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 🙂

[cummins2014]

IdaD wrote:
The BFG's are a great tire but they don't wear for $hit, at least in heavier applications. That was the first tire I put on after getting rid of the stock Firestones on my Ram. I think the Falken Wildpeaks perform at least was well on slick surfaces as the KO2 but they also wear a lot better. I'd give the Falken's a serious look. When my current ones wear out I'll buy another set.

Falken's will be my next tire on my Ram if the Cooper AT3 XLT's do not perform as well as I think they will. Heard goos things about the Falken Wildpeaks . The only reason I went with Coopers they were a bit cheaper ,and had a rebate . The last set I had were the Toyo AT2's ,and they were disappointing . I anticipate these Coopers doing better , time will tell .They are for sure right out of the gate a better handling ,and riding tire than the Toyo's . I am ranking those Toyo's as terrible as the couple sets off Michelin I have had .

[IdaD]

The BFG's are a great tire but they don't wear for $hit, at least in heavier applications. That was the first tire I put on after getting rid of the stock Firestones on my Ram. I think the Falken Wildpeaks perform at least was well on slick surfaces as the KO2 but they also wear a lot better. I'd give the Falken's a serious look. When my current ones wear out I'll buy another set.

[PA12DRVR]

I had both the Goodyear Duratrac and the BFG's on prior vehicles. Being a fussy and paranoid sort of winter guy (I always switch to studded tires on my primary winter vehicle), I never put enough miles on either brand to speak to their longevity, but I had no complaints while I did use them.
My buddy down the road has some variant of Falken (I think the AT3W, but not sure) on his F350 and has never mentioned any issues...of course, FWIW, I did have to pull him out of a ditch once....along with a few others as I had fully armor clad (chain mail 🙂 ) tires all'round on my F250.

[rvexodus]

PA12DRVR wrote:
To each their own and there's lots of good advice on here. I drove (not daily, but regularly) an F550 dually dump truck for a few years until I converted it into a dedicated plow truck. My take-aways: 1) If you have the luxury of waiting out the massive snow dumps that happen rarely, stick with your current tires and get some chains; 2) If you're primary use of the truck in the winter is a grocery-getter, as hinted at, maybe a Subaru is a good 2nd vehicle; alternatively (assuming OP's truck is 4WD), get a set of bad-a** aggressive chains for the front tires....that's where your weight is (if not towing) and you'll only need to chain up for the few times that you'll face the combo of "have to go" and "bad roads"; 3) FWIW, having driven multiple duallies since 1974, there's lots of good mud/highway/AT/Snow (even a few good combo) tires out there, but tires are not going to offset the decided tendency of a dually to act like a cow on ice when the roads are slippery.

Thanks for the feedback. We are needing new tires so this is a good opportunity to get something with a little more grab. We aren’t towing as much as we use to so <1000 miles per year seems about right. If we store the RV locally we will come in around 100 miles per year towing. We do have the luxury to wait out bad road conditions and will do so absolutely. The exception would be emergencies of course. I’ve had a chance to read up on the following:

Falken Wildpeak AT3W
Goodyear Duratrac
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2

With a couple more still to research. I’m actually liking the Falken At3w. They look to be a good enough highway tire that also does well in snow and wouldn’t peel away when towing. The ko2s seem to have great fan fair but I don’t see a lot around towing heavy loads. The duratracs look like a great all around snow / dirt tire but appear to be not the greatest highway tire. It’s like being a kid in a … tire store.

[PA12DRVR]

To each their own and there's lots of good advice on here. I drove (not daily, but regularly) an F550 dually dump truck for a few years until I converted it into a dedicated plow truck. My take-aways: 1) If you have the luxury of waiting out the massive snow dumps that happen rarely, stick with your current tires and get some chains; 2) If you're primary use of the truck in the winter is a grocery-getter, as hinted at, maybe a Subaru is a good 2nd vehicle; alternatively (assuming OP's truck is 4WD), get a set of bad-a** aggressive chains for the front tires....that's where your weight is (if not towing) and you'll only need to chain up for the few times that you'll face the combo of "have to go" and "bad roads"; 3) FWIW, having driven multiple duallies since 1974, there's lots of good mud/highway/AT/Snow (even a few good combo) tires out there, but tires are not going to offset the decided tendency of a dually to act like a cow on ice when the roads are slippery.

[rvexodus]

Grit dog wrote:

So Duratracs are a great tire for snow. But read my responses above. They will last good towing, but I wouldn't want them for anything other than inclement conditions. Especially on a dually, since they require far more tire rotations than most tires in my experience and the challenges with front to back rotations (on a truck with presumably nice wheels like yours).
I spent several winters in the CO Rockies. And year round travel into the back country, tugging the snomachines up the hill to the sno parks all winter.
Trust that most decently aggressive AT tires will eat up the snow well. If you do have challenges it will be more around the dual rears and not being able to get low enough tire pressures in the rear. But if its too slippery, add weight.

I’ve lived and gone to school in snow country. But in suburbia where the snow is generally off the roads within days of the last snowfall. Also, never had a dually as my daily driver in snow country. If we do this long term, will likely get a beater that’s better suited for driving in snowy conditions. Folks in our community like their Subarus. We have been up and down the road with snow on it on our Michelins. The road was grippy each time we went so power to the front wheels on grades made it a non issue. Plus we have some light duty dually chains for those SHTF moments. It’s sounding more and more like I need something a little better than what we have tire wise but not something so aggressive we sacrifice wear, noise, price etc. Those Falken AT3’s are actually looking pretty nice TBH.

