Help me out. The old men in my life tell me you must have a 10 ply tire to handle the fields with the occupational small cactus. We have thoses beasts of tires on a dedicated ranch truck. Is that because they are describing the old cotton ply stuff back in the day or do you really need tires that thick? Is there new technology (Thinking kevlar) that makes this outdated?

The drawbacks on that heavy of a tire make it unrealistic for me to purchase since the majority of this trucks life will be city driving. That leaves my new truck is half way useless out on the land. I realize I can stay on the paths but who wants to do that.

The land have everything that can possible ***** you on it. cactus, mesquite, pencil cactus,.....

Jack+4cheap used rims+4 cheap used tires+30minutes each way.

It is my understanding that most tires nowadays have a ply rating, based on the old biased ply tires. Ply rating is more about load capacity than toughness.

Tell your tire dealer what you are going to be using the tires for and let him make a recommend your best tire for your purpose. I spend a lot of time at the farm driving through mesquite brush, cactus, etc. Stick with an "LT" rated tire built for trucks.

If thorns, etc. are that big of a problem for you, put the recommended amount of "Slime" or 'Ultraseal" in your tires. It will seal up any thorn or other small punctures.

We run Slime in all of our tractor tires and never have flats anymore.

E rated off road tires are really good about not getting flats.

OTH, a flint rock cuts a side wall and anything can get done in

Yes they are correct.

10 and 3

Just get some BFG AT's and call it even.

Better to go more agressive and be able to handle what u wana do sometimes than to go less agressive because you drive on streets most of the time. I promise you this, if you buy street tires you will change your mind the first time having those tires bites the Arss. Been there done that.

So are you in the market for new tires, or are you wondering if you have to upgrade tires on a new truck just for field work?

I would run what you have until you need a new set, and then buy 10 ply tires. My friends end up putting 10 ply tires on SUVs because many gravel roads are cutting cheaper tires.

Remember that the ply rating is not the number of actual plies anymore. Yes, you can get Kevlar as well.

I bought a used truck that had these on the front and just put new ones on the back to match at Discount. Although Discount is pretty good on most things, the guy didn't know squat about Kevlar in the Wrangler Silent Armor, so don't always assume they know what they are talking about. If they can't tell you, read the side of the tire, as the website nor their call to the Goodyear help desk could confirm anything when they didn't have the tires in stock for me.

I did a quick comparison of an F-150 size tire on Tire rack and the Michelin LTX AT2 that comes in an SL or E rating in 275-65-18. The E rated tire is actually cheaper, has 1/8" more tread depth, and weighs 52 lbs vs 40 lbs. Based on that, I'm not sure why a person would choose not to buy the E rated tire. Does the added weight or stiffness really negatively impact handling that much???

C4D said:

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Yes they are correct.

10 and 3

Just get some BFG AT's and call it even.

Better to go more agressive and be able to handle what u wana do sometimes than to go less agressive because you drive on streets most of the time. I promise you this, if you buy street tires you will change your mind the first time having those tires bites the Arss. Been there done that.

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Those are the only tires I run

The only tire i have spent my money on in 15 years. Got them on the ribs burb as well

I live in thorns. Will only run 10 ply on everything i own. We get,a lot of crap on our highways, too...think 10 ply helps there too. I have had bad experiences with the BFG blowing out. I have switched to Yokohama Geolanders and have had good luck. Both the BFG and Geolanders have pretty straight sidewalls...that is a big plus.

Just had a flat fixed yesterday...2 inch mesquite thorn. Not much will stop those !

KO2's

The Toyo whateverthe****s (their version of the KO2's)

I have some bullcrap Firestone Transforces on my truck and they never go flat. Even up here in mesquite country.

Was having the same issue for awhile. Punctured/cut 2 side walls in a 6 month period on the Goodyear Wrangler's with Kevlar.

Put the BFG AT KO2's on and haven't had a problem since. I do a lot of highway driving and they handle it pretty dang well for an AT tire.

I've also heard good things about the Toyo Open Country AT's.

The Auto Board also recommends the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 2's.

I may be living on borrowed time, but for the last 20 years I have been driving my Ram 250 and my Chevy 2500s on mesquites and cactus and never even thought about using anything buy LT tires. I usually stick with the same type of tires that came on them. The last three years I moved to Young County and our place is nothing buy cactus and mesquite. The last 10 years I have been taking the same trucks to Colorado and Wyoming and boondocking for much of the summer, which means running them over the rock roads up there. Many of those roads are hard rocks. I have cut up the RV tires, but never had a flat on a truck.

Up until the last three years, we made a couple of trips a month to Jack County to check feeders and them numerous trips during deer hunting. The rest of the time I was on paved roads, which sounds like the OPs situation. I guess I have just been lucky.

