I have an 2018 F150 4x4, FX edition. It has, as standard equipment, 18x7.5 wheels, and a 3.55 rear locker. Current OEM Tires are Goodyear Wrangler AT Kevlar 275/65R18. These tires have been great, but are nearing end of life.

If possible and reasonable, I'd like to improve the off-road performance of this truck, without seriously degrading the on-road performance. I am not building a trail truck, bro-dozer, or Carolina Squatter.

By off-road, I mean central Florida sugar sand roads, muddy Richloam WMA tracks, sand beaches, forest service roads, and the like. I am not rock crawling, mud bogging, or doing serious trail rides. Without buying rims, what tires would be an improvement on the OEMs, particularly for mud, water, and sand float (airing down). I.e., can I go wider, or get a higher profile tire on the rim and in the wheel well.

Alternatively, if I put a 2" leveling kit on the truck, which on this truck means 2" up front, nothing in back can I swing a bigger/better tire?

Note that I am not particularly interested in appearance; I'm not looking for a more aggressive stance, or tire tread design/bulk to create a particular look. Practical off-road utility, good on-road manners. Perhaps going with exactly the same tires again will prove to be the best option, but I thought I'd ask.

Thanks all.

K02 seem to always get the 'all around' recommendation.
Most of my truck tire experience is with Michelin LTX, so no help to your query.

If you do a 2” level you will be able to step up to a 275/70/18.
Which in my opinion is the perfect all around truck tire size.
For your needs I would suggest going with Michelin LTX A/T2s

I have them in the equivalent 20” 275/60/20 on my Tundra and they perform very very well in all conditions.
They are a mild AT tire but hold their own and will do just fine with what you have described while having incredible road manners and tons of tread life.

I can’t suggest Falcon’s leveling kit enough!
https://www.falconshocks.com/2015-ford-f-150

I had an Expedition leveled on Bilstein and then Fox with 275/70/18 Falken Wildpeaks and the ride was not very enjoyable.
Falcon however is a whole different ball game!

Granted a Tundra but mine is leveled on Falcons and 275/60/20 Michelin LTX AT2s

I'm now using the Nitto Ridge Grappler on my Rubicon, very satisfied. I was a Hankook distributor for over 20 years, didn't like what they're now making so I got Nittos on recommendations. This is a hybrid, cross between an all terrain and a mud terrain, M&S rated.

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Originally posted by ArtieS: Alternatively, if I put a 2" leveling kit on the truck, which on this truck means 2" up front, nothing in back can I swing a bigger/better tire?

I have a leveled 2018 F150 on 35x11.50x20 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. No rubbing and I've been happy with the tires overall.

I have a 2018 platinum f150 and I am also looking. I have gone back and forth between Nitto ridge grapplers, BFG K02s, toyos, and the cooper at3. I have had the Coopers before and I was very impressed with the wet and snow grip and the were more than capable for light off roading. Given most of my driving is on road I decided to go with the Cooper AT3 4S. The tire rack and consumer reports give them very high marks. KO2s and ridge grapplers look cool and are capable tires, but coopers seem to do what I need better.

Anything in particular wrong with the Goodyears? Other than poor tread life, they were better than the Michelin AT/2s that came on my truck and better than the Toyo HT2s. So far the Cooper AT3 XLTs are not proving to be equal to the Goodyears. I have the 275/70R18s.

Just some general comments. I did a 1.5”+ lift in my front, Silverado. I measured the fender well, before & after. It was the ‘spacer kit’ under the shocks.

I also went with 1/2” taller sidewall tire, slightly narrower. I looked at options on one of those tire comparison sites. This 1/2 hasn’t required anything else, yes my headlights may be a touch high.

I usually just go with the Michelin LTX tire, rotate them once in a while.

I spent a bit of time in the FL sugar sand, it can be tricky. I am not claiming to be a professional to but instead sharing my experience.

Get the widest tire possible. This will be the first measurement of the tire in millimeters. Air down as much as possible (below 20psi isn't unheard of). Don't stop in the sugar sand. If you get rolling, keep rolling. Having a few gallons of water to "clump" it might help get going from a stop.

The wider footprint and lower air pressure will allow the tire to "float" instead of "cutting and digging in.". Less skinny pedal is your friend. Spun/slipped tires can mean axle deep in a hurry.

This is what worked for me in a 2wd S10, hope it helps.

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Originally posted by bryanZ06:

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS: Alternatively, if I put a 2" leveling kit on the truck, which on this truck means 2" up front, nothing in back can I swing a bigger/better tire?

I have a leveled 2018 F150 on 35x11.50x20 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. No rubbing and I've been happy with the tires overall.

Were you able to put these on the stock rims?

I’ve got Goodyear Duratracs on both my 2003 F150 and my 2019 F250 and have been very happy with their performance on our hunting land in deep mud, sand and very deep snow. Road performance has been very good in rain, snow and ice, with minimal road noise. Tread wear has been quite acceptable, with about 21K on both sets. They’re kind of pricey, but I will buy again.

