Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Winter truck tires

Looking for the best winter truck tire a guy can get. Will be hunting Idaho and driving back and fourth over White Pass Wa. Gotta grab on snow and ice! Will need to haul a 26’ trailer at some point. 3/4 Chevy. Thanks for any advice!

Goodyear Duratrac has a great reputation in snow though reportedly has soft sidewalls and may be a bit squirrely towing heavier loads with a 3/4 ton. Hankook Dynapro ATM is a very popular truck tire for winter use around here and is worth a look. I'm currently running Cooper ST Maxx on a 3/4 ton deisel and have been happy with winter performance. They will need to be replaced soon and am considering the Hankook as well as the Nitto Terra Grappler that I've heard good things about.

I put Kelly Safari TSR's on a 3/4 ton GMC I had. I also had them studded. The most I hauled with them was a horse trailer since I only had them on in the winter. Great tire IMHO. I have a RAM 1 ton diesel now and tried Duratracs on it last winter. I didn't like how they handled in deep snow so I took them off and put some Kelly TSR's on it They were also wearing out pretty quick. I think the TSR's are a better tire. Of course it maybe the heavy diesel that makes me not like the Duratracs. I don't know. I'll have to see this winter how the TSR's work on it. I did put the Duratracs on my 3/4 plow truck that came off the RAM. Maybe they'll do better on it.

A friend really likes the Cooper M+S, especially since he got them studded.

I have been running BFG KO2’s on my Chevrolet 2500 and been really happy with them. Not pulling a travel trailer but a 7x14 dump trailer with a load in. I travel Stevens Pass 2-3 times a month. The 3/4 ton Dodge is running Cooper AT3’s with a heavy camper in the bed. Haven’t had on snow yet so no comment but for normal use with the camper they have worked well.

Milfhunter

Nitto Exo Grappler is more stable (1 more sidewall belt) and has better traction than the Terra, especially on an HD pickup. I currently have a set of Terras I run in the summer and Exo's I run in the winter on my '11 F250 6.7L. Just swapped the Exo's on this week. 0 difference in fuel mileage between the 2, similar road noise, Exo is exponentially more predictable cornering @ highways speeds and/or carrying a load in a cross-wind, no squishiness.

As I've stated many times before, Exo's have been fantastic for me here in ND where we got lots of hard-packed snow/ice. As big of a fan of the Exo's as I am, I've had Blizzaks on at least 1/2 dozen fleet vehicles over the years and no AT tire comes anywhere close to a dedicated directional soft-compound winter-only "Snow Tire" for slickery stuff.

Thanks, horse1 - I was thinking Exo not Terra based on your previous posts.

Look at something like cooper discoverer M+S, Healthy size to the lugs but all lugs are also siped for flexibility which is huge. I wouldn't expect great longevity out of what ever ends up serving you well, but I think something like the cooper discoverer M&S is moderately priced. Maybe that's not true, I haven't priced them against blizzaks which of course are a no brainer. Can't go wrong with blizzaks.


I've got toyo C/T open country on my superduty which I to with and plow snow with. I do not recommend them, no flex to the lug. I kind of wish I had a set of blizzak or cooper disoverer M+S to put on in the winter. But, I'm a winter flatlander, not climbing and descending snowy passes with a trailer on, so I get by with the ninja foot.

good luck

Forgot to mention firestone winterforce LT. I've really been impressed with them in the past on several trucks. Priced below blizzaks, similar price range to the cooper M+S I mentioned.

Huh? No mention of Nokian Hakkapelittas? They make them in LT

I had some HackUps for a while, studded. They weren't bad, not my favorite for towing but I don't tow anything really heavy in the winter. They were on a 3/4 ton dodge and my usual complaint about squishy sidewalls applied. I'd prefer Blizzaks.

Blizzak is the best winter tire I've ever used on a truck. Years ago in the gas truck I could get up my fairly steep snow/ice covered driveway in 2WD better than in 4WD with other tires. But they're soft and wear quckly driving them in non-winter conditions and I doubt you'd want to tow with them. I have 2 trucks, a Duramax and the old '94 light duty 3/4 gas truck. Both 4WD. The 7,000 lb diesel has limited slip and wears Duratrac tires, the 5,000lb gas truck has open dif and Kelly Edge tires. In winter getting up to my shop behind the house, when the snow's deeper than about 6 or 7" the Duramax with Duratracs won't make it, the lighter gas truck with Kelly tires will go through that stuff. I've been disappointed with the snow performance of the Duatrac, but they're very good on the road and other offroad stuff. However when the snow starts getting deeper they're not so good.