All radial tires have a 1 ply sidewall. All of them. Load Range E is a 10 ply rated tire. Now there are different belt packages under the tread that assist with puncture protection, but all radial tires have a 1 ply sidewall.

Brush Country Ag said:

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I live in thorns. Will only run 10 ply on everything i own. We get,a lot of crap on our highways, too...think 10 ply helps there too. I have had bad experiences with the BFG blowing out. I have switched to Yokohama Geolanders and have had good luck. Both the BFG and Geolanders have pretty straight sidewalls...that is a big plus.

Just had a flat fixed yesterday...2 inch mesquite thorn. Not much will stop those !

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+1 on the Yokohama Geolanders. Have had nothing but good experience with them. Even on my old truck that was 85% pavement wear. Was able to get 80k miles out of the last set I had on it.

The problem with most of the Kevlar reinforced tires, and most of the Goodyear off-road/all-terrain tires, is the ride quality. They're horrible.... some people like them and don't have a problem but they just generally have a horrible ride due to the stiffness of the tire.

Dale Earnhardts Stache said:

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Was having the same issue for awhile. Punctured/cut 2 side walls in a 6 month period on the Goodyear Wrangler's with Kevlar.

Put the BFG AT KO2's on and haven't had a problem since. I do a lot of highway driving and they handle it pretty dang well for an AT tire.

I've also heard good things about the Toyo Open Country AT's.

The Auto Board also recommends the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 2's.

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I place the BfGs ahead of the toyos because of ride quality. Tread life and off-road traction are very similar but the BFG rides better and isnt as likely to suffer from irregular tread wear = increased road noise and possibly premature wear.

Were the Goodyear Wrangler's with Kevlar that you had Load range E or SL?

The reality is, an additional two plies doesn't make that much of a difference in preventing a flat. If you're going to have something puncture your tire, an extra couple of mm isn't going to stop it.

Most truck AT tires have good enough tread height that stops a lot of tread belt centered flats. The sidewalls are also generally 3 plies or are reinforced better than your standard factory street tire.

At the end of the day, if you have a 2500 or F250, you have to run an LT E rated tire to maintain load and towing capacity. If you have a half ton, you don't "need" them.... that being said, I have them on my f150.

I worked at discount in high school and all through college. I don't remember everything and there are certainly others on here that I am sure know more (ask Silverado lover on the auto board - another ex DTC worker).

Thanks for the info. I don't care about ride quality as much as blowouts and flats on the farm trucks - if we want a smooth ride, we take the car. The best tires we ever had were Giant's with steel sidewalls. NEVER had issues, but they don't make them anymore. They were perfect for the farm. Curious to see how these hold up.

Dad had a Geolandar blow out on him not long ago. Maybe he just got a dud. He went back to Michelin's this time on that truck. One time back in the day we put on a set of Kumhos. When the third one blew out, the tire shop went ahead and replaced the 4th for us as well. Never again Kumho after that.

Whatever you end up buying, make sure you do these 2 things.

1-buy from discount tire. They typically have the best prices. Not always, but usually they do. Discount will do your rotation and balancing for free all tires (even if you don't buy from them). Great business model IMO. Also free flat repair.

2- Always buy the "insurance" on new tires. Cost $20-30 per tires. If the sidewalls blowout or you get a big hole they can't replace, they will replace it for free. Then you just pay the same $20-30 on then new tires insurance to cover it again in case it happens again. If you buy a new truck off the lot, go straight to discount tire and buy insurance on the new tires. They will typically let you do it. I can't say enough good things about them.

It's very hard to beat Michelin in the SUV truck market. They're proud of their tires but they're damn good.

Only weakness is they don't have a true A/T tire. The AT2 is phenomenal for mostly street use though.

AGGIE WH08P said:

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Whatever you end up buying, make sure you do these 2 things.

1-buy from discount tire. They typically have the best prices. Not always, but usually they do. Discount will do your rotation and balancing for free all tires (even if you don't buy from them). Great business model IMO. Also free flat repair.

2- Always buy the "insurance" on new tires. Cost $20-30 per tires. If the sidewalls blowout or you get a big hole they can't replace, they will replace it for free. Then you just pay the same $20-30 on then new tires insurance to cover it again in case it happens again. If you buy a new truck off the lot, go straight to discount tire and buy insurance on the new tires. They will typically let you do it. I can't say enough good things about them.

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I agree with buying from discount tire. I always check NTB's price before buying to get DT to price match. NTBs price on BFG all terrains was $20 a tire cheaper, so i had DT match the price and will get them installed tomorrow

milkman00 said:

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Dad had a Geolandar blow out on him not long ago. Maybe he just got a dud. He went back to Michelin's this time on that truck. One time back in the day we put on a set of Kumhos. When the third one blew out, the tire shop went ahead and replaced the 4th for us as well. Never again Kumho after that.

