Michelin Defenders Question

I’m getting ready to replace my truck tires with Michelin Defenders. I’ve read on this forum, and others, that the LTX M/S2’s are the way to go. Is there any reason to consider (or not) the Michelin Defenders AT 2’s? We tow with a 3500 Ram DRW pulling an 18,000 pound Landmark.


Also, is it necessary to replace all six tires - or can I replace just the rear tires? Any impact on towing performance?


Any insight would be appreciated.


Thanks,
Frank

Cannot answer the 6 VS 4 tire question as I'm new to the dually world. My take on it is, how many miles on the tires? How much tread is left? 4x4 or 2x4? Any winter driving? Don't know about Ram, but Ford says when rotating tires to just swap front's w/ fronts and rears w/ rears unlike a non dually where you rotate them in a "X" pattern. As for brands, I'm a believer in Michelin's, but stuck w/ brand truck(s) came w/ originally. IMO the key to longevity is rotations every 5k miles.

We have Defenders on our Ford F350 DRW. I replaced all six at the same time primarily because I had an out of round front tire and all six (original equipment) tires were fairly well worn. The tire dealer indicated that the Defenders were eventually replacing the MS/2's. Interestingly, the Michelin site still shows both tires but shows the Defenders as only available in 15 and 16 inch wheel sizes. We have 17 inch wheels on our truck, so that's strange. (I did go out a little while ago and verified I truly do have Defenders on mine).

Anyway, apparently both tires are close to the same (the tread pattern is pretty much identical). We've gotten exceptional wear on ours. All six tires have more than half of the tread remaining and they have 40K miles on them, mostly towing.

I replaced all 7 of my tires with the Michelin LTX M/S Defenders last December. The ride is way better than the Goodyear Wrangler A/T's I had on before them that wore out in 35K miles. The General's that came with the truck wore out in 33K. At the time I bought the Michelin's, my local Discount Tire had the best price, even though they had to order enough to do the job.

With my truck, all 7 steel wheels are identical and can be rotated to any position. Only difference between front and rear are the chromed plastic "hubcaps" that get bolted on.

Having run LTX's for years on my dually and not really needing the mud and snow tread I went all in and got Michelin Ribs. Now that they have been on the truck for 5 months and 6000 miles I am impressed. I have gained 1 mpg with less rolling resistance and really no sign of wear. I like that they have a 60K mile warranty whereas others had little to no warranty.

So if you stay on hard surfaces most of the time I would look into the Ribs.

My 2012 F250 came with Michelin ltx's and its time to replace for me. There used to be ltx's and defenders but now Michelin makes "defender ltx" which apparently adds the defenders stronger rubber to the ltx. That is what I am planning to use. Mine is not a dialysis so no help on that part

Thanks to all who responded. I appreciate the info and your insights.

Frank

Local tire shop told me the same thing, they want to replace all 6 or nothing. Guess the reason is that if your truck is a 4x4, and the tires arent the exact same size on the front as back you can get drive line wind up issues. This can damage the transfer case in internals.

I dont use the 4x4 option at all on my truck. Only got it in case I got stuck somewhere, but that hasnt happened.

I have always had Michelins---had just ltx for awhile and put on 75M miles with no issues--I ask about the ltx was told the defenders replaced the regular ltx. I now have the defenders and have about 8M miles on them with one rotation.
al