Dually Truck Tires and Heavy Towing.....Tire Choices You Like Best..

[geotex1]

Well, you'll just have to be patient for that report. I've owned the truck for almost 4 years (June 2017) and it has gone from 29,xxx miles to 45,500 miles...so less than 4000 miles a year. This fall we'll put 5000+ on it in just one month during our trip out west.

Lol! My RAM only has 80K on it. It is dedicated to towing as well. My RAM 1500 is my daily driver. We actually put 11.5K on the dually through the pandemic because my yearly air miles went from 200-250K to under 10K (I had just left Spain last year before the outbreak there by days). Probably why I'm tired of the rotation routine! Lol. Won't need new shoes till the 2022 season so can't wait for your post-5K report!

[Ranchertx]

My 2017 F350 came with Michellin AT’s, and they are about worn out on the back at 32,000 miles. They offer nothing in the mud, so I won’t go that direction again.
(I have had great luck with Mich tires in the past, but these 65,000 mi tires won’t come close to that if you pull a lot.)
Probably will go Goodyear, Toyo or Yokahama soon.

[Gran Casita]

This is currently my experience with the Michelin Defender LTX M/S (OEM Size LT245/75R17) on our 2017 F-350 DRW:

Installed 7-new tires in Oct-2018, & rotated/balanced ALL 7-tires consistently every 7,500 miles. I currently have 70,104-miles on these tires & they still have legal tread depth (greater than 3/32”). At least 33,000-miles (of the 70,104-miles) have been towing the 310GK (25,842-miles) & Utility Trailers (approx. 7,000-miles for my annual hunting trip to Colorado).

In April-2021, at my last truck service, the tread depth on all tires averaged 5/32” (as noted by the service tech, one tire had 4/32”, one tire had 6/32”, one tire had 8/32”, & the rest were at 5/32”). This service was just prior to a 4,200-mile we just completed towing the 310GK from California to Mount Rushmore & back just yesterday.

I traveled in wet & dry conditions, mud & snow, and never experienced a loss of traction that would have given me safety concerns. As geotex1 noted, the tires did experience a degree of feathering at the edges, but not to an extent that would have caused me to be concerned as the rest of the tread was still adequate & the feathering did not reach the wear bars. Might not be as heavy towing as xrated, but I feel like I beat them up pretty good.

Although the tread is still within legal specs, they are getting real close now. I am now shopping for my next set of tires & will likely go with the same brand based on the experience I had with them. At least I’ve been impressed by this set of tires! Hope this helps! -Diego

[xrated]

This is currently my experience with the Michelin Defender LTX M/S (OEM Size LT245/75R17) on our 2017 F-350 DRW:

Installed 7-new tires in Oct-2018, & rotated/balanced ALL 7-tires consistently every 7,500 miles. I currently have 70,104-miles on these tires & they still have legal tread depth (greater than 3/32”). At least 33,000-miles (of the 70,104-miles) have been towing the 310GK (25,842-miles) & Utility Trailers (approx. 7,000-miles for my annual hunting trip to Colorado).

In April-2021, at my last truck service, the tread depth on all tires averaged 5/32” (as noted by the service tech, one tire had 4/32”, one tire had 6/32”, one tire had 8/32”, & the rest were at 5/32”). This service was just prior to a 4,200-mile we just completed towing the 310GK from California to Mount Rushmore & back just yesterday.

I traveled in wet & dry conditions, mud & snow, and never experienced a loss of traction that would have given me safety concerns. As geotex1 noted, the tires did experience a degree of feathering at the edges, but not to an extent that would have caused me to be concerned as the rest of the tread was still adequate & the feathering did not reach the wear bars. Might not be as heavy towing as xrated, but I feel like I beat them up pretty good.

Although the tread is still within legal specs, they are getting real close now. I am now shopping for my next set of tires & will likely go with the same brand based on the experience I had with them. At least I’ve been impressed by this set of tires! Hope this helps! -Diego

There is, I would imagine a significant difference between the M/S tires and an A/T tire....the type that I purchased. As I stated in my original post, it seems that the reviews of the Michelin A/T tires were just all over the place in mileage numbers....and I just wasn't going to take the risk of being one of the guys that got the lower mileage numbers on a set of them. Almost universally, the mileage numbers were better on the Cooper Discoverer A/T3....plus the fact that wet and dry traction was rated good consistently among the reviews. I guess time will tell, and as I've already purchased them and have them installed on the truck, there is no turning back now.

[Ranchertx]

There is, I would imagine a significant difference between the M/S tires and an A/T tire....the type that I purchased. As I stated in my original post, it seems that the reviews of the Michelin A/T tires were just all over the place in mileage numbers....and I just wasn't going to take the risk of being one of the guys that got the lower mileage numbers on a set of them. Almost universally, the mileage numbers were better on the Cooper Discoverer A/T3....plus the fact that wet and dry traction was rated good consistently among the reviews. I guess time will tell, and as I've already purchased them and have them installed on the truck, there is no turning back now.

The AT actually has a higher mileage rating which makes it even stranger.