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I think my dad has put 4 sets of Geolanders on his various trucks (including 1 set on my old truck) and has been able to rotate a set back onto a farm truck as needed. They've all held up really well against mesquite and cactus thorns. Cactus isn't even a concern for those tires, tbh. Mesquite is another story, but the ply is enough that it would just about take intentionally running over a bush to be an issue.

The one time I put a hole in one of those tires was from a 2" screw I picked up in the parking lot of my old office in Austin. I drove the 0.1 mile to a tire shop and they patched it and put it back on.

I agree about Michelins generally. Running the MS2 on one 2wd truck. Definitely the craziest marketing, as one would think it was designed for mud. Running AT2s on another truck. Thought I was stuck backing a baler in the barn in the mud after 5 inches of rain but realized the auto locking front hubs weren't working. After manually locking the hubs I was surprised how well the AT2s performed that day, but it could have been a fluke that day. I wish someone would do a mudding test with the various tires in similar conditions and report back.

AGGIE WH08P said:

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Whatever you end up buying, make sure you do these 2 things.

1-buy from discount tire. They typically have the best prices. Not always, but usually they do. Discount will do your rotation and balancing for free all tires (even if you don't buy from them). Great business model IMO. Also free flat repair.

2- Always buy the "insurance" on new tires. Cost $20-30 per tires. If the sidewalls blowout or you get a big hole they can't replace, they will replace it for free. Then you just pay the same $20-30 on then new tires insurance to cover it again in case it happens again. If you buy a new truck off the lot, go straight to discount tire and buy insurance on the new tires. They will typically let you do it. I can't say enough good things about them.

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Another shameless plug for Discount Tire. I have bought motor home tires, ATV tires (can't believe how much those suckers cost), passenger tires, truck tires, travel trailer tires, equipment trailer tires, etc. Everywhere from Texas to Bremerton, WA. Once in a while you will get someone trying to sell you something you don't need/want, but generally they have the best prices and excellent service. They beat the socks off WalMart in Washington on my Ram 2500.

I can verify the details about this but they used to have an independent test all the A/Ts out there and the LTX M/S (which stands for Mud/Snow) was always reported to perform very closely to its much more aggressive tread competitors.

I worked at Discount Tire through part of high school and college, not sure about the insurance for every day car driving but well worth getting them if you will be around thorns or mesquite.

10 plys are made thicker and yes unless you have a heavy truck your ride will suck. The Goodyears with Kevlar like the AT seemed to be the best (I last worked there 10 years ago, dang I am getting old). There are copies like the Japanese brands but they are not as good. Michelins are my favorite if you will be driving on the road a lot since they are smoother and quieter.

C4D said:

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Yes they are correct.

10 and 3

Just get some BFG AT's and call it even.

Better to go more agressive and be able to handle what u wana do sometimes than to go less agressive because you drive on streets most of the time. I promise you this, if you buy street tires you will change your mind the first time having those tires bites the Arss. Been there done that.

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love these tires!!

Thanks for all the responses. I figured this needed some discussion here

The longer story is that I just got a truck and plan the add all the fun stuff I want including, a lift and some KO2s. I have bought two sets of them before and love them. However, I wasn't going to put all that money into the truck if I was limited in use out on the land. The only reason why I would feel limited is because the old crusty dudes in the area run theses tires that are borderline tractor tires. If that is what is truly nesessary then I won't do any of it. Better safe to ask.

It sounds like be reasonable with any of the A/T tires and you are good. A properly aimed mesquite thorn will go through any tire I know short of a tractor tire with slime.

Mesquite will go thru tractor tires, slime or no slime. The question is whether the slime will plug the hole after it does. Some farmers use airplane tires in place of regular tractor tires on the fronts as an option.

What brand/model are these "borderline tractor tires" you speak of? I may need a set.

The bottom line is that when you buy tires, you need to ask which load rating (how many ply rating) they are. Not all AT tires are 10 ply rated. Depending on tire size, some KO2s are load range E (10 ply) and some are less. For what you described, I would make sure you are buying the 10 ply ones.

I spend a fair amount of time on raw property(no roads). KO2 all the way. You'll still catch a thorn in a sidewall from time to time, but much less than all the other rubber I've tried.

I just ordered a set of Toyo R/T's for my Duramax.

Load Range E with 45k tread life warranty. I've read a lot of negative reviews that the K/O2's don't hold up well to the heavy diesel motor weights on the front end. My friend told me he got 63k out of his last set of R/T's so I'll see what they can do.

Helped that I also got 15% off.

I've run Nitto Trail grapplers on my F150 for years and haven't had any issues (aside from reduced mileage, but who buys a truck for that). I have had multiple roofing nails in them without ever having a flat.