Sounds like my experience with Duratracs.

Are you allowed to run studs on the road the whole distance? If so, I would get a dedicated set of rims and put studded snow tires on them. Something like Blizzaks with studs will go anywhere and stop when needed. But I'm not thinking that Blizzaks would be great for towing with a 3/4 ton and long trailer.

Maybe a studded set of DuraTracs. There shouldn't be that much "deep" snow on the roadways, and the DuraTracs hold the road pretty well even without studs.

my dedicated hunting truck is a 16 350 6.7...…..I changed out factory pretty quick and went to nitto mud ...not the super aggressive ones.

worked great but....loud…..wore super fast......went to dura tracs way quieter.....wearing better...like them so much having another dedicated winter set being put on this week....siped ? and studded...I also pull a 3 horse trailer...….

my other trucks I run Hankook really like them...….I see no need to change ...for me.....bob

I agree with other posters that Blizzaks are the best as a dedicated snow/ice tire. I had some of the Firestone Winterforce tires on 2wd truck and they did a very good job as well (non-studded)

I bought a 2wd 3/4 ton Suburban and it was worthless in the winter. Then I bought tire chains. Yippeekaya!

That's a Bingo!!!

I have run nokians for a number of years.

Last year, or maybe the year before, I coouldn't get nokians so I went with Blizzaks. I did way more slipping and sliding with the Blizzaks. I mean a lot more. Was not impressed.

About to get some winters for my wife's new pickup and I am checking into Nokians.

I have to respectfully disagree. With personal experience with blizzaks and hakkapelitas, the nokians are hands-down the superior tire.

Studded nokians the last 3 winters on the f350 6.7. Been really happy with them. Only on for 3 or 4 months so longevity is great.

I like the Cooper Discoverer M&S that I put on my 2005 GMC Canyon, but I don't tow anything with it, so I can't comment on that aspect of your question.

The Maxxis Bighorn work well...

Just remember you can go as fast as you want in snow and ice....just don't expect to turn or stop.

Better than an all season or mud tire, but really it’s a POS tire compared to a nokian Hakka or a hankook Ipike in snow and ice.

Reading this thread it’s pretty obvious that lots of folks are happy with the tires they tried. But really it’s only because they haven’t run a good tire.

Agreed.

As an example, you constantly hear how great blizzaks are. I put them on a couple vehicles this last winter and had I not run the nokians for years, I probably would've been pleased. But having the nokians as a gauge, I am not a huge fan.

I agree with the Firestone Winterforce snow tires, if you are talking dedicated snow tire for a truck. Good price and performance.

When I lived in NH all of the LEOs ran Goodyear F-32 All-Winter Radials.

I run a set of Blizzaks on the Lincoln Aviator that we keep in Breckenridge, CO, from October thru April and a set of Michelin LTX for the other five months. I've owned a few sets of Blizzaks and like them fine, but I've never owned a set of either of the tires that you like so well,.

There isn't enough snow/ice in Nebraska to justify the cost of running a set of soft rubber compound snow tires, as the concrete roads are so abrasive that they wear out in just a couple of seasons.

The inexpensive Coopers have worked fine on the Canyon, even for busting through the occasional 3' drift, but as noted previously, it doesn't usually snow that much here.

I put a 60,000 mile rated set on my F150. They have the winter snow flake and good deep tread. These >-------> Hankook Dynapro AT2 RF11 all_ Terrain Radial Tire

The OP is asking about the best winter tires a guy can get.

Winter snowflake AT’s?

Wow.

There are a lot of snow tires that work well on a 4wd truck. If I am going to pull a 26' trailer in snow or ice I want a set of chains on them when going over the pass. Studs if allowed everywhere during the time you will be there would be my second choice.

We have a Winner! Most folks don't put on enough miles on crappy roads to have even a clue what works and what doesn't. As a result, they don't get to try enough different tires to give an educated opinion or offer any value to the discussion. Even fewer will spend the $$ to have dedicated seasonal tires if they're on their own dime.

Honestly if you really want to know what's "best" a good idea would be to solicit information from folks who manage a fleet or drive fleet vehicles for a good fleet owner/provider/manager. People with a sales or service route through country that gets lots of crappy weather. Because they're not on their own dime, for the most part their only concern is getting the best tires for the job with pretty much 0% concern for what brand the tires are, only that they work well.

