Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Deep snow tires for a Deisel

On my 2500 the recommended tire pressure on my truck is 60 psi front and 80 psi rear. If I get more then a few psi under the recommendation pressure I get a light on the dash.

So in the summer I run 60/62 psi front and 80 psi rear. Winter with my plow on (plow and mount is about 1000 lbs.) I run 66/68 front and 80 psi rear. If I don't add air pressure to the front with the plow on it handles weird. 6 to 8 psi really makes a difference.

My 1500 calls for 35 psi front and rear. I run 40 psi all year long. Anything under that it doesn't handle right. They're D rated tires so a few more psi is ok. Been on the truck since Nov. 2012 and are wearing pretty good.

NYH1.

I’ve owned two 2500 Ram Diesels and have driven both with the low air pressure warning light on in the dash the whole time I owned them. This federally mandated tire pressure bullsheet is annoying as hell. If I’m not hauling a heavy load there is no reason to have the tires aired up to support 7700 lbs in the rear when I’m only hauling 3300, that’s just stupid and the truck rides like sheet with 70-80 psi in the tires. I run 55 in the front and 50 in the rear 90% of the time. If I’m hauling a heavy load or my camper in the bed then I air them up to 70-80 psi. Those high pressures with no load will make the tires wear prematurely as well as deteriorate traction capabilities. Plucking Govt!

As far as deep snow tires, what works for deep snow will not work on icy roads. Deep snow you need deep lug channels to move the snow a lot like a mud tire, but if your on icy roads those same tires will suck. I ran Bridgestone Blizzaks E rated on my ram 2500 during winter in Alaska and there is no comparison on slick roads, they just stick to the ice compared to anything else including studs. Throw chains on the blizzaks for deep snow and you have the best of both worlds.

When I had my new tires installed on my 2500, for some reason the guy only put about 50 psi in all four tires. When I picked it up I told the counter guy my tire pressure warning light was on and that there was only about 50 psi in each tire. My warning system tells how much psi is in each tire. He told me I had to drive it for the system to reset (which is true).

I went down the road about a mile or so and it didn't reset. Went back and the guy that change them said he only put 50 psi in them when he mounted them and forgot to top them off. He said why, I can't remember. Anyways, with 50 psi in them it felt like driving a water bed. Was terrible.

Plus I have a 1000 lbs. plow on it most of the time 5 to 6 months a year. I run 66/68 psi in the front when the plows on. Even at 60 psi it handles weird with the plow on, did the same with factory Firestones. I only put 600 lbs. ballast weight against the tailgate Nov. through Apr. (plow season). That doesn't effect the rear at all.

I haven't aired my tires up from the pressure I run in the summer yet. So the fronts have been in the mid 50 psi range and the rears are in the mid 70 psi range. The air pressure system warning hasn't gone off so I'm going to leave them alone until it go's off or I get my new tires in the next few weeks.

Chains aren't an option for me. Like I said, the Duratrac's have been great from a performance stand point. However, there's a few things I don't like about them.

NYH1.

In deep snow or slush, you want to get the narrowest tire you can. Modern deisels can be hard on tires just because they produce so much torque. Pull a trailer up a hill at 70mph and you have to be putting some power through those tires. My 91 Dodge deisel gave great tire life but it also had only 160 hp and under 500 pounds of torque. My new 3500 is hard on tires because it's just too easy for me to be hard on them. By working harder to ease up on the throttle a bit, I'm getting much better tire life. GD

My DuraTracs have been on 7 months total. Dec-May last winter and the beginning of Oct this fall. I had a flat 10 days ago having a rock work its way though the tread either from the gravel I had been on or the pavement I had been on for awhile after the gravel. The only tires I had do similar things were P rated tires. Ruined the tire so bought another DuraTrac. Comparing the new to old I was surprised how much the old have already warn. Many of the sipes are gone and the tread is round off. They might have 12,000 miles on them. I think once these wear out I'll get something narrower to see how the diesel does on snow after that. If I get another flat I may do it sooner.

Horse, do you run those Exo's in the summer as well? I'm in the market for a new set of summer tires and those sound like they have everything I want.

No, I don't. I run a much milder AT for the summer. My summertime driving is mainly pulling my boat down paved highways, I just need something that holds air and doesn't hydroplane when it rains.

Well, I got back from hunting today. The DuraTracs are not the greatest mud tire from my experience this week. The tires are not that wide, but they almost left me stranded several times where Kelly TSRs just seemed to dig through. I did make it, but with a lot more trouble. I'll use them until I need a new set, but I don't see me buying anymore DuraTracs.

Toyo M55 is what most guys in the oil patch use.

I've heard good things about the M55. The only problems I hear is they are hard and create a rough ride and really expensive. How are they on ice and packed snow?

They are not the best on ice and hard pack snow because they are so hard. Because they are hard they have good abrasion resistance and long life. On a 2500 or 3500 series truck there really isn't a lot of difference in ride.

Thanks

We call those "hockey puck tires". slide and glide like a puck on the ice.

MT's are junk on ice and snow.

BFG KO2's are mountain snowflake rated. They came out with a new version, the KO2 DT which is designed to last longer on HD trucks. It isn't snowflake rated. I think the tread compound is harder, but I bet it is still pretty good in the snow.

Heck. It was a Minnesotan that convinced me to try Firestone Destination MTs and have them siped. They have been great tires set up that way. Without the siping they are terrible on ice and packed snow though.

Same but different?



Like when I talk to people at car shows. Be standing next to a turquoise 64 ford galaxie, random guy walks up... "Yeah, my uncle had one just like this. Except his was green... and his was a 4 door.... and a 62...... and a 6 cylinder.... and a dodge...."

lol dave. But other than that...

I had a set of studded M55s on a F150 that I drove up the Alcan towing a 8K trailer in December/January. They did ok.

I'd much rather have have BFG AT KO or KO2.

I should mention, I don't give 2 shcits about ride quality. I care about the tire's ability to carry a load, longevity, and traction, in roughly that order.

Well, the Firestones look pretty much like those BFGs. Maybe compound is a bit different, I don't know. But when the Firestones are siped they are a go anyway tire no matter what the season.

Nitto ExoGrapplers have better traction everywhere than do BFG KO2's. Was using the bumper and step tubes/running boards to move blown-in drifts today.

Eastern MT uses larger rocks on their gravel roads than does Western MT or anywhere in ND. The Exo's impressively toss the bigger rocks such that it sounds like little things are falling off your truck, like the running boards, shocks, or maybe the whole flippin' tranny! BFG KO2's are bad for that as well.