Tires for F-150 (Tread Chunking)

[norcalnative]

I’m seeing some of the tread being torn off my truck’s factory Goodyear Wrangler (275/65R18), mostly on the front tires. These tires have 25k miles on them. I use it for work, mostly in the western Arizona area right now and I’m sure this is a result of the sharp rocks present on the dirt roads out there.

I’m hoping to get some advice from you all for replacements. Truck has a shell and a decked system which adds weight when tools and equipment are loaded in. I tow a modest camper. I will be upgrading the shocks for better performance on the access roads and possibly the leafs to account for some sag. 2”-3” of lift for a bit more clearance for the washes. I’m not driving fast, mostly under 20mph on the rough stuff.

The truck does see some snow, but not much ice (CA, NV, AZ area). It’s just a matter of time until the sidewalls catch a rock so looking for some protection there too.

Thanks everyone!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[buenavides]

To be honest, I never tried to use a Goodyear tire on my cars. The reason that you have provided might just be some of the factors as to why you have experienced excessive tread wear on this tire. Some of these all-season tires can be considered for replacement: Cooper CS5 Grand Touring, Continental True Contact, and Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season. Take a moment to read the online reviews to learn how they work. You may want to consult the customer support of the website for a recommendation as well, I use it whenever I purchase accessories from shops like 4wheelonline.

 

[TripLeader]

I've got Falken Wildpeak all-terrains on my '05 F-150. I've been very happy with them. The local auto shop I use recommended them.

 

[1stDeuce]

I have two 3/4 ton trucks with 265/75R16's. One truck I put Cooper AT3's on a couple years ago. It does a LOT of gravel road duty here in SW CO, and has done two winters of plowing out the 10 miles of gravel roads in our HOA. The tires do show some rounding of tread blocks and a few chips from the gravel, but not that much.

The other truck we have owned for less than a year. It came with Goodyear all terrain tires of some sort. I moved the snow plow to it about a month ago, as it's a nicer truck. The tires were pretty nice when we got it, but after a month of plowing, and not a lot of gravel road use in general, they're missing all the edges and chunks are starting to tear out. If anything, I've been nicer to the Goodyear tires than the Cooper's, and the Goodyears are really coming apart. My friend ran the same tires on his Tiger camper, and a trip to Prodhoe Bay did them in completely.

I'd recommend the AT3 as a good replacement tire. It is advertised with a "cut and chip resistant" compound, and my experience is that it does make a difference. It is a bit less "street" than your stock tires, but that's not a bad thing.

 

[vintageracer]

If you look at many new tire specs today you will see that factory new tire tread depths have dropped dramatically on many new tires from most all manufacturers when compared to the past The new tread depth norm for most street tires is now 10/32nd's compared to as much 18+/32nd's in the past. This means tires that will not last as long as some tires of old that you may have had in the past.

Tire treads and tire compounds are also changing. It's all about fuel economy for the OEM's and tires just like many other components in a vehicle certainly can make a big difference in vehicle fuel economy. Less deep tread, less rubber and therefore less weight. The "Chunking" you are experiencing may very well be related to these new tread compounds and tread design.

Something to think about!

 

[Grassland]

I have a shell and had decked drawers and 1000# of stuff in and on my F150 when it was in fleet and the OEM tires did the same thing. I went to LT235/80R17 BFG KO2S and wasn't thrilled. Had some tread chunking too but nowhere near as bad as OEM street tires.
You are in a much warmer climate than me so you might continue to run a tire that's not 3 Peak rated. It will likely have a harder compound and wear slower.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Heavy truck + lots gravel = nature of the beast.

Check into farm or off-road commercial trucks and see what they run. Don't look to Jeep Wranglers for inspiration.

I wouldn't trust a Cooper AT3 for a no hunting sign.

 

[ronaldos]

I recommend Maxxis M8008, we are very satisfied with this tire. Runs about 12,000 lbs fully loaded. Advanced tread compound and sturdy dual steel belt construction

 

[yfarm]

Went to a local non national tire dealer for a set of e rated 315 70 17 bfg at ko2s for my f250 and he asked me what type of use, told him rock roads in NM and he said they changed rubber compounds and now chunk, suggested Falken AT3 as compound tolerates rock better. So far good with the Falkens, as an aside have 285 70 17 ko2s on a 13 Rubicon, 2 trips into the Brokeoffs and tires are chunking.

 

[karlmagnum]

Got a set of Cooper S/T Maxx from 4wheelonline. Handling and traction are great on the highway, mud, rocks, and dirt. They have a 3-ply sidewall, making them really tough.

 

[calicamper]

I’m in nor cal not Redding ??. My family up there says the umm “church” is making them think about moving cuz its not ok to shoot at people no more.. loL kidding sorta.

Nor Cal has been hard to find the right rubber compound that can handle the scorching pavement at high I5 speeds and the winter snow. I put a set of BFG hybrid tires on my Sequoia a couple of yrs ago after 5 yrs running BFG Rugged Terrains which were loud but otherwise ok.

The BFG Advantage have been shockingly really good. My dad has the Sequoia now and my 2019 Expedition will get a set of those Advantages. They have more tread design than a highway tire a little more shoulder tread block also. But they aren’t full on chunky tread like a K2 etc. The Rubber compound has been pretty damn good too. Not too soft they just get destroyed by the hot highway miles (ie my stock oem junk on the Expedition is just being eaten alive by the hot highway pavement) and not too hard that snow performance is complete garbage. Might not be blocky enough for you but they are a nice middle ground between highway / comfort tire and full on K2 100 miles a week on dirt tires. ?

 

[ChaseBoost]

@norcalnative have the same tire doing the exact same thing after about 5-6 trips across a rocky section. The total distance on terrain is less than 5 miles. Had it in four high for both climb and descent. So you are not alone, but after this first happened I realized these tires are not made for that kind of work. Let me know if you suggest another brand.

 

[calicamper]

The factory tires are typically a special tire thats more or less - less expensive and made so in production.

If you don’t want to take a hit on on pavement performance ie mileage, noise, ride quality etc.
There are hybrid AT tires now that fill that gap between highway tire and full on heavy and pretty lousy pavement performance ATs like the KO2’s. Had those too great tires but massive impact on pavement performance and mileage.

I have been running the all new (as of September 2021) BFG Trail Terrain which is a hybrid AT tire. Better durability than the stock stuff on my Expedition. Crazy superior on wet pavement traction and 3peak rated. Ride and noise hasn’t been impacted and I’d guess almost 1mpg highway mileage impact which is really good for a 3 peak rated AT tire. The Yokohama stock tires were absolutely horrendous on wet pavement but likely a low rolling resistance for maximum mileage. Only had 15,000 miles on them and they were absolutely garbage on wet pavement

 

[jbaucom]

I had good luck with the LT-metric version of the Goodyear All Terrain Adventure on my F150. They were good enough that I kind of wish that I'd bought another set instead of Firestone Destination XTs. The Destination XTs are fine - smooth at Interstate speeds, but noisier than the GY AT Adventures ever were and didn't impact fuel economy in spite of moving up in size.

 

[Explorerinil]

Falken wildpesk at3w or Toyo at3 would be your best options. I’ve seen factory Goodyears do that on an f150 Before.