The Hankook Ipike work well. I've had trouble getting my dealer to find them in stock when I wanted them though.

Problem with the hankook ipike is they can’t get them factory studded (at least that’s what the dealers tell me). The first set I had were really good, snow traction was amazing and the studs worked well for a while but I started losing studs because the shop installed them too long.

I went in to get a set of Nokian hakka’s and the tire shop talked me into cooper MS. They had perfectly installed studs, and the shop told me they were comparible with Nokian with similar soft rubber compound. the tires were meh on snow but the studs worked well for ice and studs still looked great after four seasons. Tires had a lot of tread left which makes sense because they are not a soft rubber after all. These are really an all terrain year round tire that is pinned for studs, nothing special at all.

next I tried hankook ipike again and they installed studs way too short, with zero protrusion above the tread. Turns out there are lots of different stud suppliers and the lengths are pretty variable for the same listed length. I made them take them back and swapped with factory studded Nokian hakkapelitta 9’s which have been exceptional in every way, except price.

I prefer studded winter tires due to the advantage they offer at/around 32 degrees which is what I see often, black ice when you aren’t aware the road is slippery. For colder climates or if the communists ban studded tires I would run studless winter tires like Blizzaks. I would avoid the common studded traction tires like the cooper that use a regular all season rubber compound.

Well SeanD,
Your opinion is interesting. Can you tell us all, how many months a year does snow land and stay in wonderful, beautiful Tigard Or. (I used to live in Tigard. A few blocks from Tigard High School. So I'm very aware of the 1-2 inches a year that your community gets. For you to give qualified advice on snow tires is a real belly jiggle.
For those that actually spend 6 months a year in real winter. Snow sticks here around the end of September and stays on the ground until April.
Hankooks i-pikes are ok at best, blizzaks are fine but not the best.
Cooper discovery M&S tires are the best money can buy.
By the way Alaska State Troopers use Cooper's M&S tires. And I live in Tok Alaska (Google the weather for Tok). Might reach -20 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. That's below zero.
Get Cooper's if you want the best winter snow tires.

Well I certainly don’t run winter tires for driving around town.

You are funny though. coopers are better than nokians, you are obviously FOS

Nice,
You kiss your mother with that mouth. You have a good day.

Well, I took my Ram 2500 diesel in to rotate the Cooper ST Maxx's one last time and they told me it was time to replace them. At 37-38k, I probably could get to 40k but it's about time to start driving in snow and they're pretty thin. I went with the Nitto Exo's and they do drive nice on the pavement - notably quieter than the ST Maxx. I'll hopefully get them in the snow soon...

I don't tow a lot in the snow, but these 2 do great on my show plow trucks. I only run them OCT to late April as April has a lot of mud. They seem to last for 3-4 seasons

https://www.treadwright.com/collections/filter/products/lt-mt-claw-265-75-r16-10ply These are on my 350 and 250.

https://www.tirerecappers.com/tires/farm-construction-tires/lt26575r16-retread-extreme-mt-copy/ These are on my wife's Jeep

These are good for snow but not for a lot of highway travel
https://www.tirerecappers.com/tires/mud-terrain-tires/lt23585r16-retread-extra-grip-mt/. These are on my old 250 that doesn't go more than 15 miles from the house


These are the worst:
https://www.treadwright.com/collections/filter/products/warden-265-70-17. These used to be what was on my wife's Jeep

https://www.tirerecappers.com/tires/all-terrain-tires/lt28570r17-retread-back-woods-a-t/

That last selection (worst) looks a lot like BFG T/A KOs. Had a new 4x4 truck back in '02 that came with them. Was never impressed with them on ice, in snow or mud.

One of those tires reminded me of what I used to run for snow tires on 2WD trucks years ago, the old Firestone Town and Country tires. That tread pattern worked pretty well, but they didn't wear worth a damn. So they were on a set of rims and went on in November, came off in late March.

Once had a set with similar tread design on my old C10 Chevy work truck, that were even better. Mohawk L70/15 bias ply tires. Never had that truck stuck in mud or snow, got in and out of some pretty nasty situations with it. They actually wore better than the Firestones.

Curious to get your take regarding stability when you hook up something heavy as well as snow traction.

Time to me to switch back to the studded coopers and I'm sort of dreading it. The Exo Grapplers do surprisingly well on snow/ice in my experience. When the coopers wear out I'll probably get a second set of exos and have them studded.

