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Truck Tires

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Smoothlander

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Dec 13, 2007
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W.C. Minnesota
I just purchased a set of H2 rims to put on a 2008 Chevy 2500 D-Max and was thinking about wrapping them in BFG A-T KO's in a 285/70R17's. Just wondering if anyone has anything to say about them, good, bad or ugly. Looking for a good winter tire as I will be keeping the 265/75R16 stock Transforce AT's for summer traveling.

Thanks
 
S

Smoothlander

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Dec 13, 2007
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W.C. Minnesota
I originally thought the same thing about the AT but this tire seems to get great reviews in the snow. As far as the wider tire I do agree but lets be honest, I has to look good too!
 

skibreeze

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I originally thought the same thing about the AT but this tire seems to get great reviews in the snow. As far as the wider tire I do agree but lets be honest, I has to look good too!

Just a couple weeks ago we were in a snowed in parking lot, the truck with the wide BFG AT's and empty open 2 place was the one having issues. My buddies truck with skinny studded snows and the enclosed 4 place did not. That's my review.
 
S
Nov 26, 2007
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285/70/17 isn't that wide of a tire. Bridgestone and General both make snow tires in that size. I just ordered the Bridgestones for my Taco. Wish i could have found a skinnier snow tire in that size but couldn't
 
S

Smoothlander

Active member
Dec 13, 2007
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W.C. Minnesota
Just a couple weeks ago we were in a snowed in parking lot, the truck with the wide BFG AT's and empty open 2 place was the one having issues. My buddies truck with skinny studded snows and the enclosed 4 place did not. That's my review.

Point taken. What size were these "skinny" tires? I do wish that we could run studded tires here in MN, or at least someone make a stud that can be added or removed a few times.
 

zal

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Just a couple weeks ago we were in a snowed in parking lot, the truck with the wide BFG AT's and empty open 2 place was the one having issues. My buddies truck with skinny studded snows and the enclosed 4 place did not. That's my review.

There's a lot of tongue weight on the enclosed trailer. Was it loaded? If the truck with the BFGs had the enclosed on its back, do you think it would have trouble as well? Just curious.
 

Dogmeat

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I would not go with a wider tire for a winter tire. The all terrain is also a compromise as a winter tire.

Eh, on a 3/4-ton diesel 285's aren't gonna be too bad in the winter. I definatley wouldn't go bigger than that though.

I ran 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers all last season and they weren't that bad.

They weren't as good of tire as the BFG AT KO's are either.

I put the 265 BFG's back on after I wore the Nittos out though .... ;)

And, if the 285's give ya trouble towing a trailer through a parking lot, you can always chain up the rear :)
 
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94fordguy

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I've always thought of Skinny tires being better also... I normally run 285/75/16s on my F-350 and a couple years ago I decided to try some skinny 255/85/16s and they have been great, they dig right down to the traction and don't slide around like the wide tires do. The 285s were Toyo Open countrys and the 255s are Dean Mud Terrains:beer;
 

wjl

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I run that same set up on my 07 Dodge Mega Cab 2500 Diesel and am very happy with the results.
I think the location and type of snow the area gets is a big factor in the width.
 
S
Dec 8, 2009
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Osceola, WI
I run 285/70/18 General Graber AT2's on my F350. And have never had a problem with them in the winter. They are not to wide to cause issues with pushing to much snow instead of cutting through. I don't think you'll have an issue with width till you try running 12.5" or wider tires. I believe my dad runs the same tire size as your looking for on his dmax. And has never had a problem with them in the snow. For us that have no option for running studs or chains. You just make it work. Haven't been in the ditch since highschool running around in my pos sunbird!

I am not a fan of BFG AT's. And have run a few sets on other vehicals. Main reasons I prefer the Grabers are:
-They have a wider more spread out tread pattern and clean out well (bfg's like to gumb up)
-They are quieter.
-Last close to twice as long as bfg's (I'm at 55K and down to the wear bars and still had enough traction left to pull a 7K lb trailer around in 4" of fresh snow)
-And they cost less!

