Looking for advice on new tires for my Chevy Silverado 3500 HD (dually)

[wyleyrabbit]

Well, looks like I'm going to need to get some money out from under the mattress and go tire shopping which is never a favorite thing for me.

My truck is a dually. The original tires are General "LT225/75R17 116/113 Q" and at 52,000 km I need to replace them. According to a couple of local tire stores I've phoned, the 225/75R17 is a "bit of an oddball size" and many manufacturers simply don't make tires in this size.

Both tire stores tell me that I could go with the LT245/70R17 tires. Considering that these are only 20 mm wider (0.79 inches) I'm guessing that I'd be good with these even when towing? Is there any reason this would be a bad idea?

I'm also considering going with an "all weather" tire. They're a bit more expensive, but they're then rated for all seasons including snow, and have the snowflake emblem on them. We can't drive on some of the roads here in the winter without that emblem (such as the road up to the local ski mountain).

I'd appreciate some wisdom from the group.

 

[Jim.Allison]

Not a strange tire at all. Although there was a time when the tire was not commonly available at tire shops, today they are everywhere.

But the real question is what do you want to accomplish with your tires? Are you happy with your load ratings, are you happy with your wear and life? Are you looking for a better tire? Do you have brands that you WILL NOT consider or tires you prefer? What do you want in a tire? Do you need a highway tread HT, or all terrain AT (80% highway 20% off road) do you need a more aggressive tread or is milage your main consideration? Do you have a dually? How much load are you running?

Well, looks like I'm going to need to get some money out from under the mattress and go tire shopping which is never a favorite thing for me.

My truck is a dually. The original tires are General "LT225/75R17 116/113 Q" and at 52,000 km I need to replace them. According to a couple of local tire stores I've phoned, the 225/75R17 is a "bit of an oddball size" and many manufacturers simply don't make tires in this size.

Both tire stores tell me that I could go with the LT245/70R17 tires. Considering that these are only 20 mm wider (0.79 inches) I'm guessing that I'd be good with these even when towing? Is there any reason this would be a bad idea?

I'm also considering going with an "all weather" tire. They're a bit more expensive, but they're then rated for all seasons including snow, and have the snowflake emblem on them. We can't drive on some of the roads here in the winter without that emblem (such as the road up to the local ski mountain).

I'd appreciate some wisdom from the group.

 

[bsuds]

considering going with an "all weather" tire. They're a bit more expensive, but they're then rated for all seasons including snow, and have the snowflake emblem on them. We can't drive on some of the roads here in the winter without that emblem (such as the road up to the local ski mountain).

I'd appreciate some wisdom from the group.

I believe the new rule here in BC as of Oct 1st this year is that M&S tires with good tread are also legal for winter driving.
I have Contitrac by Continental on my F350 DRW and have been happy with them. They are the OEM tires and have 56ks on them and going strong.

 

[Birchwood]

I run Firestone TransForce tires on my dually.The first four years I run the HT and now I have new AT's .I chose the ATs mainly for a new look.
The Firestones have been very good for me and with winters in the US Firestone stores are everywhere and they really serve you well.
I got 50 thousand miles on my HT tires before replacement.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Yes, it's a dually (as shown in my initial question title and signature :angel

Hmmm. I want tires at least as good as the ones I have now which are General Grabber TR. They were "just okay". They weren't great in colder weather. They weren't great on cold wet roads. They got terrible tread life. I'm sitting here looking at replacing them because the tread is almost gone on 4 of the 6 tires and I've only got 52,000 km on them (about 30,000 miles) which seems kinda short to me.

Most of my driving is city/highway but I do occasionally like driving on dirt or snowy roads for camping/hiking/skiing. I do tow, obviously, and want to make sure I get something that handles the weight. I live in Vancouver, BC which has a winter climate similar to Seattle, WA which means we rarely ever get snow. But...I'm a skier so would like to be able to drive up to the ski hills with my 4x4.

One dummy at one of the local tire stores was telling me I should put "P" tires on instead of "LT". I don't think that would be a good idea at all, probably illegal, and asking for trouble.

Brands. I don't really have a brand that I love, or one that I hate. My wife has Michelin on her VW Jetta and they seem nice but that's apples/oranges.

Up here (in BC), it is legal to drive with all season tires in the winter. Some provinces out east such as Quebec it is my understanding that you're legally required to have the snowflake symbol on your tires. I'm not going there though and I do my best to avoid the prairies in the winter.

I understand that "all weather" tires are the best of both worlds. They perform similarly to real winter tires, but they also work well in the heat of the summer and rainy days (which we have an awful lot of here). So if they're not too much more expensive, I'd prefer all weather tires.

I assume that LT245/70R17 tires will be okay on the dually and won't rub together and/or blow up.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Tires are something that seems really tricky to buy for trucks that need to tow. Some of the people in the stores don't seem to have much experience or understanding of the specific needs that we have when we're dragging around a 5 start hotel suite behind us.

Reviews seem to be hard to find, at least I haven't seen any great review sites.

Are Firestone good? I remember the problems that SUVs had a number of years ago, but maybe those are fixed now.

How about Nokian tires? Anyone using those?

 

[JohnDar]

I had General Grabbers on my truck (OEM). Garbage tires, wore out in 30K miles and there is no mileage "rating" for them. Replaced with Goodyear Silent Armor's, with a 50K mileage rating and a very deep and aggressive tread pattern. They work well in Michigan snow and on dry pavement.


