracs and changed my tune. I also run Goodyears now on my car in the summer months, much better than in the past.
jmckelvy
Explorer
Mar 04, 2016
egarant wrote:
Only put 50 miles on the Goodyear Kevelar's, wife noticed immediatly that the tires didn't seem as "squashed' as they looked with the Michelin LTX's on.

They are riding smooth as glass on the highway and no noise at all.

I can tell they might be riding a but stiffer, but that is a good thing in my book.

Report back in a bit.

Please continue to keep us updated as you get more miles. I considered these when I last purchased new tires but decided against them.

I have not had good luck with Goodyear tires since I had the original Wranglers on a 1979 F-150.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Mar 04, 2016
I am pleased that they are stiffer.