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Originally posted by BMR:
I’ve got Goodyear Duratracs on both my 2003 F150 and my 2019 F250 and have been very happy with their performance on our hunting land in deep mud, sand and very deep snow. Road performance has been very good in rain, snow and ice, with minimal road noise. Tread wear has been quite acceptable, with about 21K on both sets. They’re kind of pricey, but I will buy again.

I love my Wrangler Duratracs. I've got them on 2 vehicles now and I don't see myself changing. The sidewalls are a little weak, if they would improve those they would have nearly the perfect tire.

I've heard really good things from people I trust about the Nitto offerings, but I haven't tried them myself.

The original BFG KOs were mediocre, so I've never been tempted to try the KO2s, although they are supposedly much improved.

The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is the worst tire ever made as far as I'm concerned, so I've shied away from trying other tires in their LTX series. I like their motorcycle tires so I can't write them off completely but you will never see another set of Michelins on a truck owned by me without assurances of revolutionary improvements.

I did a level on my 19 and put KO2s on it. They’ve been great for exactly what you describe. Great in sugar sand and mud, but also on my 40 ish mile round trip commute.


I’ll check the size when I get back in town if that matters, but you can easily find ones that will fit factory wheels without the level if you don’t want to change much.

Jeep Wrangler here.

Previously had Duratracs. Noise level was higher that I liked. Off road traction was good. I was not too impressed with snow and ice traction on roads though. In heavy snow I used 4 high range for traction from a stop many times.

November 2020 I went with the BFG KO2’s and snow and ice traction is much better, very revelry have I felt it necessary to use 4 high from a stop. I haven’t been off road since these were put on but hope to this year. Noise level is much lower too.

I just got BFGoodrich Trail Terrain T/A's on my 4Runner back in November. After ~3,000 miles, they're nearly as quiet as the Michelin Defenders I had before and have excellent road manners. Their wet and snow traction are great. (I live in Ohio.)

If you don't need the all-out off-road performance of the K02 and want something a little more civil on the road, I HIGHLY recommend considering them.

I was between the BFG KO2's and the Nitto Ridge Grapplers for my F150. Ended up going Nitto which is a lighter tire. I've been very satisfied with them. Low road noise, and great traction off road. I dont live anywhere near sand, so cant help you there. My FIL went with the KO2's and he's been very happy with them as well. I dont think you can go wrong either way.

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Originally posted by Perception

The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is the worst tire ever made as far as I'm concerned, so I've shied away from trying other tires in their LTX series. I like their motorcycle tires so I can't write them off completely but you will never see another set of Michelins on a truck owned by me without assurances of revolutionary improvements.

Ohh, do tell more about what garnered this opinion. I am the complete opposite I’d go to argue that the Defender LTX is the absolute best tire for trucks/SUVs that don’t leave pavement.
I have had nothing but excellent experiences with them.

Now the Premier LTX that is a whole other story.

Copper at3 4s
Falken wildpeak at3
Goodyear duratrack
Continental terraincontact at

I have the Coopers on my truck now.

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Originally posted by ArtieS:

quote:

Originally posted by bryanZ06:

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS: Alternatively, if I put a 2" leveling kit on the truck, which on this truck means 2" up front, nothing in back can I swing a bigger/better tire?

I have a leveled 2018 F150 on 35x11.50x20 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. No rubbing and I've been happy with the tires overall.

Were you able to put these on the stock rims?

They are on the factory 20" wheels. I looked for a picture, but couldn't find one. I went with the 11.5 to be safe, but know of a few people running a 35x12.5x20 on OEM wheels.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by Perception

The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is the worst tire ever made as far as I'm concerned, so I've shied away from trying other tires in their LTX series. I like their motorcycle tires so I can't write them off completely but you will never see another set of Michelins on a truck owned by me without assurances of revolutionary improvements.

Ohh, do tell more about what garnered this opinion. I am the complete opposite I’d go to argue that the Defender LTX is the absolute best tire for trucks/SUVs that don’t leave pavement.
I have had nothing but excellent experiences with them.

Now the Premier LTX that is a whole other story.

Haha, I'm glad you're having good results from yours but I'm totally baffled whenever anyone says anything nice about them. I found that they had poor traction on dry pavement. Poor traction on wet pavement. Poor traction on snow. Poor traction on ice. Poor traction on wet or dry rock, poor traction in the mud. They are quiet and they last forever, but I'm convinced that's because they're made of some compound that doesn't wear because it's not actually rubber and it doesn't stick to anything. They should license it to Calphalon- pans made from that would be harder and more non stick than anything in existence today.

I wasn't suprised that they weren' good off road because they aren't really made for that. The lack of traction everywhere else suprised me though. They were scary. I've had good tires and I've had cheap Chinese tires, but that's the only time I've experienced tires so bad I wanted them to wear out so I could justify getting something else. As the miles piled up though, it became apparent that they were never going to wear out though and I went ahead and replaced them. I can only guess now, but I probably put 30k on them and they still looked almost new.

I did really like their motorcycle tires, and my car will probably get a set of pilot sports when I wear out the Nittos I've got on there now. The LTXs were just stunningly bad in every condition I ever ran across.