Worth looking into!
 
B
Nov 26, 2007
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Hillsboro, Oregon
My biggest problem with winter tires is trying to strike the compromise between running good on the road with my trailer and being able to get through the deep slop around the cabin. i think i am going to skip the stud for a while and see if i can get by with my mud terrains because it makes getting in and out of the cabin a lot easier.
 

skibreeze

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Point taken. What size were these "skinny" tires? I do wish that we could run studded tires here in MN, or at least someone make a stud that can be added or removed a few times.

There's a lot of tongue weight on the enclosed trailer. Was it loaded? If the truck with the BFGs had the enclosed on its back, do you think it would have trouble as well? Just curious.

They are Big O arctic claw 245's. The enclosed only had one sled in it at the time it was moved. I'm pretty sure that the tires made a huge difference as I had to pull thru a plowed berm that was deeper than what the other truck had to deal with and he took several trys to get moved.
 

Gmiller

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I just threw on a set of BFG Commerical Traction tires on my dually, best tire i've had for the snow. I pull around a skidsteer in the winter and i feel comfortable with them!

Grant
 
S
Nov 26, 2007
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i had 305/70/17's Procomp Xtreme AT on my dodge and they were horrible. next season i put 265/70(75's???)/17 Bridgestone Blizzaks and a world of difference. I bet a lot of it had to do with the width.

This year i am getting 285/70/17's Blizzaks on my taco. They are less than 1 inch wider than the stock taco tires.

Give and take :)
 

AndrettiDog

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My biggest problem with winter tires is trying to strike the compromise between running good on the road with my trailer and being able to get through the deep slop around the cabin. i think i am going to skip the stud for a while and see if i can get by with my mud terrains because it makes getting in and out of the cabin a lot easier.

I thought the same thing. I want ice traction and I want to be able to forge through the snow and mud in the parking lots. I'm thinking about going with the Goodyear DuraTracs. You can get these studded. Anyone have any experience with studded DuraTracs?
 
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AirForceSledder

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Dec 19, 2009
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Great Falls, MT
towing in off-season

anyone have any experience with the difference in towing (all around mtn-flt) with the 245 -stock size tire and the better looking 285? Reason is, i have a 02 2500HD Chev with 285s and I tow a 30' travel trailer in the summer. I have not used it much in the winter and wonder how bad I am losing on power/performance with the 285. Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread, just though it was somewhat the same subject.
 

summ8rmk

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I just purchased a set of H2 rims to put on a 2008 Chevy 2500 D-Max and was thinking about wrapping them in BFG A-T KO's in a 285/70R17's. Just wondering if anyone has anything to say about them, good, bad or ugly. Looking for a good winter tire as I will be keeping the 265/75R16 stock Transforce AT's for summer traveling.

Thanks

last season i was disapointed with my BFG AT KO 265/75 they had about 45,000 miles on them and were almost down to the wear bars, i was pulling my 3 place enclosed with my powerstroke through an unplowed snopark 6-8" of new snow, UNTILL i almost had to pull my brother through the snow with his powerstroke with a sled deck and 2 sleds. He was running an all season tire(i can't remember the brand ) 265/75 80% tread. I then realized that the BFG's were still good even at 15-20% tread. 2-3 weeks later my brother bought a set of 285/75 maxxis buckshot mudders (hundreds of $ less than BFG)and he was goin through the snow better than i was(12-16" of new heavy snow) even towing his 4 place trailer.
I know a lot of people that get 50,000mi. plus out of a set of BGF AT KO's and they have great traction in snow. No they will not beat a set of snow tires but you can run them all year round.
My favorite snow tire is the Super Swamper IROK radial. The bigger the tire the farther you will go in the snow just like the tracks on a snowmobile.
 
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