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

xrated · 05-23-2021, 10:45 AM

So I'm getting ready to replace the tires on my 2016 F350 Dually 4x4 in then next couple of months and I'm looking for experienced answers for tire selection. I'll start off with saying that I've been looking at the Cooper AT3 tires and a lot of what I read about them are positive. So my question is....what have you guys used that you would buy again...or stay away from based on your experience with them.

I really like to have responses that relate specifically to my setup.....4x4 Dually and towing heavy. My trailer is a 20K GVWR Toy Hauler, so towing a 10K trailer with an F250 will probably not really answer my question.....Thanks in advance and let me know.

travelin texans · 05-23-2021, 12:49 PM

My last truck was a '13 Denali DRW 4x4 towing a 16.5k 5th wheel regularly as full-timers that came equipped with Michelins that I replaced at just over 70k miles with another set of the very same tire that had 67k miles when I traded it off & stilled looked like good tread left.. Yes the Michelins are expensive, but from my experience they'll outlast ANY other brand 2 or 3 sets to 1.
My previous '05 GMC DRW I tried Falkens that lasted less than 30k, the OEMs were Generals that lasted just over 30k & the best luck was with Yokohama that lasted about 38k.
Long story short, my recommendation for truck tires is Michelin, don't waste time & $$ on any other, you'll be $$ ahead.

JDDilly · 05-23-2021, 02:10 PM

I put Continental on mine. The OEM tires didn't even last 30k, so I wasn't going to go with them, don't even remember what they were. The Continental's were recommended by the person at Discount Tire. I have purchased tires from him for 10 years and he has never lead me astray, so I am giving them a try.

jasin1 · 05-23-2021, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin texans

My last truck was a '13 Denali DRW 4x4 towing a 16.5k 5th wheel regularly as full-timers that came equipped with Michelins that I replaced at just over 70k miles with another set of the very same tire that had 67k miles when I traded it off & stilled looked like good tread left.. Yes the Michelins are expensive, but from my experience they'll outlast ANY other brand 2 or 3 sets to 1.
My previous '05 GMC DRW I tried Falkens that lasted less than 30k, the OEMs were Generals that lasted just over 30k & the best luck was with Yokohama that lasted about 38k.
Long story short, my recommendation for truck tires is Michelin, don't waste time & $$ on any other, you'll be $$ ahead.

I second the Michelin’s
Came standard on my other truck ..switched to Firestone and they only lasted half as long..went back to Michelin’s before I sold it.. I got mine from tire rack and picked them up at a local distribution center and they credited me over $100 just for picking up and no sales tax because I picked up in Delaware ..had my local guy mount them
And it wasn’t a dually but I am commenting on overall durability and quality.

notanlines · 05-23-2021, 02:57 PM

Vernon, we have forever been Michelin fans because of performance and exceedingly high mileage. This F-450 came with Continentals (our first) and are now headed towards 50K with about 30% wear shown all around. (Yes, to the doubters I'll be glad to post pictures) I don't know what to think after reading John's post concerning the Sailuns some time ago. I like all three.

gearhead · 05-23-2021, 04:34 PM

Last year? I had busted belts on my OEM Nexens. All my Discount Tire dealer could find were Coopers. I bought 6 of them. They are highway thread not the AT3. I've been very happy with them. Time to replace them I'll look at AT3.

Javi · 05-23-2021, 05:21 PM

Michelin all the way

vampress_me · 05-23-2021, 06:30 PM

You all are scaring me by liking Michelin’s. We had them on the last F-350 SRW from factory, and they came on this DRW F-350. I can’t remember what came on 2009 F-350 because they got replaced with Nokians fairly quickly. I’ve hated the Michelins the whole time. They have no traction, in any weather, if you aren’t on a tar road. I was so hoping someone would come up with a better option.

**sourdough** · 05-23-2021, 07:24 PM

I was precluded from this conversation but Michelin makes all kinds of tread patterns and compounds so that might explain some of your experiences Lynette.

rhagfo · 05-23-2021, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vampress_me

You all are scaring me by liking Michelin’s. We had them on the last F-350 SRW from factory, and they came on this DRW F-350. I can’t remember what came on 2009 F-350 because they got replaced with Nokians fairly quickly. I’ve hated the Michelins the whole time. They have no traction, in any weather, if you aren’t on a tar road. I was so hoping someone would come up with a better option.

Love our Michelins great traction and ride, LTX M/S2! I don’t know what issues you have had, but our record is great!

xrated · 05-24-2021, 07:47 AM

Thanks to all that responded, I appreciate the input. After even more research and reading reviews, I have decided to go with the Cooper Discoverer AT3-LT tires. There were just too many reviews about the Michelin tires that I didn't like and wasn't willing to take a chance on....especially spending that much money. In fact, the Cooper AT3-LTs were just a bit more money than the Michelins would have been.....so I didn't base my decision on $$ alone. Anyway, they will be in the Tire Discount store by the end of the day today, or first thing tomorrow, so the "Beast" will have new shoes by the end of the day Tuesday. Thanks again to all that responded.

travelin texans · 05-24-2021, 01:20 PM

My son's FIL is part owner of a tire shop that primarily sell Cooper tires. My son, due to the family discount, runs Cooper tires on every vehicle & I will agree they are a good quality tire, but from his experiences & mine, I don't get the family discount, they won't outlast the Michelins.

