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It doesn’t take a brainiac to say that truck tires are probably the hottest tire market right now, especially in the Americas. Look outside and smell the fresh diesel as light-duty pickups of all makes and sizes continue to sweep sales out from under sedans and crossovers. Your landscaper, neighbor, and let’s not forget that you have one or you wouldn’t be here right now.
Fret not, fellow octane-blooded enthusiast. I present The Drive’s buyer’s guide to the best truck tires on the market today. From brutal winter snowstorms to long hauls to the moon and back, I’ve compiled this wildly varied list of truck tires to suit your needs. Enjoy one of our lengthiest, most comprehensive guides to date, and happy shopping.
Summary List
Best Overall: Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015
Best Value: Firestone Destination LE3
Honorable Mention: Michelin Agilis CrossClimate
Best Off-Road: BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
Best Mud: BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3
Best Highway: Michelin Defender LTX M/S
Best Winter: Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2
Best for F-150: General Grabber AT/X
Best for Silverado: Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
Best for Ram 1500: Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus
Our Methodology
It’s in our best interest as journalists and fellow gearheads to bring you the most informative yet honest reviews possible in every buyer’s guide. That said, it’s not quite feasible to source a dozen tires to test on a dozen trucks, but that hasn’t stopped me from supplementing hands-on tire tests with strenuous and extensive research. I dived deep into retail giant, Tire Rack, and their expansive database of expert opinions, objective test numbers, and, most importantly, real-world consumer experience to curate the absolute best tires for this guide. Various truck forums aided in gathering information on OEM tire selections for manufacturer-specific categories. Readers are encouraged to learn more about how The Drive generally curates its buyers guides and product reviews.
Best Truck Tires: Reviews & Recommendations
Best Overall
Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015
Best Value
Firestone Destination LE3
Honorable Mention
Michelin Agilis CrossClimate
Best Off-Road Tire
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
Best Mud Tire
BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3
Best Highway Tire
Michelin Defender LTX M/S
Best Winter Tire
Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2
Best for Ford F-150
General Grabber A/TX
Best for Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
Best Ram 1500 Tire
Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus
Our Verdict
Standing atop one of the most comprehensive tire guides we’ve made, Yokohama’s Geolandar G015 is a stellar choice for truck buyers who want to try all the things that truck people do. Firestone’s Destination LE3 easily sprints away as the Best Value pick for putting up a good impression of a premium all-season at a budget price. And Michelin’s Agilis CrossClimate deserves an honorable mention for delivering on the promise of an ultra-capable street tire for year-round hauling.
Things to Consider Before Buying Truck Tires
Winter Tires
Winter tires for trucks are no different than their car-centric counterparts; they’re merely upscaled and toughened for their new, burlier machines. Softer, high-silica rubber compounds resist freezing in extreme cold, and jagged tread patterns with plentiful siping create abrasive edges for literally clawing at snow and ice. Their downfall comes in warmer months as they soften with the heat, bringing with them compromised tread life and sluggish driving dynamics. For places where winters are way less harsh, consider three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) all-seasons or Mud & Snow (M+S), which add a few winter tire traits for true year-round usability.
Off-Road Tires
Pretty self-explanatory, huh? These are your massive, burly options defined by Minecraft-esque tread patterns designed to claw at sand, fling up mud, and scale up rock walls. These are tires for trucks that live off the beaten tarmac and spend weekends searching for new campsites or living out wannabe Baja racer fantasies. All-terrains are quite competent at traversing most surfaces in most weather conditions. Hyper-focused mud tires may elevate their off-road prowess with blockier tread, stone ejectors, and sidewall guards at the expense of noise and comfort. Generally, most off-road tires will have some sort of refinement trade-off versus a more street-oriented all-season.
Highway All-Season
On the most sedate end of the truck tire scale sits a nice, cozy highway all-season. As the name suggests, they’re street-oriented rubber with a focus on another truck strong suit: long-distance hauling. These are highly-resilient tires for literally going the extra mile, just like your extended range fuel tanks, and deliver the quietest, most refined road manners for trucks. Some tires are specifically toughened up for towing or use on cargo vans and heavy-duty trucks, and some may come 3PMSF-rated for year-round usability in light snow and cold weather.
Truck Tire Pricing
Expect most truck tires to eclipse many passenger car and crossover tires in pricing with wide price disparities depending on tire category and sizing. Most truck tires for an 18-inch wheel will run you anywhere between $250 to $350 per piece or roughly $1,000 to $1,400 per set of four. The ultra-aggressive BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 costs about $230 in its smallest 15-inch size and up to $660 in its largest 22-inch size. The far more streetable Michelin Defender LTX M/S with similar sizing ranges between $146 to $333 per tire. Our Best Value-winning Firestone ranges from $155 to $241 per tire. Of course, add an extra tire to your total cost if a complete set includes a full-size spare wheel.
FAQs
You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.
A: Don’t even think about it. These are generally regarded as the worst truck tires for winter due to their lack of siping and widely-spaced tread blocks, which are incapable of adequately grabbing at snow. Their stiff rubber, great for toughness, is a detriment in extreme cold.
A: Maybe. The answer is usually no, but some all-seasons, particularly those sporting the 3PMSF rating, will fare far better than others and can function as true all-seasons thanks to a higher-silica compound and extra tread siping. Even some all-terrains with the M+S rating can fair well in light snow.
A: Yes. Truck tires will often be constructed with some degree of workmanship in mind, but some will be better than others. Those with the LT or “light truck” metric denote added toughness. Most truck tires also have alphabetical load indexes to quantify their maximum ply count and air pressure.
A: I’m sure the mad lads that slapped Falken Wildpeaks on econoboxes proved that you could put any tire on any vehicle. But car tires on a truck is a risky proposal that may lead to accelerated wear and premature failure as well as poor handling and towing stability.
A: Depending on where you live, there may be a lot of hidden options for ditching your old scrap tires. Some towns or cities may have dedicated tire recycling centers, or some auto parts stores may recycle them for you. Some dumps may have specialized departments for taking in old tires.