General Grabber AT2's or ATX. Read the reviews, you wont find a bad one. They excel on snow and icy roads. Its the only tires I buy anymore. I'm getting ready to put them on my 6th vehicle. 60,000 mile warranty and cheaper priced than almost all the big name tires. I run mine in the oilfield over the crappiest rocky roads you've ever seen and they hold up great. Also pull my camper around alot, they work great for towing, but they excel on snow packed icy roads. I very seldon have to use 4x4 with these tires on. For example I can usually drive 10mph faster in two wheel drive when i know others are crawling down the road in 4x4, it blows my mind how good they stick to the road. Read the reviews, price them, BUY THEM, and thank me later.

What vehicle do you have them on?

just put these on our '05 Taco truck......

Goodyear Ultra Terrains......LT265-75x16

Watch for DTD Black Friday sale.........

1st flat w/the Exo Grapplers. No idea what it was but it when through a lug in the center of the tread pattern. I'm thinking something Ag related.

I just put a set of studded Nokian Hakka 9s on my 2019 4Runner. I also run studded cooper m and s on my 14 Duramax I use to plow. They have been awesome.

Just got the wife a new F150 and we had the dealership pull the Michelin primacy (new) and put on what is currently a local favorite which was falken A/T3W. We had the michelin primacy on her last F150 (2018) and we were not overly impressed even when they were new. They were basically shot by 42k and I had been rotating them.

We've had the truck and Falken tires for a week today. Quite a mix of winter driving already, heavy wet slush covered roads, ice, unplowed fresh snow (around 6"). So far we are very impressed.

Can't report on towing until spring but have been in the snow daily for the past week. Mostly hard pack on pavement but spent today in the hills in about 6". Couple of trips over a steep / windy pass that has always required 4wd in similar conditions with other tires was easy in 2wd. So far would have to say they're better in snow than anything I've had previously.

My brother just put a set of those on his Taco - seems happy with them so far.

For winter use, BFG Commercial TA Traction. Winter rated, great traction in snow with my '97 Dodge CTD. LT235/85 x16 size, used this size for fewer revs/mile because it's slightly taller than the 245/75 plus it's easier to put chains on (especially on the front or so I think). I've chained up all 4 tires for greasy mud (ugh the worst) and a number times for icy or snowy roads. Very soft compound with an aggressive tread that is also heavily siped. Won't last 20K of regular driving.

Lot of variation in what winter tire can mean. Snow with higher water content acts different than snow with lower water content. Vehicle weight .. contact pressure .. changes the picture as well. Tires that specialize in one kind of winter driving may suck the worst in other kinds of winter driving.

The best all-around setup is a gnarly mud tire that is studded. The mud lugs work very well in wet snow. Tires with tighter tread will clog with ice and become very slick. However, in drier snow or packed snow / ice the big lugs aren't so great .. which is where the studs come in. If you can't run studs, then having a gnarly mud tire siped comes pretty close to being as all-around effective.

When I was driving jeeps I mostly went with Interco TSL radials that were siped. I also ran SSRs which were factory kerfed which worked almost as well .. nominally the same width, but actually wider, so I didn't quite have the contact pressure or traction.

After moving to lighter trucks (Frontier, Tacoma) I switched to Toyo Open Country MTs. They may be a bit much tire for my trucks' weight but they work very well. My first choice today assuming you match load range to your truck.

Tom

This is what I have discovered. We have 2 miles of not very often plowed county road to go to get to the highway. It can close overnight with drifting snow. AT's worked ok until the snow got too deep and/or the snow became like fine powder. On packed snow and ice they are better than MT's. However I put Firestone Destination MTs on our suburban and had them heavily siped. They can dig out of just about anything and with the siping they grip hard pack snow and ice well. Auto 4 helps a lot too. We drive it back to MN quite often in the winter and never had a problem.

The only times we have ever been stuck with them was when the first set was almost worn out and I got high centered on snow with ice on the bottom and last year with the new set when the snow was so deep the burb was pushing it with the bumper. It still made it about 20 yards into the drift though. On backing up the back end of the burb ended up over the edge of the road above a creek so there was no traction to get. Had to be pulled out then.

We do have studs on our diesel pick-up, but the burb is better balanced so does better in the snow.

Dedicated snow tires are best, IMO. I have used both the studless (Blizzak) and studded (Firestone Winterforce) and both were better than any AT tire. The Blizzak are better on serious ice but both were good on snow or mixed snow/ice