We own a Provan Tiger on a 2008 Chevy chassis with 17" rims. This vehicle is at GVW, with 6,000 lb on the rear axle and 4,000 lb on the front. We've had 3 tread delaminations on our current set of Nitto Terra Grappler 285/70/17 with about 20k on them. Thankfully, none of the treads completely separated - we noticed the vibration and were not too far from a tire shop. Nitto has replaced each tire in sequence, but declined to replace the other 2 pre-emptively (we have 5 and rotate the spare through). We no longer have confidence in these tires and are looking for other options.
We previously had a tread separation at highway speed on our older Tiger (different tires, but still within weight rating) and know 5 other owners of similar vehicles who have experienced tire failure (different brands). I've come to the conclusion that tires in general perform poorly on vehicles running 100% of the time near the tire weight limit. Perhaps tire weight rating isn't so much of an issue for someone who vacations a few times a year in a slide-in camper, sometimes pulls a 5th wheel or gets the occasional load of gravel for landscaping. But tires that are heavily loaded full-time really take a beating.
We frequently travel in remote places, so I'd like to get the highest weight rating possible for our next set. Unfortunately, I've come to realize that 17" is the 'bastard child' in the tire world. There are quite a few of options for heavier weight ratings in 16" & even more options for 18", but I don't find 17" tires with a weight rating higher than 121.
Options I've identified...
1) Stick with our 17" OEM rims and get a set of Bridgestone Duravis M700 in 265/75/17. These factory-original tires went 40k miles with no problems. Familiarity leads to comfort.
2) Get a set of Alcoa forged 16" rims. This would allow 123 rated tires in factory-original width/diameter. I've heard nothing but good about these rims, but unfortunately they're not availble in 18". This seems like a heafty investment for a small increase in load rating.
3) Look for 18" rims, which would open up options for tires with even higher weight ratings (126 or possibly higher). I did the Norcal Nick fender modification when going to the 285/70/17 tires, so slightly larger/wider tires are an option. Unfortunately since Chevy changed the bolt pattern, fitting 18" OEM rims onto our 2008 chassis is not an option. My impression is that most after-market rims are made for looks more than durability. I'm aware of horror stories of after-market rims cracking (even though they're theoretically within their weight rating) so I'm quite leary of going this route. But I've recently become aware of Method 305 NV HD and 701 HD rims with 4,500 lb weight ratings. I'm still looking into issues of width/backspacing and which tire sizes (... and thus weight ratings) would work.
4) To keep discussion from going somewhere that it doesn't need to, I'm not interested in going to 19.5" rims.
I'm looking for feedback from anyone who has used Method HD rims on a similarly-heavy vehicle. Any insight into back-spacing and tire width would also be helpful. I'd rather not have a wider tire, except in order to get more durability.
We previously had a tread separation at highway speed on our older Tiger (different tires, but still within weight rating) and know 5 other owners of similar vehicles who have experienced tire failure (different brands). I've come to the conclusion that tires in general perform poorly on vehicles running 100% of the time near the tire weight limit. Perhaps tire weight rating isn't so much of an issue for someone who vacations a few times a year in a slide-in camper, sometimes pulls a 5th wheel or gets the occasional load of gravel for landscaping. But tires that are heavily loaded full-time really take a beating.
We frequently travel in remote places, so I'd like to get the highest weight rating possible for our next set. Unfortunately, I've come to realize that 17" is the 'bastard child' in the tire world. There are quite a few of options for heavier weight ratings in 16" & even more options for 18", but I don't find 17" tires with a weight rating higher than 121.
Options I've identified...
1) Stick with our 17" OEM rims and get a set of Bridgestone Duravis M700 in 265/75/17. These factory-original tires went 40k miles with no problems. Familiarity leads to comfort.
2) Get a set of Alcoa forged 16" rims. This would allow 123 rated tires in factory-original width/diameter. I've heard nothing but good about these rims, but unfortunately they're not availble in 18". This seems like a heafty investment for a small increase in load rating.
3) Look for 18" rims, which would open up options for tires with even higher weight ratings (126 or possibly higher). I did the Norcal Nick fender modification when going to the 285/70/17 tires, so slightly larger/wider tires are an option. Unfortunately since Chevy changed the bolt pattern, fitting 18" OEM rims onto our 2008 chassis is not an option. My impression is that most after-market rims are made for looks more than durability. I'm aware of horror stories of after-market rims cracking (even though they're theoretically within their weight rating) so I'm quite leary of going this route. But I've recently become aware of Method 305 NV HD and 701 HD rims with 4,500 lb weight ratings. I'm still looking into issues of width/backspacing and which tire sizes (... and thus weight ratings) would work.
4) To keep discussion from going somewhere that it doesn't need to, I'm not interested in going to 19.5" rims.
I'm looking for feedback from anyone who has used Method HD rims on a similarly-heavy vehicle. Any insight into back-spacing and tire width would also be helpful. I'd rather not have a wider tire, except in order to get more durability.
