BFG AT/KO vs. Duratrac?

I go through this every time I buy tires--last week in fact. I hate buying/picking out tires... Gives me a major headache :chris:

I keep going back to the BFG's for that 3ply sidewall. I looked at the Nitto Terra Grappler pretty close but bailed at the last minute. Seemed like a good alternative.

Good luck.
 
I Lean said:
The majority of the trucks used by field techs who work for my company seem to use Duratrac's. (natural gas pipeline workers) They're always fullsize trucks with lots of tools and stuff in the bed, and they get driven long and hard every day. They seem to like them.
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I'm seeing a lot of Duratracs out on the mines too. Great traction, so far so good on the reputation, which is why I bought a set for the X. They are literally as good as my chained up Nitto's.

sixstringsteve said:
I've heard great things about the Falken Wildpeak A/T. They're a little heavier than a BFG A/T, but they're supposed to be great.
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I have too, mainly from magazine articles though. The tread pattern on those is similar to the Toyo and Nitto AT. Toyo's get it done, Nitto's are best on dry roads, some mud. Not good for my 9000# truck in the snow. No direct experience with the Falken; I excluded them from my last tire purchase based on the tread pattern having worked with the Toyo and not with the Nitto (same tread pattern). 4WD&SU seems to love them. I don't really see why/how they could be any better than the Toyo.

No experience with the Toyo MT. They are good looking, and some people really like them. I don't think they have enough siping for the snow that I see. My son jokes that they seem to be mandatory for lifted pickups.

If the Dodge 1500 in question is gonna see a lot of deep snow / mud (ie, chaining up situations), then the Duratrac. If not, the BFG or Toyo would be my choice. Never had an issue with balancing the two sets of Toyo AT's on my work truck. Got nearly 50k each easy out of the first two sets, working on the third. I could have easily put the BFG's or Duratracs on it, but decided to get the longevity of the Toyo, plus the fact that once they are each a little worn, the Toyo AT seems to do as well as the BFG in the snow that I seem to drive in (along I-80 in Nevada and Utah plus cabin), giving the edge to the BFG's when new. By year two with either, I'm chaining up half the time in non-pavement snow over 6". My gut told me the Duratracs wouldn't see 35k, and I didn't want to justify buying a new set at that point (though I've never been asked).

My guess is that your 1500 is going to be used in many of the same conditions that I use my work truck in, which is why I weighed in.
 

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Maverick said:
If the Dodge 1500 in question is gonna see a lot of deep snow / mud (ie, chaining up situations), then the Duratrac. If not, the BFG or Toyo would be my choice.
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That's pretty much how my thinking is shaping up. It will see some deep snow, for sure. But I'll avoid deep mud like the plague. It will see long hiway and long dirt roads in moderate weather more than anything. If conditions are shaping up to be chain worthy, I'll take my Jeep.

Maverick said:
My guess is that your 1500 is going to be used in many of the same conditions that I use my work truck in, which is why I weighed in.
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My guess is you are correct - and I'm glad you are weighing in!


sixstringsteve said:
I've heard great things about the Falken Wildpeak A/T. They're a little heavier than a BFG A/T, but they're supposed to be great.
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Yup. I've been running the Falken's almost a year on the 100 series I daily drive. I was super impressed with them on snowy/icy/slick roads last winter. Definitely did better in those conditions than the BFT KO's that were on it before. I think if I was smart, which I have long ago accepted I am not, I would just get the Falkens and be done with it. They are hundreds cheaper for a set of four, too. My hangup with putting them on the new truck, is one I have no real experience offroad with them. Have had the Toyota on a few dirt roads and a little slick rock, but nothing to give them any kind of a test. I'm sure they would be terrible in mud, and I suspect that although there were awesome on snowy roads, they might not be so hot in deep snow. The other thing though, is they have zero sex appeal. Dumb, I know, but I just don't want to put something that street looking on my brand new truck. Vanity, pure and simple... Well, and they are quite heavy too, but for the application, that might not be such a bad thing, really.