[bshgto]

I looked at the Michelin LTX for the truck and read a lot of reviews....and they are all over the place. It seems if you are towing heavy like I am, they don't get great wear....and even more disturbing is I saw several folks talk about how sketchy they were in the wet and or a little slippery/muddy area. So they are somewhat on the back burner for my application.

Did you ever wonder why a car/truck manufacture would put the most expensive tire on their vehicles if there were cheaper/better tires out there when all their worried about is profit and share holder value? The bad reviews are hooey from people that are just whiners. You put weight on any tire it won`t get the mileage they claim.
I`ve had Michelin tires on every vehicle I've owned and have never experienced the problems they claim. My dually came with Michelin's and have 34,000 on them and they measure 1/2 worn out to the wear indicators, good enough for me. Cooper....who`s Cooper how many people put Cooper`s on a heavy tow vehicle, maybe on Grandma`s car or an F150.
Anyway, every body knows a better way. Have a good summer. I know I will, leaving for Myrtle Beach today for 2 weeks then on to Branson for the shows.

Re-read first sentence over and over while staring into a mirrow, you`ll come around.

[xrated]

Did you ever wonder why a car/truck manufacture would put the most expensive tire on their vehicles if there were cheaper/better tires out there when all their worried about is profit and share holder value? The bad reviews are hooey from people that are just whiners. You put weight on any tire it won`t get the mileage they claim.
I`ve had Michelin tires on every vehicle I've owned and have never experienced the problems they claim. My dually came with Michelin's and have 34,000 on them and they measure 1/2 worn out to the wear indicators, good enough for me. Cooper....who`s Cooper how many people put Cooper`s on a heavy tow vehicle, maybe on Grandma`s car or an F150.
Anyway, every body knows a better way. Have a good summer. I know I will, leaving for Myrtle Beach today for 2 weeks then on to Branson for the shows.

Re-read first sentence over and over while staring into a mirrow, you`ll come around.

Who's Cooper.........Oh, I don't know, just some company that's been around since 1914......that's 107 years, just in case your math skills are as lacking as your knowledge of tires. And I was also kind of curious about your reply..."The bad reviews are hooey from people that are just whiners". Did you talk to all those folks and make an assessment based on your conversation with them?....or is your reply maybe just a bunch of "hooey"? And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that tires that are used for heavy towing won't normally get the same mileage as tires that are NOT used for towing....so thanks for that bit of info.

[Gran Casita]

The AT actually has a higher mileage rating which makes it even stranger.

Our truck came from the factory with Michelin A/T tires & they lasted a paltry 37,800-miles, which is what partly factored into my decision to go with the M/S tires. After 70,000-miles, I’m happy with the results. I don’t know if the different tread design is the sole-factor in nearly doubling the results, but I’ve heard (don’t know if it’s true or not) that the tire manufacturers & auto manufacturers broker a deal to provide a “certain product” for a “certain price” based on a “certain volume”...if you get my meaning!! -Diego

[geotex1]

Our truck came from the factory with Michelin A/T tires & they lasted a paltry 37,800-miles, which is what partly factored into my decision to go with the M/S tires. After 70,000-miles, I’m happy with the results. I don’t know if the different tread design is the sole-factor in nearly doubling the results, but I’ve heard (don’t know if it’s true or not) that the tire manufacturers & auto manufacturers broker a deal to provide a “certain product” for a “certain price” based on a “certain volume”...if you get my meaning!! -Diego

You comment about OE install of tires is often true. Just compare the SKU on the tire delivered with that of the retail equal. If it does not match for same brand, model, size, and rating, it was made to the OE spec.

Ribbed tires will always outlast ATs for same compound due to less resistance. This is why you with see long-haul semis and delivery trucks alike with ribbed tire designs only.

It's unfortunate the thread has wandered direction, just like a bad tire design. For those of us with my years and more, we remember when Coppers were on some of history's most prolific American muscle cars from the factory. When Cooper was bought in 2013, it put focus back onto passenger vehicles where the original company drifted away from in its own brand - it was focused on private label house brand production and not exactly a slouch at the time at $2.2B revenue. In recent years, several divisions were sold off under the new combined company with more focus on core products, and, oh, yes, BTW, Cooper is GOODYEAR! Goodyear purchased Cooper for something like $3B this year. Guilty of reading the WSJ.

[bshgto]

Who's Cooper.........Oh, I don't know, just some company that's been around since 1914......that's 107 years, just in case your math skills are as lacking as your knowledge of tires. And I was also kind of curious about your reply..."The bad reviews are hooey from people that are just whiners". Did you talk to all those folks and make an assessment based on your conversation with them?....or is your reply maybe just a bunch of "hooey"? And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that tires that are used for heavy towing won't normally get the same mileage as tires that are NOT used for towing....so thanks for that bit of info.

I`ll stick with the hundreds of engineers that work for the best selling tire company and the hundreds of engineers that work for car companys that spec tires for the thousands and thousands of cars they sell every year over someone that`s stuck in the past and can`t move forward and just has an opinion like what`s the best oil to use.