Tires for Tow Vehicle

[Randy in Maine]

I am running P rated Yokohama Geolander AT (GO15) on my 2002 Tundra. They are wearing quite well and are and nice a quiet on the road.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by iamunique127

I personally don't know if there is any truth to it but in the past my Michelin dealer told me the Michelins sold by Costco are different tires than the Michelins sold by dealers, like, a version made just for Costco, but I don't recall what the difference is.

I would find that very hard to believe, but stranger things happen everyday. I had a set of Michelin Primacy XC from Costco installed on my wife's SUV and they are identical (at least in appearance) to the ones that came on our F150 from the factory.

[WillyB]

I’ve done business with Costco. They have some very specific criteria for the products they sell.

One is obviously the price they will buy at and the other is quality. Quality is very subjective but they do a great job at defining the price/quality ratio.

My bet is they are buying tires at a very good price. I checked mounted and balanced pricing at Discount Tire and Costco on the Michelin’s.

Discount Tire was a few hundred USD higher for a set of 4.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by Ian and Sue

Another vote for the Michelin tires...smooth, quiet and long lasting. The only thing here in the mountains is that I run REAL snow tires in the winter(x ice, blizzack etc)...the LTX are not snow tires for around here! Two sets of expensive tires!

I don't consider KO2's suitable for winter either....despite their "severe snow service" rating. I ran a set year-round on a 4wd truck that I previously owned. They did perform well in moderately deep snow, but I found them awful in icy conditions, particularly when compared to a dedicated winter tire.

I currently run the Defender LTX's in the spring/summer/fall and Bridgestone Blizzak's during the winter. I'm very happy with this set-up. The Blizzak's offer phenomenal winter traction.

[KITE_LIFE]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and waiting to get closer to retirement before purchasing my Escape 17B (may be sooner if the 2024 pricing looks good). I currently tow my Prowler 17 (beater camper until I Escape) and on the topic of towing tires, I have a story. This past summer, I was faced with a collision decision on a two lane road at 65 mph. I had to swerve into the left lane quickly, the camper about flipped over. The kind of jack knife situations you see on YouTube videos, only in my case my SUV remained level and stable, as the camper pulled out of the swaying. It was then that I realized the value of the "E Load Range" Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT tires I had recently installed. Most vehicles with stock tires would not have pulled out of this death wobble. The side walls of these MT's are key to stability when towing, if that's what you are seeking. Yes, they weigh more, cost more, lower your mileage a bit, but soon I will be towing an Escape and I will have the piece of mind that she's safe with the MT's. Best tire I have ever bought!
https://www.mickeythompsontires.com/.../baja-boss-a-t

[Lanark Camper]

Different tires for different folks. I tow with a 4x4 pickup, I live in the snow belt.

In the summer I use KO2’s. I like the stability of stiff sideways. In some campgrounds I’ll sometimes need to tow the trailer through mud, clay, up steep slippery hills and never had a problem. We also do a bit of back country fishing without the trailer and like the KO2’s traction for that.

In winter I switch to Michelin Ice tires, great for ice, slush, freezing rain conditions. Im not going off road so I don’t need a snow tire, I need an ice tire 😉.

Bob

[John in Santa Cruz]

KO2's are my favorite truck tires, and as soon as I wear out the brand new set of OE Goodyear Territory AT's that came with the 18" wheels I swapped for the stupid 22's that came on my Expedition I'll be running KO2's again. I've used them on a Tacoma 4x4 (LT265/70R16) and on a F250 longbed diesel 4x4 (LT265/75R16). The Expedition 18" wheels use 275/65R18. The KO2 is a very stable tire, great traction under all conditions I encounter, smooth riding for a all terrain, quiet for an all terrain. They do very well in heavy rain, and surprisingly good on non icy snow, including snow over mud.

[MrLynn]

More discussion on Tow Vehicle tires here:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post457288

For my 2013 Expedition, I've pretty much decided to get either Michelin Defender LTXs or Continental Terrain/Contact H/Ts. The Contis get slightly better wet ratings from Tire Rack, and are a little cheaper than the Michs. I don't need A/T tires, as we don't do much rough/off road travel.

But for now I've left on my General Grabber HTSs, as I won't be trailering till late spring, and they've got enough tread left on them for local travel.

