Any updates after some miles of having them? Also, any pics of them on your truck?
Ram Heavy Duty Forum
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Michelin Defender LTX Platinum
- Thread starter Vdrsnk
- Start date
joshuaeb09
Well-Known Member
Same. I've been hearing from some guys that they run great down the hwy, handle hauling excellent, and still hold up to the crushed granite gravel roads we have around here without getting cut up. If it's true I'm tempted to go back to 20's with a 295/65R20 - I love the durability of my toyos (I usually destroy lighter AT tires quickly out here), but I hate the ride/noise/weight/radial pull of the things.
If these new Platinum's really are that do all, be quiet, ride good HD tire - I'll gladly pay the price of entry. I've been towing alot more regularly with our move and we're planning to do alot more long road trips after we get the old house sold. These Toyos suck for HWY MPG and as soon as I hook up to even the smallest utility trailer my MPG is just gone - no matter what I'm in the market for new rubber once we start taking more trips.
If I end up going back to 20's I'll probably just toss the Toyos in the barn on my 18's for later. In my experience opencountry M/T's are just tractor tires with a hwy rating - I can leave em in the barn for a few years and come back to them without much worry - Just gotta keep em out of the sun and drench them in some tire/rubber conditioner before I store em.
joshuaeb09
Well-Known Member
Because it basically is IMO after seeing some video reviews lol. Where those "flaps", for lack of a better term, cover the center ribs - they're actually open so water can flow/evacuate like a commercial tire and the sharp edges can bite in softer surfaces like light mud, sand, snow, etc like an AT. Additionally that extra contact patch is there to help braking/launching with a load so they seem intended to serve a dual function in weather/mild off pavement uses as well as on road.Idk why it gives me tractor trailer / all terrain bastard child vibes
Based on everything I've been seeing it actually looks like it could be a really solid tire. I just wish they had more sizes than 20s honestly - if they had a 285/75/R18 I'd probably be giving them a try for sure. Are they as aggressive as what I usually run... no not at all, but if they function as well as I've been hearing I'm seriously tempted to let form fit function here.
Splzhaul
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I have been running the Defenders ever since 1998 when they came on my 1998 24 valve Cummins 2500 ram Quad cab . They have always been a good tire for me between the on road and off road or even snow. I always buy them and only them.
BlueOx2500
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Sorry for the delayed response...
I've got about 5500 miles on the LTX Platinums now and they doing well as far as I can tell. I hauled my small 5er about 2,000 miles with them recently, did some "off-roading" on gravel / sand (not with the trailer of course haha) and they seem to work great. I'm no tire reviewer expert by any means, but so far I am happy - no issues. They're quiet, no air loss ever and they seem to wear very slowly as expected. Sorry, no pics at this time.
I've got about 5500 miles on the LTX Platinums now and they doing well as far as I can tell. I hauled my small 5er about 2,000 miles with them recently, did some "off-roading" on gravel / sand (not with the trailer of course haha) and they seem to work great. I'm no tire reviewer expert by any means, but so far I am happy - no issues. They're quiet, no air loss ever and they seem to wear very slowly as expected. Sorry, no pics at this time.
Thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear you are enjoying them thus far.
joshuaeb09
Well-Known Member
Nice sounds like the tire I'm looking for - We're fulling timing in our 38' Foot Jayco while we look for property and build another house. Once our city house is sold I'm gonna put new rubber and bags on the 2500. She does alright as she sits for local trips, but going potentially thousands of miles as we take trips to various places - I want rubber that's gonna be better for the towing than MTs and a better ride quality than sumos + heavy MTs. Right now we're using my family property as a home base, but I can't stay in Texas so we'll be putting some miles in over the next several months. My chronic health conditions have really worn away my heat tollerance as a native Texan over the past few years - I find when I travel for work to colder climates I feel MUCH better and my blood work looks alot better, so it's time to escape the heat.