Les Schwab (Dean) Back Country SQ-4 A/Ts? Impressions?

[hansolex]

This isn't a "what tire should I buy thread" ... because I already have these. Previous owner put 'em on before selling 'em to me. So I'm wondering if anyone else is running these and what they think of them. Particularly interested in how long they last and how they do on various off-road surfaces, since because of budget I'll probably be stuck with them for a while.



For anyone that doesn't know, what I've been able to find out is that the SQ-4 is a Dean tire that's resold by Les Schwab. Dean itself is a subsidiary of Cooper, so it's possible it's a similar tread to a different Cooper tire. There are a bunch of threads on Dean Mud Terrian SXTs, but I can't find much either on Google or on this forum about SQ-4s other than people asking if they're any good.

Anyone got any info or feedback?

I'll also be collecting my thoughts and impressions on these tires as they wear in case anyone else is interested in them. I have heard others asking about them because they seem to be a bit less expensive than alternatives.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I was going to post in your other thread, but they appear to be a decent snow and wet weather tread pattern. If I were you I would keep them as a winter tire and save up for a set of more aggressive/stronger sidewalled tires next summer, that way you can swap as needed and keep the miles off your trail tires.

 

[hansolex]

I was going to post in your other thread, but they appear to be a decent snow and wet weather tread pattern. If I were you I would keep them as a winter tire and save up for a set of more aggressive/stronger sidewalled tires next summer, that way you can swap as needed and keep the miles off your trail tires.

That's really helpful. Thanks! Well, luckily for me I live in sopping wet Seattle, so wet traction (and less frequently, snow traction) is exactly what I need over the winter. Good to know!

 

[137buck]

I have these tires on my suburban, they do pretty good in the Montana mud and what snow we have had so far. I can safely say that I have driven these 90% on gravel/dirt roads as my suburban is my mountain truck, and they are wearing really well. I bought these as a opps, I hit something and blew both driver's side tires on a trail and couldn't wait for the tires I really wanted, but they are a good tire and I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again in the future.

 

[TroyotaTRD]

Watching this thread for more experiences with these. I was at my local Schwab over the weekend and the guy was showing me these. He felt they were very good and basically Les Schwab version of the Toyo Open Country. Dean is still building them but exclusive to Schwab now on Schwab specs. They are not cheap for sure, more than Coopers, TA's, Grabbers and Open Country so I would like to make sure if I go with these there is some history out there.

I did not ask enough questions when I was ther about build on these, I am looking at the 6 ply C rated so if anyone has any spec sheet data I would be interested in that or any first hand experience. I do like what I heave read on this chain already, they sound promising.

 

[Banzai Jimmy]

A bump to see if there's more feedback on these tires. Price aside (as I haven't checked yet), I'm looking to go with either these or the Toyo Open Country on my daily driver/occasional mild trail run truck.

 

[Weeds]

I would check the warranty. I had a set of Dean's, not this model, when they exploded, the warranty was worthless. They were Load Range E but not carrying a load when the problem occurred.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Banzai Jimmy]

Thanks.

I'd be buying them through Les Schwab. They seem to have a decent warranty: https://www.lesschwab.com/content_files/Tire_Warranty_WEB.pdf

 

[LuckyDan]

Have a set on our Ranger. Had a different Deans tire on it prior. Had a set of their Wild Country tires in between. The wear life was better on the first Deans and appears that the current Deans will out live the Wild Countries. They do well in snow and the tread holds up ok to the lava rock prevalent in Central Oregon. Not a great general purpose mud tire but IMO not horrible either.

 

[spfd jason]

We purchased our 2011 Sierra SLT Duramax 2500HD two years ago. The previous owner or dealership had just installed new Dean Back Country All Terrains in 275/70R18 on factory rims. Great rain and snow traction in our wet western Oregon valleys and passes. Tread has worn equally and rotated every 4-6k miles. Very happy with wear and traction. Been running for just over 29,000 miles.

However..... the road noise at 60 mph has increased significantly in the last three months. Once they hit about 25,000, the decibels sky rocketed! Even though we have several thousand miles left on the tires, the noise is driving me crazy. Anyone else experience this?

 

[cdthiker]

A good friend has them on his two door late model Jeep that I have spent some time running about in up here in Idaho.
In general, they are not as good as the Wild Country XTX sports I had on a former 4runner which I felt was a closer clone of the toyo AT then the back country is. On road noise in the first 20 thousand miles is not bad, but its a soft top jeep so take that with a gain of salt. They do better in the wet and steep off road then they tread might indicate but I would say not as well as a cooper AT3. I would compare them fairly closely to the Hankook DanaPro ATM ( old version not gen 2) for dirt gravel and wet snow. All in all, they would not be a top choice for me, but LewSchawb has lots of good sales so if the price was right I would consinder putting them on my daily driver tacoma. In general they seem to do about as good as the Grabber AT, Hankook AT and Cooper AT3s I have run but not anywhere near as well as the duratracs, stt pro toyo m55 etc but then again, its not really that type of tire. It is far from a lower tier AT tire but it is far from the top hybrid styles listed above.
best of luck