Alright guys,

I have asked many a salesman at Wal-Mart about the difference between the Rugged Trail and Land Terrain tires from BFG. Nobody seems to really know what they are talking about.

Here is some background info, my Dad is looking for some new tires. He wants to go with some something that is fairly street friendly, easy on the tread wear and pretty quiet on the road. However, we also live on a dirt road with a lot of sharp rocks and other obsticles that he would need to traverse. So, I went to Wal-Mart and looked at some of the tires they have there. I saw the BFG Land Terrains and they looked fairly rugged, however I had seen the Rugged Trails previously and noticed that they were a bit more aggressive looking and had better sidewall protection. My first question is, do any of you have Rugged Trails or Land Terrains on your rigs currently and if so how do you like them? Second question, would it be worth spending an extra ~$20 more per tire to upgrade from the Land Terrains to the Rugged Trails.

Anybody have any info. or opinions on either of these tires or a recommendation on another tire that he should get?

Thanks in advance,

Fink

 

Got the "Rugged Trails" on my truck. Got stuck in the yard w/ 4 in. of fresh snow on the ground. One word,



CRAP!

 

Hmm...man, if you got stuck with the Ruggeds, I would hate to see what the other less aggressive tires would do.

How much tread did you have left on the tires when you got stuck?

Fink

 

I have also heard bad things about the rugged trails.

What price range are you looking at? Are you absolutely stuck on BFG as a brand or no? I don't have any complaints about my AT K/O's, except they could be a bit more grippy on ice.

 

Finkmeister,

I work ACROSS the street from a BFG plant that makes the tires you are talking about, and of course many others as well. I could walk across the street and be in the plant in less than (2) minutes, and I have had one set of BFGs and never again. I know lots of folks like their tires, but not me. The set I had was even GIVEN to me several years ago from a guy who worked at the plant, who has now since retired. The rubber they use is just too hard. They ride smooth, but don't last long enough for me. I only got 28K out of the set I had. I always preferred the Goodyear Wrangler ATS tires to get a good on/off road ride. Last set I had gave me 68K before they had to be replaced when rotating them every 5K.

 

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when someone said that a Goodyear A/T was superior to BFG A/Ts. It sounds like you're after a highway/street tire rather than an all terrain. My suggestions would be the Michelin LTX M/S or the Bridgstone Dueler H/T

 

Waskilly, I think you mean too soft not too hard right?

My LTXs are very hard and give a nice ride with good wear.
I still have mine 70k later with maybe a year or so left on em.

 

Well, Hallelujah! now you've seen the day, or at least heard about it bro! I have Goodyear MT/Rs on my rig and I'm certainly not ineterested in a highway/street tire, just sharing with Fink my only experience with BFGs. I've never gotten less than 60K on a set of Goodyear tires and I got 98K on one set.

Nope. too hard of rubber is what I meant, as in the rubber doesn't give as much, thus it wears faster when put under frictional stress.

 

I was implying that 4x4fink was looking for a highway tire. not you.

 

Yes Sizzle you're right, its really my Dad. I would be willing to expand my horizon as long as there are many people that have them and that like them.

On the rugged trails they give you a 40k mile warranty, so if they do wear out in less than 40k they will give us a new set

Pretty much I just want something that does good for mostly on-road use, but that can also withstand the abuse of driving down a dirt road with flint rock that often gets washed out due to rain and snow and stuff.

We also tend to haul a lot of things in the back as well trailers and stuff. Something with a pretty good load rating couldn't hurt either.

Maybe I'm just bein too picky but I want to make sure that they'll be able to deal with the stuff we put them through.

Any other recommendations, BFG or not would be much appreciated!

Fink

 

Wild Country RVT Trac. I went 4x4 ing last weekend with them in 8 in of fresh snow and had no problem. I'll never buy BFG's because WC's are so good

 

I had Wild Country's and they were a great tire for the money I paid, but the ride is nowhere near as good as my new BFG's. But for off-road I never had a problem with my Wild Country's. Very good bang for the buck.

 

So what have you guys heard about the BFG Land Terrains or Long Trails? Anything good?!?! If not, any other recommendations?

Fink

 

Most tire warranties don't work quite like that.

The way every tire warranty I've come across works is that if your tires wear out before the warranty is up, they measure the depth of the tread that is left. If the tread depth is less than 2/32 of an inch on ALL tires, then they will be warranted.

If one tire is showing more wear than the rest, the manufacturers will contend that either the tire wasn't properly inflated, the tires were not rotated, or that the vehicle has a suspension problem that caused the excessive wear. Warranty voided.