**flybouy** · 05-24-2021, 03:51 PM

Don't own a dually but use Michelins on the 250, Coopers are on the 150 after 2 sets of Pirelli Scorpions. Over the years I've found that ultimate tire wear and ultimate tire traction are mutually exclusive. Finding the desired balance between the two can be daunting.

markdol1 · 05-24-2021, 06:07 PM

The cooper AT3 LT you chose are fine I have them on my 2010 ram 3500 dually 4 door 8 ft bed truck and my jeep. They have a 10 ply e load range . I found them to have good stability while towing and braking in the rain. Also they are smooth and quiet for having a more aggressive tread. Like any tire keep them at rated pressure for good tread wear.

xrated · 05-26-2021, 10:39 AM

Ahh, I love the smell of new rubber.....and there is LOTS of rubber to smell. Six tires total, plus a pic of my homemade valve extender hose bracket....

Front tire..

Rear tires....

And my homemade bracket. I tried to buy something to hold the Stainless Extension hose from the inner wheel to the outer wheel, and everything that I looked at just seemed like junk or wouldn't fit like I wanted it to. So, a couple of years ago, I bought some 1/8" thick by 1" wide aluminum and made my own. I figured out a length that would work, bent the inner and outer pieces to fit the curvature of the wheel, then drilled holes and bolted the two pieces together inside of the slotted holes of the aluminum wheels. The back piece has a hole big enough for the stainless hose to fit through easily, and the front piece is drilled just large enough to slip in the end of the hose extension, then put the nut on it to hold it in place. If I'm not mistaken, I made these in late 2017 or early 2018 and they have not moved. Yesterday, when I had the new tires put on, I left the bracket on the outer wheel, and had the tire guy duct tape the end of the valve extension hose to the inside of the inner wheel while they were balancing the tire/wheel. That way, the entire thing was balanced and no surprises when the wheels got mounted back up and installed on the truck. It's as smooth as a baby's butt......

MickLittle · 05-26-2021, 02:39 PM

They look great! I like how you made a bracket for the valve stems.
Let all know if you feel any difference in towing, fuel consumption, or if it takes more power to turn those tires. Thanks for the pics!

jasin1 · 05-26-2021, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xrated

Ahh, I love the smell of new rubber.....and there is LOTS of rubber to smell. Six tires total, plus a pic of my homemade valve extender hose bracket....

Front tire..

Rear tires....

And my homemade bracket. I tried to buy something to hold the Stainless Extension hose from the inner wheel to the outer wheel, and everything that I looked at just seemed like junk or wouldn't fit like I wanted it to. So, a couple of years ago, I bought some 1/8" thick by 1" wide aluminum and made my own. I figured out a length that would work, bent the inner and outer pieces to fit the curvature of the wheel, then drilled holes and bolted the two pieces together inside of the slotted holes of the aluminum wheels. The back piece has a hole big enough for the stainless hose to fit through easily, and the front piece is drilled just large enough to slip in the end of the hose extension, then put the nut on it to hold it in place. If I'm not mistaken, I made these in late 2017 or early 2018 and they have not moved. Yesterday, when I had the new tires put on, I left the bracket on the outer wheel, and had the tire guy duct tape the end of the valve extension hose to the inside of the inner wheel while they were balancing the tire/wheel. That way, the entire thing was balanced and no surprises when the wheels got mounted back up and installed on the truck. It's as smooth as a baby's butt......

Look great! Just keep them rotated properly. With bigger lug tires the wear seems to show up easily. My Firestones ended up wearing differently and I couldn’t rotate them because I failed to stay on top of it

xrated · 05-26-2021, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasin1

Look great! Just keep them rotated properly. With bigger lug tires the wear seems to show up easily. My Firestones ended up wearing differently and I couldn’t rotate them because I failed to stay on top of it

Maybe a stupid question, but since this is my first ever Dually with new tires, how do most folks rotate the tires. I've heard on a Dually that you move both rear tires from say the right side to the left side, and then the left side tires to the right side. Same with the fronts...left to right and right to left. Does anyone take their Truck in and actually have the tires broken down off of the rims and change an inner for an outer tire? How do most people do this?

notanlines · 05-26-2021, 04:20 PM

I have seen no unusual wear so only swapped the front. I certainly would not have them broken down no matter what.

jasin1 · 05-26-2021, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xrated

Maybe a stupid question, but since this is my first ever Dually with new tires, how do most folks rotate the tires. I've heard on a Dually that you move both rear tires from say the right side to the left side, and then the left side tires to the right side. Same with the fronts...left to right and right to left. Does anyone take their Truck in and actually have the tires broken down off of the rims and change an inner for an outer tire? How do most people do this?

It’s my first dually but I’ve been known to drive my truck like it’s a 911..trying to grow out of that. Front tires end up wearing more on the outside. I know your supposed to break the tires down to rotate but if you do that a time or two it can get expensive Better to put the money towards new tires I guess

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