Firestone Transforce AT Tires Are Useless

[Ruffone]

Until I bought my current 19’ 2500 truck I had never heard of the Transforce AT tire, and yesterday I found out why. These tires are complete garbage, they need to get rid of the “AT” part because there is no “all terrain” about them. I was pulling into a buddy’s farm yesterday, the entrance is dirt and grass, and the truck almost got stuck. We have had a lot of rain lately so the dirt and grass were really slick and the dirt had a thin layer of mud on top of it. I put it into both 4 high and low and the tires refused to dig in. Luckily the entrance is on a slight incline so I was able to back up and then drive in the grass to pull in. In my 06’ I had never had any trouble with that entrance in 2 wheel drive, it came with BF Goodrich AT tires and then I swapped them out to Toyo ATs. This is the first time in 4 Rams that they have come with anything other than BF Goodrich or Goodyear ATs. The truck is the “Off-road” model, put real AT tires on it and not this garbage. I guess this is what happens when a manufacturer decides to spend its money on looks instead usability. Looks like I’m getting rid of these sooner than I thought.

 

[jared43758]

Let us know what u get

 

[Deleted member 80]

Like you, my '05 came with BFGs, and I got darn good service out of them. Then '15 came with 18" Transjunks. Yes, they are absolutely worthless garbage, and they wore like crepe paper. I replaced them with Nitto Exo Grapplers, and they worked great, and wore reasonably well for a semi-aggressive tire. Then, my '19 dually came with the garbage Nexen chinabombs, so I wasn't about to even try to wear them out, so I made a deal with a local guy to buy them, and as soon as the truck came in I had Exo Grapplers put on, and dumped the junkers. They are working well, and are very stable when towing, but they are a bit noisy. Toyo CT is the same tire. It is a crime to buy an $80+K truck and get junk tires. Chrysler should be ashamed.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

The Transforce ATs are one thing. The Tranforce HTs are even worse. They are a smooth riding, squishy kinda tire on a warm, dry summer day. Insert any precipitation into the tire/road equation and all hell breaks loose. Seriously, FCA and Firestone should spend some time in and around tire retailers so that they can wonder why there are so many near new Transforce tires in the dumpster. What a waste of rubber...

 

[Marshfly]

I’m really liking my Falken AT3w’s after 7500 miles. Even more than the Toyo AT Extreme.

Very good in deep standing water and a decently aggressive tread for the dirt.


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[Jeffmc306]

I posted this on another thread but it applies here:
You have two choices: Keep them until they wear out or swap them right away and sell them as "take-offs" and get what you can for them. If you want to stick with an off-road/on-road tire, Tire Rack's top ranked tire is the General Grabber A/TX followed by the Continental TerrainContact A/T.

I called TireRack and spoke to a rep about my needs. Interestingly he said if I was towing, the tires with straight tread pattern tends to wander less when towing (compared to the off-road pattern). That's more important to me so I'd look at the newer Michelin Agilis CrossClimate or the Continental TerrainContact H/T. By the way, the Transforce AT finished dead last, 6 out of 6 in their class and most reviewers would not purchase again. Sad!

I wish I would have done that right away since I've now got 5600 miles on the Transforce tires making them "used" rather than "take-offs".

Good luck!
-Jeff

 

[Marshfly]

That’s good advice. I swapped tires and wheels within the first tank on this truck. The stock set is in my warehouse and will be put back on when it comes time to trade it. They WILL dock you $1k or more if you have worn tires when you trade. Every time.


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[meatheadgn]

I had 100 miles on my 2019 3500 Cummins HO when I swapped out the tires this last Friday. I went with the Cooper Discoverer AT3 XTP. They are still quiet and seem to have a more aggressive tread. Most of the reviews were good
and the place I went to gave me $100 per tire credit for the Firestones.

 

[Jeffmc306]

That seems to be the going rate for the tires. What a shame since they get over $300 if you want to buy another set (not sure why one would do that).

 

[slimchance]

i have these tires also and they are junk in mud or snow .... and as for "towing, the tires with straight tread pattern tends to wander less when towing " .. i cross a metal deck bridge over the Juniata River on the way to the cabin and these straight tread tires wonder all over the bridge loaded or unloaded, can not stop the wonder ... can not wait till they wear out

 

[Jeffmc306]

i have these tires also and they are junk in mud or snow .... and as for "towing, the tires with straight tread pattern tends to wander less when towing " .. i cross a metal deck bridge over the Juniata River on the way to the cabin and these straight tread tires wonder all over the bridge loaded or unloaded, can not stop the wonder ... can not wait till they wear out

Slimchance, the recommendation about a straight tread pattern having less tendency to wander was on paved roads. I don’t know any tire that won’t pull or wander on a metal deck bridge. They’ll pull you all over.

Totally agree with you about waiting until they wear out! I’m going to start putting money aside now.

 

[slimchance]

well, on the same bridge with my wife's trk they really do not wander like my trk .... my trk you have to hope it stays on the bridge and hers is just a wiggle ... just saying .... and mine does the same thing on rain grooves, bad wander ...... and before anybody asks, yes everything is tight on my trk ...

 

[Buppies]

Since we are in a snow drought I can not comment on traction in snow. Have not had any problems in rain but haven’t towed anything either. 4200 miles. I do not doubt that they will not wear well

 

[Ruffone]

So I broke down today and switched to the Toyo Open Country AT 2 Extremes, man what a difference. I have the factory 20” rims and I went back with the same size tire that came with the truck.

It’s been raining all day today and I can definitely tell you that the Toyos definitely handle the water a lot better than the Firestone’s did. I also noticed that the tires were even more quieter with the active noise cancelling in these new trucks.

I told the tire place to take the Firestone’s out back and burn them.

 

[offroadr]

FCA must of had a heck of a contract to put these crappy tires on for 7-8 years! They suck.

If you get 20K out of them you are lucky. There are 5 of us in my group of buddies that own 2500s and 17-23k is the range we all got.

I will be looking into trading them when the new truck is here, otherwise I will be buying a new set next year.

 

[Sarge33Army]

My 2500 has HT rather than AT, but same story. Tried to trade/swap with local tire shop for Michelin tires. Have done this six times with this dealer. Always got $80-$100 for each tire on the trade. This time, He told me to try and sell them on my own as he couldn't sell Firestone tires. Told me that Firestone makes decent tires, but people still remember the Exploders from the late 1990's.

 

[JohnandDonna]

The 2020 RAM 2500 I ordered is supposed to be coming in to the dealer within the next two weeks. It will of course have the Firestone Transforce AT tires. Given what I read on this forum and others it sounds like I need to trade out these tires ASAP. The options for good tires listed here are appreciated. However there is one thing about the Firestones that I do like, the outside white letters. Can anybody recommend good tires (size LT285/60R20E) with outside white letters? I like the look of the Coopers and people are saying they had good experiences with them, but they only come in Blackwalls (for this size at least). I know functionality is the important factor. Just wondering if I can get the style I'm looking for as well. Thoughts?

 

[Pnoman]

As soon as i got my truck i switched to falken At/3w, LT295/60R20. So far I’m very pleased with the ride, comfort and traction is excellent, they are also snow rated with the snowflake symbol.

 

[traildude]

My dealer will be swapping mine out with General Grabber ATX. Great rugged stance that perform well off-road, in snow, wet, dry, and towing. Dealer is giving me $100 per tire credit. Can have white or black letters out. I am sticking with stock 285/60R20 to make sure I clear my garage


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[traildude]

If you do a lot of highway driving a good tire to look at is the Continental Terraincontact A/T