Gets back to just how crazy different experiences and opinions with the same tires can be too though. I remember a post last winter declaring the Falken's to be the WORST snowy road tire ever! And I don't doubt he was hating them. But at the same time, during the same storms, on the same roads, I was just about in awe of how well I thought they were doing? It's crazy!

My take on the Falken's after 10K though, awesome winter road tire, probably totally adequate or better in any dry offroad environment, but probably not very good in deep wet stuff of any sort. All in all though, for how I'm using them on the LX, I think they kick azz.

- DAA
 
The goodyear duratracs will do better in snow. Hands down, no doubt about it, dont even try to argue that fact. BFGs may last longer due to the tighter tread pattern and they are the standard to which all other all terrains are measured by. However, i doubt folks who claim 50k plus miles from the BFGs. Because i struggled to get 30k out of my last set. As of now, I am a total Toyo snob. Two of my three daily drivers run them and i probabally wont run anything else for some time to come.

LT.
 
I am a big fan of BFG's and have loved every pair I have ever ran. From rock crawling to street driving the G-force tires. That being said, if you want to try something new, then do it. Just to throw another option out there, have you seen the Toyo open country all terrain II extreme ? it has a similar design as the previous all terrain but deeper lugs and a different side wall. They looked pretty cool today when a customer came in with a pair on his new raptor.

http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/open-country-at-ii-on-off-road-all-terrain-tires
 
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Another great option are the Cooper AT3's, I have put about 1500 miles on mine including 2 trips all the way to Hoover Lake, and you know that trail is asking a lot of a tire on a full size truck.
 
Have you ever thought of doing a Michelin LTX AT2. I had them on my durango and they were great were ever I took it. Mountains, rain, snow, and towing. Just another thought.
 
So getting right down to it. If I want to go with the Duratrac's I kinda need to decide within the next hour or so.

It's just plain stupid how wishy-washy I'm being about this. Have changed my mind more than once already today. It's ridiculous...

I think I'm going to give the Duratrac's a shot though. Don't think I can go too far wrong with them, worst case is probably that I don't like them "quite" as much as the BFG's and maybe they won't last as long. Don't think there is really any chance of hating them or being too disapointed. And I might really like them.

If nothing else, at least next time, I'll be able to answer my own question :D.

Appreciate all the input from everyone!

- DAA
 
If the Duratrac's are a couple hundred cheaper, and they wear out faster, you didn't take too big a hit. The opportunity cost is really in not trying them and spending the extra money on BFG's. If the GY's last longer, are cheaper, and you love them, You win all around!

Good luck! You'll have to let us know your impressions as you drive on them.
 
You need to think about flat repairs, rotations and other items that are free from Discount Tire that are not from your dealership.

Also, why not try the Hankook Dynapro ATM? I loooooved the tire and it came with some sort of pre-siping from the factory. It was really good in the snow and off road on my jeep. Take a look at it before making your decision.
 
YOUKNOW said:
You need to think about flat repairs, rotations and other items that are free from Discount Tire that are not from your dealership.
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I did take all that into consideration. Took a print out from Discount with me when I went down there today, showed them I'll have to pay another $64 for lifetime balancing from Discount and they knocked that off. Can't expect them to match certs, as that isn't included in the price they are already beating. But I'll pay the $179 for those too when I buy the lifetime balancing. So, I'll still end up $200 less, even with road hazard and lifetime balancing/rotations/flat repair at Discount.

The Hankook's do look interesting, but my head was close enough to exploding already just trying to choose between two :rofl:. Maybe next time?

Gonna be running Duratrac's out of the gate on the new half ton though. And I'm totally at peace with that decision. Looking forward to them. Pick the new truck up next Thursday after work. Going to install Bilstein leveling shocks up front that night, alignment the next day on Fri., then install Bilsteins and air bags on the rear after work on Fri. Be ready to start breaking it in the next morning, a week from this Saturday.

