I live in the Puget Sound area, and will be moving to Fairbanks, AK next winter. Needless to say, I am going to be in the market for some new rubber in the coming months. I do not wish to run sets of tires (i.e. ice tires in the winter and A/T in the summer). I have heard that people make it up there just fine as long as there is the M+S rating on the tires. I have been looking at the BF Goodrich T/A KOs, as well the Goodyear Duratracs. Does anyone have any input on these tires, or another suggestion? I have never lived in the snow before, and need all the help I can get.
Alaska tire advice...
Recon
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I live in the Puget Sound area, and will be moving to Fairbanks, AK next winter. Needless to say, I am going to be in the market for some new rubber in the coming months. I do not wish to run sets of tires (i.e. ice tires in the winter and A/T in the summer). I have heard that people make it up there just fine as long as there is the M+S rating on the tires. I have been looking at the BF Goodrich T/A KOs, as well the Goodyear Duratracs. Does anyone have any input on these tires, or another suggestion? I have never lived in the snow before, and need all the help I can get.
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Stay away from the BFG's because they pack up really easy . The Duratracs hands down will be your best bet because they have all the sever weather ratings including the snowflake symbol . Duratracs are the best A/T on the market period! They are a little expensive but you get what you pay for.
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Look for this
![Image]()
M/S isn't enough. That being said, my old BFG A/T KOs had that symbol, (not all of their sizes do), and they weren't amazing or anything, in the snow.
When I ran the Goodyear Dura Tracs, I didn't get a chance to run them in snow, but lots of members that have claim that they are excellent. [^ see what I mean
] If you found they weren't good enough, they are pinned for adding studs, but thats not something you would want to take back out, so if they were necessary you'd end up having to get a second set of rims and tires for summer.
One thing that another member and I found out, when we were on a snow and ice covered steep mountain road, was that we kept lossing traction, and spinning the tires even with in 4LO with the rear differentials locked. [He had 37" Toyo M/Ts and I had 34" Nitto Terra Grappler A/T's]. When a Jeep went by that was also running Toyo M/Ts, the other member asked the driver how he was able to do it with no problems, and the same tires. He said to air down. He had beadlocks and was running 5 psi, but told us to try around 12 psi so we wouldn't lose the bead on our normal rims. The difference was amazing! But I would think that even running at 25 psi would be better than, say 35 psi, as long as you kept the speed down.
Here's a link to the 33" diameter LT295/65R18 size of the Dura Tracs for stock. Discount Tire Direct To cut through the snow a little better the thinner LT275/70R18 might be a little better.
When I ran the Goodyear Dura Tracs, I didn't get a chance to run them in snow, but lots of members that have claim that they are excellent. [^ see what I mean
] If you found they weren't good enough, they are pinned for adding studs, but thats not something you would want to take back out, so if they were necessary you'd end up having to get a second set of rims and tires for summer.One thing that another member and I found out, when we were on a snow and ice covered steep mountain road, was that we kept lossing traction, and spinning the tires even with in 4LO with the rear differentials locked. [He had 37" Toyo M/Ts and I had 34" Nitto Terra Grappler A/T's]. When a Jeep went by that was also running Toyo M/Ts, the other member asked the driver how he was able to do it with no problems, and the same tires. He said to air down. He had beadlocks and was running 5 psi, but told us to try around 12 psi so we wouldn't lose the bead on our normal rims. The difference was amazing! But I would think that even running at 25 psi would be better than, say 35 psi, as long as you kept the speed down.
Here's a link to the 33" diameter LT295/65R18 size of the Dura Tracs for stock. Discount Tire Direct To cut through the snow a little better the thinner LT275/70R18 might be a little better.
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I ran Firestone Destinations the whole time I lived in Alaska (10 years) very good tire,very low noise. But I have the Duratracs now, been running around Bismarck this weekend with 17 inches of snow yesterday. Get to drive home 110 miles home today on roads where no travel is advised due to the snow, I'm not worried about driving in this stuff with these tires.
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I'm in Wasilla and run Toyo M/T's. I like them, they work fine for everything but a little loud and expensive. My last truck drove the Alcan many-a-time and I ran nothing but Nitto Terra-grapplers on it. Three sets and never had a problem. Used them in Juneau, Kodiak and Wasilla/Anchorage all year long. I'll put a set of those on when these Toyos wear out. Good luck. I hear good stuff about Duratracs, but never tried them.
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Only problem with the Nokians is that they are made for snow/cold weather, they don't last very well in warmer weather, they are made with a soft rubber. It gets a little harder in cold weather, but extremely soft in warmer weather. Great for traction, not great for wear/durability. Nokinans are a great tire to have if you plan on switching your tires out in the fall and spring.
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That would be true with their snow tires but not their all seasons. My wife has 60k on her WR's and there is plenty of tread left. It gets much warmer here than in Alaska during the summer. Lol. I ran Nokian Vativas forever until I got a truck with 18" rims which they didnt make tires for. I'm stoked for trying out the new nokians when my crappy goodyears are done.
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It gets up in the 90's in Fairbanks quite often during the summer which is where the OP is going (you have obviously never been there, or know much about it). The roads in AK are crappy, they will beat the hell out of a tire. Anybody that lives or has lived there, knows what I am talking about. What would you rather have on your truck out in the middle of nowhere, if your life depended on it, and it could very well.
This
![Image]()
or this
![Image]()
This
or this
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310 Posts
Understood..
A very good friend of mine lives in North Pole, AK so I understand the weather. I'm not a fan of Goodyear tires is all, and I'm biased due to that.
I'll stay away from bashing GoodYears, just giving the OP some other options that most haven't heard of...
A very good friend of mine lives in North Pole, AK so I understand the weather. I'm not a fan of Goodyear tires is all, and I'm biased due to that.
I'll stay away from bashing GoodYears, just giving the OP some other options that most haven't heard of...
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