I drive a 2005 F 150 XLT SCAB 5.4L 4x4. Bought it new, might get buried in it.

Several years ago I got Nitto Terra Grapplers 285/70/17 on the stock rims. No lift/level etc. The tires look cool and perform well. But they annihilated my mpg which is already not good. A bit of road noise too of course compared to the very quiet ride it had for years.

Anyway, I'm getting close to needing some new rubber and I'm going to go back to a stock size. For my vehicle that's either 235/75/17 or 255/70/17. I'll go with the slightly larger tire. I have no intention of lifting or leveling as I'm not a real off roader. The truck is not a daily driver, more of a chore/play vehicle, but it needs to be as stable and safe as possible for towing and hauling.

To that end, I've read good things about the BFG KO2s, but they are E rated. Do any of you have experience you'd wish to share about this set up? My concern is rough ride and excessive road noise. Won't go over well with the wife and kids.

Any other tire recommendations are welcome too! Thank you!

 

I used to like the KO tires. But based on the forums, KO's are not as good as I remember them. I think most of the owners here say they are crap in rain, even when new. Not the normal complaint "these tries are junk in rain" then divolge tires are 4 years old with 64,000 miles on 'em.
I can't tell you what to buy but thought I've get the early warning out there that the KO tires may not be ideal if you live in a rainy climate.

I haven't had a set of BFG tires since the truck I traded in um...... 2007 or 2008.

 

I had read many reviews praising rain traction I'm surprised by that. Yikes! Good thing I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet.

 

yikes good thing I didn't pull the trigger yet. I 've read quite a few reviews praising the wet/snow/mud traction I'm surprised by that. Gotta take those online reviews with a grain of salt I guess. Which is why I love these forums instead

 

Don't just trust me though.
Read other thread here and/or wait for others to share experiences. On the forums, I hear less good about them. I can't relate because in the past I've burned up 2 pair of A/T and one set of M/T BFG's. Seems like I had great luck.
I replaced stock tires/wheels early in life and only had BFG tires on that truck until I sold it was 200, on it.

 

I'm on my 3rd set of LT285/70/17 BFG ATs on my 08 F150. 1st set was the KO and load range D and the 2nd 2 were KO2s and load range E. They're the only tires I've had on the truck other than the stockers for the first 3,000 miles - I love them with no real complaints. No issues in the rain/snow/sand. Terrible in mud (as with any AT). Not too much road noise, but they do get louder once >60-70% worn. Combination of the LT tires and load range D or E give them a bit of a rougher ride than the stock P tires.

Full disclosure, I don't have much experience with other tires as a comparison, Other than the 3 sets of BFG ATs on the F150, I had 31" BFG AT KOs and 33" BFG MT KMs on my old Jeep - Ended up loving the BFGs and never expanded my search. Only real complaint with the BFGs is that sometimes it's hard to find them in the size you're looking for,

 

thanks guys. for an E rated tire the BFG isn’t priced terribly.

other tires I’ve been interested in are they general grabber atx which seem in short supply most places and michelin defenders. the latter costing about $250 each which is steep. people who wrote reviews really love them though.