Tires for Towing 20k 5ver and Snow at altitude

[rvexodus]

Our tow vehicle Michelin LTX M/S^2 tires are needing to be replaced. We have been spending winters in AZ. However, things are changing a bit for us and we will be spending the winters in a cabin at 9500ft elevation in Co.

I know many folks recommend summer and winter tires. However, we actually don't do a lot of driving. Maybe 10k/yr. So two sets of tires is hard to justify.

That said, we are looking for a tire that will hold up to towing our 20k toy hauler but also handle driving up a mountain road in the winter. This road is maintain but does get a little slick in a few spots. Our truck is a 2016 Ram 3500 Megacab Diesel 4x4 DRW with 4.10 axle.

Our Michelin LTX M/S^2's have served us very well. I have no idea if they are the best tire for snow though. We had some folks up on the mountain recommend the Goodyear Duratracs which look to be somewhere more aggressive tread. So not sure how they would hold up towing. Going forward though we are likely only towing the RV a few hundred miles each year. If however that changes to be more I'd like a tire that is still a good towing tire. After all it's a diesel drw. That's what it does 🙂

That's my story! Would love some feedback even if it hurts 🙂

[Grit_dog]

daniellemill wrote:
I use Duratrac a lot too! So far, I have not received negative reviews, although its price is higher than usual!

Duratracs are everything you’d want except they are basically a mud tire but louder than most mud tires once they get partially worn. Loudest tire I’ve owned short of dedicated mud tires (not MTs, real mud tires like Swampers and Boggers). Don’t do it especially for a pavement pounder.

[hondapro]

Check out the Falken wildpeak A/T3W. It is a great A/T tire and is snow rated. I really like mine the work awesome in the snow and rain and are not loud on dry pavement.

[daniellemill]

I use Duratrac a lot too! So far, I have not received negative reviews, although its price is higher than usual!!

[theoldwizard1]

rvexodus wrote:

Our Michelin LTX M/S^2's have served us very well.

Those are good tires, but they can compete withe REAL Winter tires.

Winter tire are much better on hard pack snow and ice. They still will not work well when there is more than 6" of snow on the road OR YOU ARE PULLING A TRAILER.

CHAINS or wait until the roads are plowed and the sun has come out so that the roads are dry. The big problem you will have is re-freezing. If you have not driven in the mountains, the roads can look just wet, but in the shadows it has ALREADY FROZEN !

Be prepared to spend an extra 3 or 4 days where ever you stop !

[blt2ski]

I started running cooper's at 25, now 61.
The ONLY brand I've had issues with are michiblows.
Reality most brands are good. At the end of the day, they need to have a tread pattern that suits your driving habits. Along with weather you expect to drive in. Choose your poison as some say.
The only Michelin I've liked is the ,XDE M+S. That's a 19.5 mdt tire.
Toyota has a M55 or did, another good adverse reaction tire. All steel sidewall and tread. I had those on a dually rear, ran a hwy on the front. Yes it was a 4x. I was never off road enough to run all 6. I'd do the same with Duratracs on the rear too. I was pulling a 24' TT to a ski area every weekend from Dec to March. I still had to use chains when traction devices were required for rigs over 10k GVW. Appreciated the chains for down hill runs.
Enjoy what ever you get. Hope they work.

Marty

[rvexodus]

blt2ski wrote:

I've pulled towed hauled sheet doing landscaping for 40 yrs, I have yet to have a blow out with Cooper's.

Marty

Funny. We had Cooper unravel on us down here in Phoenix during the heat of the summer. Got home after hours of dealing with getting to a tire shop and all. Tired from the heat. Turned on the news and first story they covered was Cooper tires loosing tread from the heat. Cooper paid for side panel damages and offered to replace the tire. They did good. But I always seemed to pass them over after that. I’m older, smarter, more mature. I’ll add them to my list 🙂

[blt2ski]

Cooper AT3 is a decent snow tire too. Probably the least aggressive of the three mentioned. Your current Michelin the least aggressive.
I've run multiple versions of the coopers going back 35 yrs, never been disappointed with them.
I'm running Duratracs on my 1500. For me running around the greater Seattle area, more aggressive than what I need. I was toying with AT3's. Should have gone that route for my driving.
I'm also of the, if driving on steeper grades, I throw chains on the truck with snow on the ground.
I've pulled towed hauled sheet doing landscaping for 40 yrs, I have yet to have a blow out with Cooper's.

Marty

[rvexodus]

ksss wrote:
The Duratrac is a good aggressive Winter tire. I had that tire on a 2018 ZR2 which of course is nothing like what your running it on. I can say that off road in the Winter that tire is totally impressive. I doubt it would last more than 35K and still have meaningful tread left pulling that kind of weight. However, that is about 3 years away and that may be a better way of looking at it. There are times when the miles you get on a set of tires are important. There are also times when the performance of the tire matters more. If your traveling at 9500 ft through the winter, I would chose a really good Winter tire. I am happy with the Falcon Wild Peaks. They are not as aggressive as the Goodyears, but they are a good Winter tire. We spend 6 months of the year in snow, and few buy Michelins.

Thanks for the reply. Yup the Michelins were great for traveling in good weather. Heck we even took them to AK in the spring and they did great. But they are on their last leg. I'll take a look at those falcons. You do any heavy towing on them?

[ksss]

The Duratrac is a good aggressive Winter tire. I had that tire on a 2018 ZR2 which of course is nothing like what your running it on. I can say that off road in the Winter that tire is totally impressive. I doubt it would last more than 35K and still have meaningful tread left pulling that kind of weight. However, that is about 3 years away and that may be a better way of looking at it. There are times when the miles you get on a set of tires are important. There are also times when the performance of the tire matters more. If your traveling at 9500 ft through the winter, I would chose a really good Winter tire. I am happy with the Falcon Wild Peaks. They are not as aggressive as the Goodyears, but they are a good Winter tire. We spend 6 months of the year in snow, and few buy Michelins.