'Compromise' tires - mostly daily driver, but sometimes travel trailer

[jdonelson]

Posting here for some advice and guidance to help me narrow my research. I've never been much of a tire guy, so navigating all of this has been a challenge. Plus, just doing raw research on the internet makes it hard to judge nuance; I'm sure lots of tires are good, but there are just so damn many to choose from, and I don't know what I don't know. Hope you guys don't mind the questions.

I bought a new-to-me 2019 Laramie 2500 (Hemi). It came with basically-new Discoverer MAXX, 295 70R18. Wife and I bought a 30' Jayco travel trailer, and I wanted the safety of a larger truck to pull it (used to drive a '15 F150 that I loved). I don't do much off-roading at all - don't own a ranch, don't go hunting. About the most dirt time this truck gets is headed to my in-laws place with some acerage, or the occasional rough-camping trip. I don't need the tires I have right now, by ANY stretch of the imagination. I'd like a quieter ride, and I'd like to downsize back to the stock size tires, and I'd like to do both of those things without compromising on safety when I'm pulling the trailer. Also, I live in central texas, so there's no need to account for snow performance, although rain performance is important. I'm not against staying in a moderate all-terrain tire, but I don't need a working tire at all.

I like the look and the reviews of the Continental Terrain Contact A/T, and several other forums recommended the Michelin LTZ AT/2 as a "cushy" highway tire. Would either of these fit the bill? Are there others I should consider for what i'm trying to accomplish? I'm happy to do the research if ya'll point me in the right direction.

Lastly, on the 18" rims, can you guys confirm that 275 70 R18 is the stock size? This truck is damn tall already, I don't need any extra height .

Thanks!

 

[Pronto]

Michelin Defender LTX M/S is what'd I'd get with no doubts if I were in your shoes. 275/70/18 is the stock size.

 

[jdonelson]

Yeah, this looks like it's exactly what I need. It's weird as the description on Tirerack says "light truck tire", but the load rating + load range put it squarely in the HD truck category (E, and 122).

 

[Gondul]

LT tires are the 'heavy duty' tires... my 1500 I traded in came with regular P (car) tires.

Also Continental Terrain Contact H/T are pretty good as well, I'm looking at the AT version

 

[elephantrider]

yokohama geolanders are a great compromise tire.

 

[Gondul]

yokohama geolanders are a great compromise tire.

The Geolander AT G015 looks good as well.

 

[elephantrider]

yah that's the one. was a great tire.

 

[clawdog79]

The Geolander AT G015 looks good as well.

I’m running those tires currently and like them a lot. Jack of all trades kind of tire. Good ride and very little road noise. They look good too in my opinion.


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[elephantrider]

they balance out well, too. I moved to a bit more aggressive tire as they came up just a touch short in the off hwy wintry type stuff.

 

[JohnandDonna]

I went with the Continental Terrain Contact AT's. Terrific tire, I high recommended them!

 

[Brutal_HO]

Several good choices covered in a few threads but since you asked, most any of the current all terrain tires recommended here are a good choice. Some come with mileage warranties (for what good those are), some do not.


The typical top picks seem to be (not ranked):

Michelins - good highway and light AT use, historically wear like iron but I can't speak for the new defender series (warranty?)
Falken A/T3W (55K warranty?) What I run and am very pleased with them. Quiet except in turns where the A/T part shows through. But I'm also running a heavy Cummins up front.
Nitto/Toyo (no direct experience with this or the others below)
Cooper
Conti's
Yoko

P.S. BFG's suck on a heavy truck. The quality seems to have gone downhill.

 

[Gondul]

Continental is a German company that's been around for while...like 150- yrs they have multiple plants in the US where they make their tires after they bought out General Tire.
As far as I can see, they produce tires in the US, Germany, Portugal, and Romania.

As far as 'china bombs' (a term I've only seen applied to RV tires) correlation does not equal causation...

 

[JohnandDonna]

Michelins all the way. Stay clear of second tier tires like Continental. Any tire made in China is called a China Bomb and you are risking your life using any of those.

That is just Bull! I have a set of Continental TerrainContact AT's on my 2500 and they are fantastic. They are a first tier tire. In the December issue of Consumer Reports they were ranked the best Truck AT tire. And yes Michelin is also a good tire. I have the CrossClimate2 on my wife's Pacifica. And that tire was rated the best all weather/4 season tire in the same issue of Consumer Reports.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Continental is most certainly not a "second tier" tire, nor it it a "china bomb."

"Porsche, Maserati and AMG. Rolls Royce and Maybach drive on Continental, while electric car manufacturers Audi, Tesla and Renault also rely on the company’s products for the contact patch between car and road."

While I agree that most real 2md or 3rd tier chicom trailer tires are of the china bomb class, not all are. Matter of fact, the Sailun tire which is widely recommended and a very good heavy duty G rated ribbed trailer tire, is made in China.