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[Jim.Allison]

http://www.firestonetire.com/tires/transforce/transforce-at?ql=true
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Transforce+AT

I have a set of these that have 24,000 miles, 5000 towing and they are barely worn. I estimate 50,000 out of them if my usage remains constant. The single load rating is 3190. I will go out and look at mine for the Dual load. will get back to you! Firestone matched TireRack plus gave me $50 for opening an account, 6 month no interest.

 

[JohnD]

I have a set of 17" Firestone Transforce HT's on my 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD SRW . . .

I bought the truck six weeks ago yesterday and it has just under 4000 miles on, but so far I like the tires and am thinking about replacing the 15" BlowMaxes on my trailer (which ironically also has under 4000 on it) with a set of the Transforce HT's.

 

[porthole]

The State Police and Fed law enforcement SUV's all use Transforce tires here. So, I gave them a shot for the front of my truck. So far - so good.


Duane
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[Grey Ghost]

I have run Michelin Ribs LT tires on my truck for two years now and I'm very pleased with wear and performance of the tire. I have a Ford F-250 Super Duty and run with 235/R85/17. I also run Michelins on my 5ver and very pleased with them also. Had those famous "BlowMax" tires on prior to my Michelins and had two blow outs with them and caused lots of damage to my rig. I love my Michelins

 

[jnbhobe]

I have run the Transforce HT's for years on different trucks and have been very happy with them. My 2012 truck had Michelins that only lasted 30K and they got hard and slippery in the cold.

 

[Jim.Allison]

I looked at my 265/70R17 Transforce ATs this morning and the are E rated @ 2810 lbs dual, 3195 lbs single. I'm now running Transforce 20's at 3640 lbs single. Got the OEM rims off Ebay. Its an excellent mod for me.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Part of my challenge with this is that my truck came with what some tire store people call an "oddball size". Specifically, the truck has LT225/75R17 tires. Almost no tire manufacturer makes that size it seems.

A couple of people have said that the LT245/70R17 tires would be an equivalent size and then I have many options to choose from. One review I read said that Michelin in particular either doesn't honor the tread-wear warranty at all or only gives 25% of the tread-wear warranty if you use a different size than the vehicle came with in the first place. Not sure if this is a common industry practice, or if Michelin are just jerks about it.

I just looked at the Firestone website and the Transforce AT look like pretty nice tires. How do they perform in the snow?

 

[Westwind]

I had Michelin's Michelin LTX M/S2 on my 08 GMC, they replaced the OEM tires and I really wasn't impressed with the wear. I don't think I had 40K on them and they needed replacing if I didn't trade the truck in. My new 15 has Michelin TX AT-2 on it, a different tire then what I bought for the 08 so we will have to see how they wear. But when I need to replace them I will be looking at another brand.

 

[Jim.Allison]

"The Transforce AT is Firestone's On-/Off-Road Commercial Traction light truck tire developed for the drivers of multipurpose full-sized pickups, vans, sport utility and commercial vehicles looking for heavy-duty light truck tires that can combine traction on the highway, as well as at work jobsites and recreation areas. The Transforce AT is designed to provide on- and off-road traction in dry, wet and wintry conditions, including snow.
Transforce AT radials feature a Long Link Carbon tread compound molded into a symmetric tread design that uses notched shoulders, independent intermediate tread blocks and multiple sipes to blend dry-road handling with poor weather traction. Wide circumferential grooves provide hydroplaning resistance while lateral grooves and multiple sipes provide the biting edges needed to enhance snow traction.
The tire's structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by spiral-wrapped nylon to help maintain the tire's shape and enhance performance at highway speeds while a polyester cord body improves ride quality." - Tirerack

Part of my challenge with this is that my truck came with what some tire store people call an "oddball size". Specifically, the truck has LT225/75R17 tires. Almost no tire manufacturer makes that size it seems.

A couple of people have said that the LT245/70R17 tires would be an equivalent size and then I have many options to choose from. One review I read said that Michelin in particular either doesn't honor the tread-wear warranty at all or only gives 25% of the tread-wear warranty if you use a different size than the vehicle came with in the first place. Not sure if this is a common industry practice, or if Michelin are just jerks about it.

I just looked at the Firestone website and the Transforce AT look like pretty nice tires. How do they perform in the snow?

 

[porthole]

Just a note on the Transforce tires. When I bought my front tires I was informed there is no road hazard warranty on the tires. And the tire warranty is very limited as it is.


Duane
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[wyleyrabbit]

Just a note on the Transforce tires. When I bought my front tires I was informed there is no road hazard warranty on the tires. And the tire warranty is very limited as it is.

Hmmm, well that would be a deal breaker right there. I've also read that the Transforce is prone to pinholes.

 

[Jim.Allison]

Firestone will provide tire insurance. You can also get 30 day test and trial. You have 30 days from date of purchase to return them. I don't think there are any mileage warranties from anyone on this kind of tire.

Just a note on the Transforce tires. When I bought my front tires I was informed there is no road hazard warranty on the tires. And the tire warranty is very limited as it is.


Duane
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Firestone will provide tire insurance. You can also get 30 day test and trial. You have 30 days from date of purchase to return them. I don't think there are any mileage warranties from anyone on this kind of tire.

I think if I purchase tires through Costco they come with a road hazzard warranty. Anyone have any experience with this?