(On a quick side note - 2/32 of an inch, which is what most tire manufacturers claim as the point that a tire is "worn out" is a point with very little tread left. In other words, they will be very prone to hydroplaning and slipping well before the manufacturer will allow that they are "worn out")

If all four tires are showing equal wear, than the manufacturer will warranty the tires. But they will not give you a new set. Instead, they will note the mileage you did get out of the tires. Since these have a 40,000 mile warranty on them, let's say that you got 30,000 miles before they were "worn out." The manufacturer will pay a pro-rated amount based on what you should have gotten from the tires - for the remaining 10,000 miles, ie 25% of the cost of new tires.

If the guy selling the tires tells you this is not the case, that they will in fact replace the tire for free, ask to see the warranty before you buy. Trust me on this one - I worked sales for too long of a period, and saying sometime down the road "This is bull$%#@, Joe said that the tires would be replaced for free" won't cut it.

~Bill

 

Mystickal is right about the tire warranty. It's a pro-rating system. They give you a pro-rated credit off the retail price of a new tire. Since most tires aren't bought at retail you won't be saving much vs. just shopping around for new tires at a discount.

I thought the BFG Land Terrains were similar to AT/KO's but only sold at Walmart? If that's so it's hard to determine exactly what the tire is since it's obviously been cheapned to make Walmarts price point.

Why not just buy a set of Revos and be happy? That's my plan in the spring. Use the Revos 8-9 months a year of mostly highway miles and use my other more agressive tires for the snow months and off-road....

 

Take a look at the Nitto Terra Grappler's. I've had mine for a few months now and love them. They have awsome grip offroad and are quiet and smooth on the highway. Here's a couple of pics for ya...

 

4x4Fink,
Discussing tire brands is like discussing what's the best all around rifle caliber - everyone has there own opinion and some are very set in their ways. Here's my opinion based on a lot of miles driven both on and off-road. As far as the Rugged Trails go, they are an average tire on the street and below average as an off-road tire. I haven't heard of a tire called the Land Terrain so I know nothing about it. The AT/KO is a good street tire and will perform very well off-road except in boulder or deep mud environments. You should get 50+K out of a set. On snow and ice the AT performs very well but if you have a rear wheel drive vehicle, you better have a little weight in the back. Most people cussing at ATs in snow/ice do so because they can't get much traction and it's strictly because they have no weight over the rear tires. The MT/KM is an excellent tire off-road and has good street manners as well. You should get 40+K out of a set (I had 45K on a set & when I sold them they still had at least 10K to go). They have a 3-ply sidewall rating, which is great but the rubber is soft so expect a lot of sidewall cuts. The cuts will all be superficial so performance won't be hampered but the sidewalls will look like they went through the civil war without a gun after a couple of rocky trails. The MTs perform extremely well in mud, rocks, snow & ice. For snow & ice you have to sipe the two middle rows and they will then perform quite nicely in the snow. In rocks, the sipes might add a little more traction but in doing so, a few chunks of rubber will occasionally tear off the tread. Unless you stud or chain your tires, no tire will perform adequately on wind swept bare ice - but for whatever performance you expect in ice conditions, the BFG MTs and ATs will give as good of performance as any other tire on the market. I've slid off several ice covered roads/trails with several tire brands and the only way anyone could have gone any farther than I did was with chains - period. The BFG MT/KM is considerably quieter than its processor but its still a MT so expect a little road hummmmm. For your stated use I'd recommend the BFG ATs - expect to pay around $140 a tire (stems, mount & balanced) plus tax. If noise isn't a big concern you could go to the MT/KMs. The Goodyear MTRs are a little bit noisier but their sidewalls don't cut near as easy as the BFGs and they will perform as good as the BFGs. I read an article in some 4x4 rag showing in their tests that the BFG MTs went almost twice as far in mud as did the Goodyear MTRs. I stay away from mud so I can't say from experience which tire performs better in mud but I can say that the MTRs don't take a back seat to any other mud tire in the rocks.

 

For a rig thats not going to be off-roaded, I'd suggest the Brigdestone Dueler Revo AT's, which alot of us have tried and loved. I don't think I've heard anyone say anything bad about those tires.

 

I haven't heard anyone like the Rugged Trails around my neck of the woods. The only thing I heard is that they wear out quick. I have the Long Trail T/A's on my truck. I like them but they do stink in the snow. I never really take my truck off road so they a good highway tire for me. A/T's are great. Little pricey though.

Just a thought.....Check out Sam's club for tires. They had every beat on the Long Trails. They can get more tire types too.

bamachem- Those Nitto's look sweet. Where did you get those and about how much do they run?

 

I bought them locally for $519 mounted and balanced. They are 265/75-16's. You can get them online a little cheaper, but I didn't have to wait, so the $20 more was worth it. I went and played in some clay/mud this afternoon and I could barely get them to spin and sling a little mud...