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I've had 4 of these tires in truck sizes self-destruct at very low miles.
First one, on my 1995 F-250 Powerstroke 4x2. Never driven over 65 mph, never loaded heavier than my 2-horse BP trailer with livestock on board. Left Front tire shredded at 60 mph with only 5,000 miles on it.
I got it replaced at WalMart with a partial warranty adjustment.
2nd one, same truck, right rear. About 7,000 miles on that tire. Discount Tire replaced it under warranty because the tire serial number was in a recall. Had no load on the truck, was heading to a feed store to get a ton of feed.
3rd one, same truck, left rear. About 7,200 miles on that tire. The tire tread area broke loose from the shredded sidewall at 55 mph and flopped around at the truck bodywork, damaging the fender and a running board area. Discount Tire ran the serial number and it was about 100 out of the recall range. Despite almost full tread, there was no warranty adjustment.
I traded that truck earlier this year for a 1999 F-250 Powerstroke 4x4. Part of the deal was a "new set of tires". The dealer installed a 5-tire set of new TA's.
This AM, with less than 2,500 miles and 5 months on those TA's … never driven over 65 mph, never abused, tire pressure checked before driving … I hooked up my 2-axle flatbed trailer to get a 1100 lb big square straw bale for livestock bedding. Drove the truck on our county dirt roads no faster than 40 mph over to the hay stack and got the bale. Coming home at 35 mph, the right rear tire sidewall shredded!
This is FOUR catastrophic tire failures on this same series of tire in 16" and 17" diameters in the course of 3 years of low time & mileage on these tires run at the manufacturer's suggested inflation pressure, and at relatively modest speeds and minimal loads.
My suggestion? don't buy these tires. They aren't worth the risk to your safety nor the damage to your vehicle. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to put on a spare.
1) Although you try to minimize it, you're in the harder-use end of the spectrum. You may drive moderately and with only recommended loads, but hauling a livestock trailer up and down dirt roads is going to be more hazardous than driving unloaded on a highway.
2) TA's are not at the high end of the quality spectrum. I recall them as the cheapish tires that came in a bunch of wide, low-profile sizes for 1970s Camaros. The line name expanded but they never had a better selling point than being inexpensive and coming in a wide range of sizes.
I think you're using moderate-quality tires pretty hard and having a bit of bad luck.
1) Although you try to minimize it, you're in the harder-use end of the spectrum. You may drive moderately and with only recommended loads, but hauling a livestock trailer up and down dirt roads is going to be more hazardous than driving unloaded on a highway.
A 2-axle 2-horse BP trailer weighing 1,800 lbs with 2 ea 1,000 lb horses or up to 10 head of sheep each weighing about 140 lbs isn't even a moderate load for an F-250 Powerstroke pick-up truck.
Granted, county dirt roads around here are harder use than the paved roads, but the % use of the tires on the dirt roads is less than 10% of the miles on the tires that failed.
At that, BFG had a "tire recall" for the sidewall defect that showed up in 2 of the tires. One tire was within the recall serial numbers, but BFG never notified me that there was a recall. So I was out on the highway when the tire failed.
The 2nd tire failure was on the interstate highway in clear fall (cool) weather at 60 mph, which again is well below the rated capabilities of the tire. Again, the tire failed without any warning when it catastrophically collapsed at a very low fraction of it's rated life. The measured tread depth showed only 2/32" wear from new total depth. Functionally and by all appearances, it was pretty much a "new" tire.
2) TA's are not at the high end of the quality spectrum. I recall them as the cheapish tires that came in a bunch of wide, low-profile sizes for 1970s Camaros. The line name expanded but they never had a better selling point than being inexpensive and coming in a wide range of sizes.
You are confusing the mild performance car tire with the "LT" truck rated tires designed and rated for heavy duty truck use in the truck tire sizes. These are a 75-series block tread tire, most certainly not a "low profile" tire. In terms of pricing, these aren't "cheapies" … they're in the mid-range of tire pricing for an LT rated truck tire.
I think you're using moderate-quality tires pretty hard and having a bit of bad luck.
Sorry, but using these TA tires no harder than at moderate speeds, even on the highway, and at half or less of their rated load capacity … simply isn't "pretty hard" service. They're not being used "off road", they're on paved roads with some amount of graded dirt roads. On those same dirt roads, my Subie OBW's are routinely driven 65 mph and good quality Michelin All Season tires deliver 80,000 +++ miles. Even the Discount Tire "Arizonian" house brand tires on one of our 2007 Subie OBW's are headed for over 60,000 miles of service … and they're 5 years old, so may be replaced at 7 years before they are worn out.
One of the primary reasons we don't drive our pick-up trucks over 65 mph is because we read several reports that the incidence rate of trailer tire failures (ST rated tires) on trailers went up dramatically at continuous speeds over 65 mph. We have a neighbor that follows the rodeo circuit, and I asked him what the tire life was on his Bloomers GN living quarters and 4-horse rig was. He mentioned that he rarely made a trip where he didn't have at least one trailer tire failure … and he cruised 75-80 mph whenever possible with his F350 Powerstroke dually. He's willing to take that repeated failure risk and expense in his travels with his livestock … I'm not.
The 2nd reason we drive under 65 mph on the highway with the F-250 Powerstroke is because we've found a "sweet spot" in fuel economy seems to be around 60-62 mph. It seems easier on the truck, trailer, and livestock to run this slower speed.
