Seeing how much Americans love going off-road in their big revving trucks such as Ford F150, good survivable treads are an absolutely must-have. The rubber companies have long figured that Yankees adore sturdy tires with construction fit for traversing everything from sand to swamp.
Depending on your preferences, needs and style, you can pick one of the many options that fit this vehicle. There is something for each niche, and if you would go shopping on your own, you would likely either miss a lot of the good stuff or be stuck browsing for ages.
This list will hopefully offer something for everyone.
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Defender is one of the more popular Michelin tires, and it’s well-deserved. It has enough gripping potential for digging through f loose and uneven ground – not mud or sand, though. What’s more, they fitted it with a symmetric design with a lot of biting edge and several longitudinal grooves.
It means that it’ll ride smooth in water, even if there’s a lot of it. As expected, it won’t doo well in deep snow, because you need special provisions to survive in it. But overall, it has great traversing characteristics and a decent lifespan (min. 80,000 km).
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Kumho Road Venture, in contrast to some tires in the list, leans more towards comfort of highway driving. It’s comfortable, versatile when you need it to be, and the plentiful grooving allows it to evacuate water quick enough. There’s also a lot of biting edge, which means better grip in water, snow and even off-road somewhat.
Although it’s pretty decent off-road, it won’t dig through everything. Its flexibility allows it to adapt to most environments, and grooving helps with digging through dirt, but there are probably better options for an all-in off-road experience.
It’s also pretty durable, with 100,000 km worth of guaranteed driving.
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Grabber HTS50 is by no means a full all-terrain tread, but given how heavily grooved and flexible they are you ought to give them a chance. They will hold their own on loose surfaces, but don’t get too excited. They are more of a tough all-season option with a lot of off-road potential.
They are very good on the wet roads – owing to the web of small and big channels they have. It’s also why they get along well with the snow. Their affordability is probably their strongest suit, though. Don’t underestimate them.
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You might consider it a high-performance tire, because it fits all the checkboxes for one. It’s a killer when it comes to longevity (130,000 km minimum), friendly to high speed and handles well. It’s not too good in snow and ice, for obvious reasons.
Off-road, these aren’t really a good option, but they will hold alright. These Bridgestones are more for highway-leaning owners than off-road enthusiasts. If you’re counting among the former (or simply fond of durable tires), this one is for you.
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COMP-2 is considered a high-performance truck tire. It is an all-season tread, so it’s naturally going to be efficient on tarmac both in winter and summer, although the off-road performance is also not bad. Notably, it lacks depth for a proper all-terrain digging, but the on-road handling compensates it.
The durability is also worth praising – the minimal distance sits at about 70,000 km, which is respectable enough for a performance tread.
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This tire is alright when it comes to grip, handling and so forth. The design doesn’t really favor these things, but you also won’t feel like it’s failing in the performance department.
What it excels at is the comfort. Most of the time, you won’t feel anything that happens on the road – owing to the tread’s flexibility and softness. Despite being soft, however, it’s not weak, the expected lifespan is about 130,000 km. Some premium tires don’t reach that number, and this one is simply well put together.
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Wrangler Fortitude is a decent off-road candidate. If you’re looking for a tread that allows you to traverse rough terrain without abandoning the good old tarmac for long, that’s your choice.
Because Wrangler is heavily grooved and positioned for the digging movement, the tire is going to feel great on loose surfaces such as sand, gravel and soil. That said, the pattern isn’t too deep or chaotic to feel poor on the road. Because of it, you can expect a reasonable amount of grip in both realms.
The usual life lasts for about 100,000 km, which is a neat addition.
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Ecsta is another example of a sports approach to using F150. If you use them in urban conditions under any weather conditions, they’ll be absolutely fine. For the relatively low price that they ask of you, the control and grip they provide is a bargain.
They do suffer from a bane of many sports options – namely, too much noise and uncertainty about longevity. They probably could improve it, but not for this price. It’s still a good investment, though.
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For urban use on F150, Yokohama Parada is one of the better options. The unique multilayered aggressive design allows them to grip the ground well without fear of hydroplaning or steering loss. In fact, they are very stable, which is the reason why they are so stable and responsive.
That said, they aren’t very good in winter or off-road. Moreover, although they are well put together, there’s no saying for how long they’ll last.
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TA KO2 is one of the most efficient off-road tires, at least among those suitable for F150. Just looking at the tread design, you can see that it’s perfect for loose surfaces and the digging action associated with traversing the rough off-road terrain. There is a lot of void space, and the tire is also well-protected from punctures and other damage.
In short, not many tires are on par with this one is terms of resistance, at least in this category. What’s more, it’s behaves unexpectedly alright on highways. It’s not terribly steady, but the grip and handling are also not abysmal. As expected, however, it’s pretty loud.
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In terms of all-season tires, Ice-X might be amongst the best candidates. Its biting texture and design were specifically tailored for all-season grip, especially the winter grip. It won’t be much help elsewhere – off-road, for instance. Under other circumstances, they are perfect.
The price also thinks so. It’s costlier than most options in this list. But it’s also reasonably durable – 65,000 km minimum.
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Discoverer HTP is a good solution for when you know you’ll be spending a lot of time off-road but you also don’t want to be noisy on highways. Well, this one is pretty good as an all-terrain, neat damage protection and an aggressive style to top it all. It’s also guaranteed to last at least 105,000 km, which is very respectable.
But then, it’s fairly loud on road. Off-road, it’s not a big deal, but you’ll want to be comfortable on tarmac, and Discoverer still leans towards the all-terrain treads inthe noisiness department.
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SRX is a tougher option within the Discoverer family. They are perfect throughout most of the year given you ride on asphalt. Because they are pretty soft and durable at the same time, they are good on bad roads and off-road.
There isn’t a lot of digging potential, though. That’s why it would be unadvisable to use them in thick mud. Also because of it, and because their pattern isn’t aggressive enough, they also could perform better in snow.
The durability, however, is superb. These tires will last you more than 120, which isn’t something many treads can offer.
