NW WA BS Thread (Whatcom, Skagit, Island counties)

Have fun at the NWAC party. Wish it was another day. We r still chillin over on Orcas. Can't wait to be hittin chair 9 on the way down from slayings the Arm his season!

 

Fellow NW'ers what kinds of tires have you guys ran and which was the best? I realize there is a Tire forum in here but I figure some local knowledge about our conditions would be best.

I currently have 245-65 Falken High Country's, came on the truck from the previous owner, and want to get up to 265-75's. The ones that jump out at me the most are BFG AT's obviously, Duratracs and then the Toyo AT, maybe the Hankook Dynapro AT but I don't like how they look as much.

I've heard from some people that the BFG's are great early on but lose a lot of their grip very quickly with wear? True? One guy at work says they were the best tire he ever had for the first 20k miles, then one of the worst.

I do very little hard off-roading. The majority of my off road adventures are over our lovely snow/ice packed passes and the occasional snow covered forest road for an adventure or maybe a Christmas tree. Last year our SUV didn't fare to well in the 12" of snow over ice. (No truck then) I don't ever plan on sinking this truck in mud or trying to rock crawl at all. It has to take me to Bellevue from Marysville every day.

Looking for thoughts

Luke

 

I have only owned the following on our family's trucks:

Michelen LTX M/S2 - exceptional MPG, terrible offroad capability. No highway noise. I have to winch dad out of the back yard all the time. They do great in snow. They should have a really long life, but Dad's Dodge diesel chews through tires like nobody's business.
Dad buys these because they are standard tires on Dodge Rams and he can get them cheap on craigslist. His truck is 2WD in-town daily driver, plus it is the camping vehicle- pulls a 24' 5th wheel. He also does firewood hauling, etc.

Rugged Trails - They lasted 20k before I switched, have about 5/32 on them now. Nothing exceptional one way or another. I did offroad them, and they required more traction device assistance (lockers, 4WD) earlier than a similar truck with BFG A/T.

Maxxis Bighorns - slight whine on road. Currently have 20k I think and look good. My first MT, seem to be doing great for everything I've done. Haven't really tried snow. I can get them to break free in wet roundabouts or from a stop if I give too much gas, so siped them for the heck of it. No chunking so far. I'd like to see if a different MT would do better with sidewall grip in mud to compare. They seem stiff in that when aired down, they don't balloon out like a BFG KM2 would. I get a 2-4MPG drop over the Rugged Trails.

My driving is 12 mile round trip to work on backroads with stop signs along the way, average speed is 40.
I do occasional trips from Oregon/Washington
You can see my offroad pics around here and see my addons

 

I would go for the Michelin LTX M/S2 with a good set of diamond pattern chains for the snow. If you go over 265/75, I don't think Les Schwab carries bigger, so you might have to look at RUD chains.

This setup would maximize your MPG, tire life, and comfort. Chains are there when you need them, and can easily outperform a naked MT tire in snow

 

I agree with everything you said here except for the bold. An LTX will outperform a M/T on ice, but not in snow.

 

What you heard about the BFG's is true. I have run several sets of them and they are great when new, but once they reach about 50% tread the compound usually tends to start hardening and they lose their grip.

Looking at your gallery and hearing about the type of driving you do, I would suggest the Duratrac's out of the tires you have listed. I do the same type of driving, mostly road but plenty of forest service road adventures and they are the best tire I have ever run for our wet conditions, and will be a lot better on forest service roads than the others you have listed, especially in snowy conditions.

If all you did was drive on wet pavement I would suggest the LTX's. They will last longer than pretty much any other tire made and are great on wet roads, but aren't too great in snow covered off-road conditions.

One other thing, speaking of Marysville: if you live up that way and get serious about buying tires, I've got a great hookup up there, let me know if you're interested in some help.

 

I meant that the LTX with chains with outperform an MT in winter conditions. I wrote things kinda poor, sorry

 

Thanks for all the info guys, appreciate it.

 

Busy weekend...Finally got it on just in time for Baker to open this Thurs (Hopefully) stuffed with some 285/70/17 BFG AT's... Thanks to the TRIpod for helping out... Try & get some better pics soon.

 

ahh! dont come on for a while and i miss shit! damn...

Looks good!!!

 

BUMP! this party needs to get a little more exciting...just saying!

 

dont you be laughin at me!!! im cereal!!!

 

Did someone say.....party?

 

Happy Birthday Shari!!!

 

Thaaaaannnnkkksss!!!

 

HI from earlier today!!!

 

wheres the party at? haha we need a meet setup or something! come on guys!

 

Too bad I moved out of Skagit after High School. I'll be up there next summer to spend time with family and friends. Maybe something will be going on around then, or I'll just spend time around the MV/Sedro/Burlington area.

 

Don't make me post bewbs in here to get attention.