Are we talking about BF Goodrich TA's, or something else? For hard-core offroad, the BFG's have just about the best sidewall protection I've come across.
I mounted up a set of Dick Cepek's (they were on sale, plus a heavy rebate) and they got a puncture from Greasewood on the first day.
Okay. Since you already have all the answers, what was your question here?
No question, just a friendly warning that these tires appear to have problems. Forewarned.
a key aspect of these tire failures was that BFG had a recall out on them, which is how 2 of my tire failures were adjusted by BFG. But note that BFG didn't send out a notice to us buyers of these tires, they only adjusted them if a tire failed and was brought into one of their dealers.
Are we talking about BF Goodrich TA's? Yes, in common LT sizes.
Just something stupid to bring up as I'm sure you pick the correct tire for a super duty with the amount of towing you do.
But, now I'm more familiar with the BFG All terrain and Mud Terrain which are excellent tires. But, if I remember correctly when I got the All Terrains for my truck in the past, they were offered with different sidewall ply's. And now days, the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks as well as many half tons, both have 17" tires.
One question I have, not aimed at you, but why would a company such as BFG, which is known for high quality and long lasting off road truck tires that are highway friendly, make a model that doesn't meet the same specs as the others. I thought usually the "economy" series were sold under a different brand.
No question, just a friendly warning that these tires appear to have problems. Forewarned.
And that's more or less what I said. TA's are a middle-line product if not a value-priced one. Their strongest selling point is that they come in a zillion sizes (just as they did back in the "Radial T/A" days for the Camaro and Firebird crowd). It's no different for the LT series - they are tires that don't cost much but look good, and are good enough as long as you don't pretend they're real (street/track) performance or off-road (Make that off-highway) tires.
That a horse trailer is no strain for your F-250 is completely irrelevant - it wasn't your truck that broke down.
That you consider the roads you drive on to be gentle is perhaps a skewed viewpoint - most pickup drivers barely cross the corner of their lawn pulling into their suburban driveway. That you haul big trailers and drive on rural roads is a lot harder service than most users put their tires to. No, it's not criss-crossing a cattle ranch or rockcrawling, but it's not humming down the highway, either.
So, as I said: (1) you bought tires that are more highly rated for looks, fit and value than for heavy-use performance; (2) you do pound your tires a little harder than most; and (3) you might have had some bad luck hitting sharp rocks or metal debris to cause so many failures. It happens.
So your posting intent and my comments are pretty much aligned: buy better tires unless they're on a car that's going to sit around trying to look good or a truck that only hauls groceries.
I've had 4 of these tires in truck sizes self-destruct at very low miles.
First one, on my 1995 F-250 Powerstroke 4x2. Never driven over 65 mph, never loaded heavier than my 2-horse BP trailer with livestock on board. Left Front tire shredded at 60 mph with only 5,000 miles on it.
I got it replaced at WalMart with a partial warranty adjustment.
2nd one, same truck, right rear. About 7,000 miles on that tire. Discount Tire replaced it under warranty because the tire serial number was in a recall. Had no load on the truck, was heading to a feed store to get a ton of feed.
3rd one, same truck, left rear. About 7,200 miles on that tire. The tire tread area broke loose from the shredded sidewall at 55 mph and flopped around at the truck bodywork, damaging the fender and a running board area. Discount Tire ran the serial number and it was about 100 out of the recall range. Despite almost full tread, there was no warranty adjustment.
I traded that truck earlier this year for a 1999 F-250 Powerstroke 4x4. Part of the deal was a "new set of tires". The dealer installed a 5-tire set of new TA's.
This AM, with less than 2,500 miles and 5 months on those TA's … never driven over 65 mph, never abused, tire pressure checked before driving … I hooked up my 2-axle flatbed trailer to get a 1100 lb big square straw bale for livestock bedding. Drove the truck on our county dirt roads no faster than 40 mph over to the hay stack and got the bale. Coming home at 35 mph, the right rear tire sidewall shredded!
This is FOUR catastrophic tire failures on this same series of tire in 16" and 17" diameters in the course of 3 years of low time & mileage on these tires run at the manufacturer's suggested inflation pressure, and at relatively modest speeds and minimal loads.
My suggestion? don't buy these tires. They aren't worth the risk to your safety nor the damage to your vehicle. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to put on a spare.
TAs? Do you mean BF Goodrich TA? Those should be passenger car tires. You are using the wrong tires. They are most likely overloaded for your usage. You need tires that have a LT rating
A 1999 F250 needs a minimum of E load range tires. S9mecguys use D load range but E is the correct load range. It’s either gonna be a 235/85/16 or optional 265/75/16
TAs? Do you mean BF Goodrich TA? Those should be passenger car tires. You are using the wrong tires. They are most likely overloaded for your usage. You need tires that have a LT rating
A 1999 F250 needs a minimum of E load range tires. S9mecguys use D load range but E is the correct load range. It’s either gonna be a 235/85/16 or optional 265/75/16
OP already lectured me for assuming I meant passenger tires (which I wasn't) and implied he's using LT-series tires. However, he's never specified the exact tire size and rating he's using.
The only LT series TAs I can find are commercial-grade ones, not the in-between LT models seen on most pickups and larger SUVs. So I'm starting to wonder what's up here, too.
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