Meantime... They gave me a loaner to take bowhunting, which was huge - LHM stepped up for me there! It's a base model, and I'm getting the Longhorn, but it's a brand new'13 4x4 w/Hemi/8 speed and 6'4" bed so I could put my ATV in it. All loaded up, heading out tomorrow, won't be back till Wed. night (which is why I won't be picking up my new truck till next Thur.).

Be camped at over 10,000' in the La Sal's for the next six nights. Brand new truck waiting when I get home. Yeah baby...

- DAA
 
Just out of curiosity - two questions. Why did you choose to buy a dodge, and why buy gas opposed to the Cummins? Didn't you just buy a travel trailer? Just wondering, no bashing.
 
Price and warranty mainly - got the Ram off the lot for almost $5K less than the best price I was able to negotiate on a comparable EcoBoost (fully loaded King Ranch vs. fully loaded Longhorn, both with almost every option), that's with a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty on the Ram vs. 3/36 on the Ford. Price was a biggie, and since I plan on keeping this truck a lot longer than I have kept the last few, the warranty was a biggie too. Note - getting the Mopar lifetime max care warranty included in that price took some work and I came "this close" to buying an EcoBoost instead until the Ram dealer through the warranty in...

That really was the meat of the decision right there.

Ride, comfort, "niceness" less important but all factors too. The coils just plain ride nicer than the leafs and a plush ride is one of the biggest reasons I'm downsizing to a half ton. And I know it sounds crazy to say a Ram is "nicer" than a Ford, but Ram really stepped up their game with the 13's. After spending time in both back-to-back, in my opinion the Longhorn is definitely nicer than the King Ranch.

If MPG and/or towing and hauling capability were higher priorities, I would have gone EcoBoost despite the higher price and crappy warranty. But, from much, much research and talking to many real life owners, the MPG difference doesn't really seem to be all that much once you put both trucks on 35's. For whatever reasons, it seems going w/35's puts more of a hurting on the EcoBoost MPG, than it does the Hemi/8 speed. And, all it takes to run 35's on the Ram is a front levelling kit (well, that and new wheels with negative offset...), I'm just going to run 34's on the factory forged aluminum wheels for now. And I just don't tow that often or that much, it's not one of the biggies on my list. That said, I just towed my travel trailer with my ATV in the bed down to the La Sals and back with a Ram 1500 that has a lower tow rating than the one I'm getting (3.21's in the loaner, mine has 3.92's), and it did just fine.

A note on the MPG though... In the quad cab 6'4" bed 4x4 w/3.21's they loaned me, I'm averaging a solid legitimate 20 MPG on the highway when not loaded - mine won't do that well, it's bigger (crew cab), heavier (more options, sun roof, Ram boxes etc.), lower geared and will have bigger heavier tires.

All that said, if the Ford dealer had been willing to work with me on price a little bit more, or the Ram dealer hadn't been willing to work with me as much as he did, I'd be in a new EcoBoost right now instead of a new Ram and I'm sure I'd be perfectly happy with it.

The GM and Toyota 2014 refreshes both came too late for my decision making, which is too bad. I'd have given both serious consideration if starting over again right now. As it was, my feeling was they were both BADLY in need of refreshes and didn't feel like either was on the same level as the '13 Ford or Ram half tons.

I've been driving CTD's for the last ten years. Definitely ready for a half ton gasser. Cheaper in every way. More comfortable. Has all the towing capability I actually need.

- DAA
 
My friend and I drove the new 8 speed hemi and I loved it. Honestly it drove like a big Chrysler 300c. He was about this ][ close to pulling the trigger on an white Express. All the extra features are nice with the Rams. Rear camera leather etc... and it was still thousands cheaper than a Ecoboost or 5.3 Chev.
 
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