Tires for a K20 Driver

[zac]

Any suggestions on what I should look at, or what to avoid? I’ve not had great luck with Goodyears. I used to like the basic BFG T/As but they don’t seem to be available now. I have some KO 2’s on my K10 burb—great traction, not great on the road. I will be running 265 75-16s on Ford steel 8 lugs, 7” wide with dog dish caps. Truck is basically a daily driver. Work truck, priority on snow/ice on roads that rarely get plowed and a bad driveway. Lots of highway driving. Off the road for work related stuff. Don’t have to be cheap. Thanks

[MJN]

I've had good experience with Kelly Edge A/T's. I've got 265's on my '02 Yukon XL 2500 and my dad has them in 285's on his 2500HD. Great in the snow and rain. Also happy with how they are wearing and the miles I'm getting out of them so far. Worth a look in my book.

[csdineley]

I put some Hankook Dynapro Atm's on my truck last Feb. So far I like them.

[rideair]

I put a set of cheap Mastercraft Courser AXT on my DD Suburban and they do just fine for not a lot of $$$ and they come with a 50,000 Mile Treadwear Protection Warranty.

http://mastercrafttires.com/Tires/Li...urser-AXT.aspx

Question becomes, how many miles a day and what are you willing to put up with in regards to quality?

Enjoy,

[jocko]

Firestone TransForce AT (or HT if you prefer more of a highway tire) are good tires. Blackwall, nothing flashy.

[zac]

Thanks for the ideas. Anything will be an upgrade. It’s a ‘79 Camper Special, for a while I was running maybe the world’s last set of 31 10.50- 16.5s I found on Craigslist. Now I’m running some used Michelins a buddy had sitting in his basement for a few years on the Ford wheels....I do an average of maybe 800 miles a month. Nothing extreme.

The Firestones might be a good option. You see those everywhere on work trucks

[jocko]

FWIW, Both those Firestones come in 16.5" also, in case you wanted to use your Chev rims. Got any pics of your truck? K20 Camper Specials are pretty much my favorite square!

[zac]

Actually I don’t have any pics at this point. It’s in decent shape but had had a tough life, I think the only thing left of the original truck is the cab and frame. I swapped every single component of the drivetrain.

I have one cab corner left to do and a small patch behind the pass side rear wheel. After that me and my son are going to shoot some satin on it out in the barn and call it good. Maybe I’ll get a couple pics then, but I still don’t expect it to look like much!

[andyh1956]

Originally Posted by jocko

Firestone TransForce AT (or HT if you prefer more of a highway tire) are good tires. Blackwall, nothing flashy.

These! The AT's are the best. Rotate them ever oil change & get 60K miles outta them.

[hatzie]

My goto sizes on my 3/4 tons are...

• 3/4 ton trucks with 16" tires is LT 265/75R16 Load Range E
• 3/4 with 17" tires is LT265/70R17 Load Range E

Both of the above are around 31.6". Stock LT245/75R16 is 30.6". I wouldn't go larger than 32" without suspension mods...

The all-weather traction of the below tires is excellent. I've typically gotten 35,000-40,000 out of them.
They both come in right around $800 for all four corners... that's $200 per tire. Not cheap but you get what you pay for.
You can get longer treadwear and cheaper price but you sacrifice traction.

• LT265/75R16 Load Range E Michelin Defender LTX M/S
• LT265/75R16 Load Range E Continental Terrain Contact

[kipps]

Originally Posted by hatzie

...I wouldn't go larger than 32" without suspension mods...

Can you explain?

33's seem to be pretty common without a lift.

[hatzie]

You run the risk of rubbing when you make sharp turns at anything larger than 32".
Some trucks will rub and some won't at 33".
It seems to be a crapshoot.
My 76 K20 and My 2000 C2500 GMT400 rub on the 33" tires that I am running on the CUCV. My 2005 2500HD had to be cranked up to fit 285/75R17 tires. I cranked it back down to stock height and swapped to 265/75R17 Michelins to stop the bouncy bouncy bouncy ride.
I've had several 3/4 & 1 ton trucks that rubbed on 33" tires and several that didn't.
Not year or build plant specific. Seemingly, no rhyme or reason. They just did or didn't. IMHO $800-$900 is a bit much to spend on maybe. 32" is a good safe number. Never ever had one rub with 31.6" or 32" tires. 31.6" - 32" tires are big enough to stop the truck from looking like it has four rubber bands on the wheels.

[Joesjunk]

I have Firestone transforce AT’s on my 85, 86, and 87. They are 265/75/16. I like them because they look pretty era correct I think

[zac]

They do. Very nice. This is what I’m trying to do, except all my trim is long gone and I’m not even sure what it had in the first place......still have the Camper Special badges, though. What are those wheels?

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by zac

They do. Very nice. This is what I’m trying to do, except all my trim is long gone and I’m not even sure what it had in the first place......still have the Camper Special badges, though. What are those wheels?

Those look like good old fashioned 8 lug 16" GM steel wheels with Custom Deluxe squarebody dog dish hubcaps. The only serious difference between those and the stock 88-00 GMT400 wheels is the T400 had gray paint rather than white. I've found several sets of T400 wheels that weren't beat up badly. The older they get the rougher they'll be. Eight out of 13 or so actually spun true with no rubber on a Coates balancer. Took the other five back. Not sure if he scrapped em or sold em to someone less picky.
I have a set I blasted and powder coated in Columbia Super Satin White for the 76 and another in Columbia Federal Standard Camo Green on the M1008. Did a set of 80's stock Subaru GLI steel wagon wheels in the same white for an 84 Subaru GL Turbo Brat a buddy is reworking.

[DKSpringer]

I have the PY0 wheels from 2003-?? 2500HD and Cooper Discoverer AT3, 265-75R16. Pretty happy with the combination, but can't seem to find time to get this thing finished and out on the road. They're good for test trips around the block though!

[oltronj]

I am running the BF Goodrich Commercial T/A Traction on my V3500 and I like them. Seem to be wearing good and get good traction on snow and ice. I had a set on a 1st gen Cummins but they were the highway tread and tehy wore well but were lousy for traction on snow and ice

[learyw]

Transforce are great. But, I got a great deal on the General Grabber HTS60. I have a 78 K20 with same size tires as you. Ive been really impressed with them. I live in Colorado with all four seasons and they have been great.