[Grit_dog]

rvexodus wrote:

So we will not be trailering up our mountain road in the winter. Just driving it to get to town for some staples. We go from 9500ft down to around 7500ft over a 5 mile stretch to get to the highway. There’s really only one spot where it gets tricky as the grade is steep and there’s a ledge. People slide off the road all the time. This is a cabin community so there is regular traffic which is good. We snowmobile from a winter lot where we keep our vehicles to our cabins in the winter.

My goal here is to find a tire that will work well in those conditions but not get destroyed trailering.

So Duratracs are a great tire for snow. But read my responses above. They will last good towing, but I wouldn't want them for anything other than inclement conditions. Especially on a dually, since they require far more tire rotations than most tires in my experience and the challenges with front to back rotations (on a truck with presumably nice wheels like yours).
I spent several winters in the CO Rockies. And year round travel into the back country, tugging the snomachines up the hill to the sno parks all winter.
Trust that most decently aggressive AT tires will eat up the snow well. If you do have challenges it will be more around the dual rears and not being able to get low enough tire pressures in the rear. But if its too slippery, add weight.

[rvexodus]

Grit dog wrote:
OP I’m presuming you’re not towing the 5ver in the mountains in the snow. That’s a different ballgame. But any smaller trailers won’t have a need for chains in the vast majority of CO Mtn winters.
Being your truck is a big doolie, you’ll use 4wd more than in the same vehicle if it was a 4 wheeler. But not an issue. It’s a push o the button. Short of just running a single rear wheel, for normal winter driving, drop your rear tires pressure to 20-25psi and add some weight. 500-1000lbs in back will help a bunch. And the further back the weight, the better. Ideally if you’re not using the bed, put the rear load divider in and pile the sandbags at the back. Although that defeats any ability to use the truck bed really.

If you’re really thinking you need easy auxiliary traction for steep grades on maintained roads and aren’t in the category of needing chains, tire socks actually work quite well on ice and greasy snow.
That said wintering at 9kft in CO, most of the winter it’s cold and grippy enough to not even need 4wd for normal drivin around. (Apologies if I’m presuming you don’t understand the nuances of different types of winter driving, although you did ask what tires to get so trying to provide some additional guidance as tires are only part of the equation.)

So we will not be trailering up our mountain road in the winter. Just driving it to get to town for some staples. We go from 9500ft down to around 7500ft over a 5 mile stretch to get to the highway. There’s really only one spot where it gets tricky as the grade is steep and there’s a ledge. People slide off the road all the time. This is a cabin community so there is regular traffic which is good. We snowmobile from a winter lot where we keep our vehicles to our cabins in the winter.

My goal here is to find a tire that will work well in those conditions but not get destroyed trailering.

[rvexodus]

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

Do you tow with them and if so how much weight. These appear to be great tires but look like they could leave some rubber behind with a heavy load. And yes they do appear to be a few bucks more don’t they.

[rvexodus]

blt2ski wrote:
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

Wasn’t knocking cooper Marty. Just was telling you my story. I will definitely look into them along with a few other recommendations. Thanks again!

[azdryheat]

The Michelins you have are M/S, which means mud and SNOW. I wouldn't change them. I'd be more concerned with the tires on the trailer. I run Michelin XPS Ribs on my trailer.

[ksss]

rvexodus wrote:

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?

I have had them on a 3500 SRW for a year and half. That truck is licensed to 30K. They are wearing great. I just put them on a 3500 DRW licensed at 40k. We run those two trucks at max GVW. Too soon to say how they will wear on that DRW truck. I really like how they perform running heavy in the Winter, we have seen a lot of that so far. That Falcon is the best selling pickup tire at the tire shop I use. That says something, large tire shop with a large Ag representation. Every truck I have is now running Falcons.

The BFG KO's are a great tire on ice/snow pack when new. After about 50% it is much less so, and if your towing with that tire, that 50% doesn't last long. They are not a great tire pushing fresh snow, whether new or not.

[Grit_dog]

OP I’m presuming you’re not towing the 5ver in the mountains in the snow. That’s a different ballgame. But any smaller trailers won’t have a need for chains in the vast majority of CO Mtn winters.
Being your truck is a big doolie, you’ll use 4wd more than in the same vehicle if it was a 4 wheeler. But not an issue. It’s a push o the button. Short of just running a single rear wheel, for normal winter driving, drop your rear tires pressure to 20-25psi and add some weight. 500-1000lbs in back will help a bunch. And the further back the weight, the better. Ideally if you’re not using the bed, put the rear load divider in and pile the sandbags at the back. Although that defeats any ability to use the truck bed really.

If you’re really thinking you need easy auxiliary traction for steep grades on maintained roads and aren’t in the category of needing chains, tire socks actually work quite well on ice and greasy snow.
That said wintering at 9kft in CO, most of the winter it’s cold and grippy enough to not even need 4wd for normal drivin around. (Apologies if I’m presuming you don’t understand the nuances of different types of winter driving, although you did ask what tires to get so trying to provide some additional guidance as tires are only part of the equation.)

[Cummins12V98]

Stick with what you have. On a DRW it's not going to matter much. Air down the rears to 30psi and carry on!

[Grit_dog]

OP, any real AT is what you’re looking for. Not a watered down almost HT tread like the Michelins, Firestone transforce etc.
Think BFG AT, Cooper or Toyo AT3, Falken AT3, and IMO a very good traction/treadwear band for the buck Nitto Terra Grappler.
But the Terra graps are a little louder like BFGs.

The RT tires are a great choice for everything BUT snow. Resist the urge to get an AT MT tweener tire like Nitto Ridge Grapler or Toyo RT. Great treadwear and dry off road traction. NOT the best rain tires and NOT good snow tires.

Since you’re all season and hauling heavy I won’t recommend siping, but if you weren’t hauling heavy siping would benefit all around.

The most important is tire pressure when the going get slippery. Run as low as possible tire pressure in snow and ice for best traction.