Years ago I had a 1980 Ford F350 2WD. I ran B.F. Goodrich AT Trackers on it. The fronts were 10.50 x 16.5. The rears were 12.50 x 16.5. That truck went everywhere. I towed a boat with it. I also had a pickup camper for it. It drove great in the snow too.
Fair enough, I guess I'll find out. I do have a trailer for firewood so the truck is more for gear; saws, fishing, camping etc..
Can't say I agree with you guys. I refuse to **** around with bald, dry-rotted tires that need to be inflated every other day. Everybody's budget and perspective is different, but my time, my vehicles, my personal safety and particularly the safety of others is worth way more a decent set of tires.
Maybe tires manufactured today are more sensitive to aging - different rubber compounds, thinner material, less UV protection, I don't know. But I've driven a lot of vehicles on old tires (way past the 6, 7, or 10 year "recommended" life.) You know who recommends short lives? Tire stores and tire manufacturers - just sayin'.
You'll either live it, hate it, or both. I like caps for some things, and just can't stand them for others. Biggest issue I have is storing one when you don't need it, and I can't have my tool box on the bed with a cap.
Just make sure you keep it mixed up, it separates out really fast.
I had Michelin tires on my 90 cummins and had constant issues with them. Cords separating, bubbles, balance issues. After having them replaced several times (under warranty) I had them replaced with nitto terra grapplers. They were great tires. Had zero issues, other then they didn't do great off road. Haven't been back to Michelin tires since. Neither of my uncles will run them, or sell them to customers either.
Meh, I'm just saying that this wasn't an issue (at least not a well publicized one) years ago. Now the big name tire stores have charts in the showroom showing "safety" concerns starting as early as 3 years. That is way more to scare people into buying new tires than it is about safety. One guy's opinion...
I used to order vehicles for a Ford dealership in the late ā70s and early ā80s. That was when pickup trucks were primarily used as trucksā¦ It was not unusual to order trucks with M&S on the rear of 4x2s and all around for 4x4s. I donāt recall āall seasonā tires being a thing then.
. With that I specked the first truck the dealership had with bucket seatsā¦ They used full size Bronco seats, mats, etc, in the pickupsā¦ I loaded it up with all the chrome and stainless do-dads availableā¦ 351 4-speed with Coral paint (bright orange). People went nuts when they saw it. I saw the truck at Home Depot maybe 10 years ago and waited to speak to the owner. He was the second owner ā¦ his neighbor was the first owner and aged out. It had been professionally repainted in the same color and he added a Bronco console but otherwise it was stock and it looked great. There was a yellow and white two tone that I gave a similar treatmentā¦ automatic. My mother worked with the original owner and the wife of the second owner. 
Ended up selling the owner of the laundromat a carā¦ 
The Mrs had michelins on her Ford escape. Maybe 3 years old and low mileage. We had bought the car used from a dealer. She was going to drive to North Dakota and I had my mechanic go over the car. He called and said all the tires had dry rot cracks on the inner sidewall. Tires and tread looked great. He told me he saw it a lot with michelins. I had put Michelin XZX on my 74 pinto station wagon and put close to 80K miles on them. They stihl passed safety inspection when I sold the car to a buddy.
Enter than an AS hat
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Iād give ANYTHING I have to make my girls that age again!!!
In general I donāt mess around with tires that are used on the road.. especially the highway. The truck I inherited hasnāt gotten much attention yet due to the elder care time demandsā¦ Back when I was putting 35,000 + miles a year on my commuter car the car had pretty much daily inspections! You could tell they were highway cars by looking at the windshieldā¦ they look sand blasted! Retirement decreased the miles a lot but the majority are still highway. My Accord turns 10 years this month but only has 60K on the clockā¦ I used to do that in 20 months. I do NOT miss the time and expense of the commute!
Safety is my number one priority also. We wear tires out before they age out but if they're questionable I just change them. My family's(and other's) lives are more important than cheap or questionable tires.
