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Radio
01-07-2016, 05:59 PM
OK, the deal here is to find a load range E tire (about 3000 pounds) that will fit my 17" F-150 as close as possible to the original tire diameter of 30.1 inches. It would be nice if the tire had an easy quiet ride as the truck is also my daily/only transportation.

LT245 /70 R17 is only .5 inches taller. And it can be found most places, but by special order only for load range E. This means several trips to the tire store to convince folks that really is what I want and I will wait a day or two to get it.

Here's a couple of lists of tires that meet my needs. And some that are mud and snow tires. I need just enough bite to get through our annual dusting of snow to get to work, I don't need a real M+S tire or it's noisy rough ride.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/filterTireProducts.do?pgTires=0&rcz=30215&rc=GAAINT&fl=&cs=245&ar=70&rd=17&c=0&rf=true&ldr=E1&sortBy=prca&fqs=true

Not listed there are Cooper and some others here...

http://www.kauffmantire.com/tirelist.html?quickfind=2457017

So I went to my tire dealer buddy and after repeated attempts to sell me what he had in stock and for a good price. But they were wrong tread, hard ride commercial tires that were 245/75, and thus too tall. After some firm "No that's not what I want" he will order tires tomorrow morning.

Michelin is the first choice, in two types.
Then Goodyear.
Then Cooper.

We'll talk money in the morning when the suppliers are open, and then by close of business tomorrow I'll have new tires! :jitter:

Just in time for the winter slush season. My current tires are running out of tread! :whistle:

NN5I
01-07-2016, 08:21 PM
So I went to my tire dealer buddy... repeated attempts to sell me what he had in stock ...

Some "buddy", eh?

Radio
01-07-2016, 08:54 PM
Some "buddy", eh?

Nice guy, really. But it's a business. You sell what's in stock.

And he's sort of old school, treats all trucks as heavy commercial vehicles. The tire he recommended was a good tire, just too big and rides too rough. The same tire, he says, our church puts on all of our E-350 vans.

If I were running a construction company, I'd have bought that tire. But this is my daily driver/camper puller.

Plus he's honest about prices. Tire + mount & balance + tax. Period. At a local chain store, 4 Cooper tires were $775. but you will pay $1153 out the door with all the crap fees, warranties, etc.

I generally bring in the mini-van, the Ranger (I once had) or my daughters car and just say "Put tires on that..." and in 20 minutes I drive out happy. I don't even know /care what brand they are. Good tires at a good price. I guess he's just sort of stumped that this time I just know exactly what I want and will not be moved off of it.

I'll take the camper there this spring. And I'll just point at it and say "Put good trailer tires on that, and balance them" and he'll try to talk me out of balancing them cause he's old school and old school guys don't balance their trailer tires to save money.

I just know that's what he'll do.

ke0me
01-08-2016, 08:11 PM
well, here we got a dusting of snow, about 6" today.

So, I just put 4WD truck in 4WD, and let the Michelin tires bite into the snow, and off we went.

(of course, the streets were melted and wet, so we only used 4WD in the parking lot)

Yes, it rides a bit hard, and they aren't super quiet, but they will last almost forever.

I have found that as a rule, Discount tire will do a good job for a fair price. I have bought a number of tires from them, including the RV's, and have been satisfied.

Hope you find a good choice. I assume you have also looked at tirerack.com for comparisons.

Good hunting!

Radio
01-09-2016, 10:11 AM
Well, the Michelin Defender 245/70r17 E tires arrived last night and were installed this morning. $1000 even out the door. I think they list for $254 on the Michelin web site, so that's not a bad deal when the mount/balance and taxes are thrown in.

And so far they ride like a dream, smooth and quiet. And it's raining all day today so I get to test wet traction. :whistle: You really can tell the truck has a different set of tires on it.

The old tires are going to a guy who's a bit down and could use them.

All worked out well. Finally.

They really ride nice! :driver:

NN5I
01-09-2016, 12:03 PM
... well, here we got a dusting of snow, about 6" ...

6" is a dusting? Yeesh.

ke0me
01-10-2016, 04:33 PM
For Metro Denver and along the Front Range (east of Rockies), 6" is light, we usually get one whopper in the spring (March-April) that will be 16-24 inches, but it usually melts off in a few days, being spring.

However, the mountains got 20" when we got the 6" since as the clouds rise over the mountains, they start to drop their moisture, which is really good as we are several years behind in water, nowhere near as bad as SOCAL, but there are a lot of reservoirs still down below normal pool level.

I'm not a big fan of cold, that's why next year I hope we will be on the road, and visiting Arizona or New Mexico.

NN5I
01-10-2016, 06:02 PM
I'm not a big fan of cold, that's why next year I hope we will be on the road, and visiting Arizona or New Mexico.

Come to Florida. I would be honored to introduce you personally at our Friday radio-ham lunch bunch in Tallahassee.

ke0me
01-12-2016, 08:53 PM
Thanks for the invite, I'll keep that in mind if we head your way.