[WillyB]

After debating which tires I would put on my 2016 F150 I finally purchased a set of BF Goodrich KO2 10 ply in the stock tire size. Without towing my Escape I am running the at 47 PSI.

I've heard all the woes of 10 ply on a half ton and can confidently say that these tires are great on a F150 half ton truck.

Sure they are more rigid over hard bumps but they are "very" solid on the road. By "solid" I mean they feel like the truck is much more secured to the road.

On smooth highways they are like riding on glass.

Thanks for all of your input.

[Lanark Camper]

Originally Posted by WillyB

After debating which tires I would put on my 2016 F150 I finally purchased a set of BF Goodrich KO2 10 ply in the stock tire size. Without towing my Escape I am running the at 47 PSI.

I've heard all the woes of 10 ply on a half ton and can confidently say that these tires are great on a F150 half ton truck.

Sure they are more rigid over hard bumps but they are "very" solid on the road. By "solid" I mean they feel like the truck is much more secured to the road.

On smooth highways they are like riding on glass.

Thanks for all of your input.

I have KO2’s on my pickup as well and very pleased with them. We don’t off road towing but some campgrounds can get very soft after heavy rain for a few days. We have had to give occasional tugs to neighborhoods that couldn’t get out of their campsite.
On the highway they performed well towing in heavy rain (2” of water on the road) coming down a very steep grade with a curve. I run 40 psi in the front and 45 in the back.
Enjoy the ride, Bob

[land’SCAPE]

I've been running Michelin Defender LTX’s on my Tundra & love them. They've provided a great feel & ride while towing, as well as great wear. While they'll still have good tread left, I'll run new tires on our trip to the Yukon/Alaska next year. I'm going to include the less well known Nokian nAT's in my research, along with the KO2's, as they are apparently excellent tires as well.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

KO2's are my favorite truck tires, and as soon as I wear out the brand new set of OE Goodyear Territory AT's that came with the 18" wheels I swapped for the stupid 22's that came on my Expedition I'll be running KO2's again. I've used them on a Tacoma 4x4 (LT265/70R16) and on a F250 longbed diesel 4x4 (LT265/75R16). The Expedition 18" wheels use 275/65R18. The KO2 is a very stable tire, great traction under all conditions I encounter, smooth riding for a all terrain, quiet for an all terrain. They do very well in heavy rain, and surprisingly good on non icy snow, including snow over mud.

Focusing on just the noise aspect, based on your experience do you anticipate the KO2's will be noticeably noisier than the Territory AT's in general?

I have the same 275/65R18 OE Territory AT's (F150 in my case), they seem to be serving my purposes fine so far. Though I'm impressed with the many attributes and recommendations for the KO2, minimizing road noise is a very high priority for me. So just curious about overall relative noise since you have experience with both (yeah, I know it varies with road surface, just asking about overall / typical road use).

Thanks In Advance!

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by land’SCAPE

I've been running Michelin Defender LTX’s on my Tundra & love them. They've provided a great feel & ride while towing, as well as great wear. While they'll still have good tread left, I'll run new tires on our trip to the Yukon/Alaska next year. I'm going to include the less well known Nokian nAT's in my research, along with the KO2's, as they are apparently excellent tires as well.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the Continental Terrain/Contact H/Ts get reviews comparable to the Michelin Defender LTXs, and are a little less expensive.

Also the General Grabber HTS tires, that I'm currently running, are not at all bad, and less money than both the Michelins and the Contis.

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Centex

Focusing on just the noise aspect, based on your experience do you anticipate the KO2's will be noticeably noisier than the Territory AT's in general?

I have the same 275/65R18 OE Territory AT's (F150 in my case), they seem to be serving my purposes fine so far. Though I'm impressed with the many attributes and recommendations for the KO2, minimizing road noise is a very high priority for me. So just curious about overall relative noise since you have experience with both (yeah, I know it varies with road surface, just asking about overall / typical road use).

Thanks In Advance!

The K02's on my F150 are new and they are quiet by my terms. But any all terrain tire makes more noise than a dedicated highway tire. The original Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT's with 60,000 miles on them were louder than these new K02's.

I love the smell of new tires. My garage smells lovely.