Goodyear Duratrac AT?

[JBThompson]

Ok so I need tires but I'm looking to spend about a grand, kind of on a tight budget with a baby on the way. I've been leaning toward an MT for increased off road performance but I came across the Goodyear Duratracs and they piqued my interest. Most ATs seem to have mediocre performance at best in muddy conditions but the Duratracs seem to be on the aggressive side for an AT so they might fit the bill. They also have a 50K mile treadwear warranty and I can get a set of five for just a bit more than the other two tires I've been looking at (Mastercraft MXT and FederalcCouragia MT). Just wondering if anyone here has ran them, how well they worked off road and what kind of life they got out of them.

 

[KMG]

I have 17,000 miles on my Duratracs. They have had good on and off road performance but are a little noisy but not as loud as a MT tire. I have had Goodyear patch a puncture on one but that can happen with any tire.
I'm taking my 265/70/17 Duratracs off and trying the same size BF Goodrich KO2s.

 

[JBThompson]

Yeah, I found an old thread from a few years ago and puncture resistance seemed to be biggest complaint.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

I have been running Duratracs one my daily driver 2wd pickup since the first of summer. In rainy conditions they have done great, giving a surer feel of the road. Only mud I have encountered is my driveway which is a 1/2 mile right of way. They have done great, even after having to stop waiting on the cow to cross. I fully expected that it would be stuck for lack of traction, nope pulled off like it was on pavement. I have been on some of the truck trails in the local state forrest and has been a major improvement over my previous highway tires. The truck trails are a clay sand mix that at times is very loose. I noticed more front bite with improved steering response. I didn't try the areas with deep loose sand. Yes the tires are weak in the sidewall area, but for my use where I don't need to air down they have been fine. Noise wise just a slight hum at highway speeds.

If you want a better tire with stronger sidewalls, I suggest the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx. I consider it a step up from the Duratracs and might be same price or less.

Can't speak about tread life as I don't put many miles on the truck.

 

[Airmapper]

A set of Duratrac's last me about 2 years. I run about 25-30k miles a year.

I've had them on snow, ice, mud, rock, sand, dirt, and gravel, wet, dry, and moist. I can't name any particular incident where I thought the tire could have performed better. I couldn't be happier with them, they look good, and grip great in all sorts of varied conditions, yet don't seem to prematurely wear as bad as a true mud tire would being driven daily on pavement.

There will always be a better tire for a specific purpose. I think the Duratrac's strength is being good at a whole bunch of things. It's as you noted more on the aggressive side, which makes it ideal for people who actually do take a vehicle off the pavement, but still want to use the tire every day on pavement.

Sidewall strength comes up from time to time. I've heard they are more susceptible to punctures from sticks or rocks on the trail. Personally I would like to know if that is a reoccurring issue or if that is the holdovers of people complaining from when the tires first started being produced. I haven't had any sidewall issues knock on wood. I do run E load range as opposed to C which might be more weight appropriate for my Xterra, but I like the extra durability.

I'm on my second set, and right now I don't see any reason why I would not replace them with the same when the time comes.

 

[Martinjmpr]

If you're on a budget I don't know why you'd be looking at Duratracs. From what I've seen they are definitely towards the high end price wise, even more expensive than the BFG AT KO's (though I guess that may depend on the size.) When comparing tires make sure you are comparing apples to apple, i.e. don't compare a P rated Duratrac to an LT rated BFG.

 

[crab]

On a budget, just check out General Grabber AT2. MT might look cool, but...

 

[KMG]

Just to clarify, I have E rated tires and we've had two (forgot one) punctures from gravel in my drive. I don't air down and the punctures are not in the sidewall but in the tread from holding rocks. Driving pushes the rock into the gap in the tread until a puncture happens.

 

[JBThompson]

I had considered the Dynapro ATMs. I worked at a Ford dealership and they were hands down our best selling truck tire. We had several customers that would only run the Dynapro. Haven't heard much about how well they do in mud but I do know one of our customers spends a lot of time on logging roads out west. Dude drices so much he put 40K on a brand new F150 in just a couple months. Eeesh. But them Dynapros held up to the abuse.

 

[Kmrtnsn]

The new Falken A/T3W's are highly regarded and come in at a price point much lower than Duratracs.

 

[chasespeed]

I've run DuraTracs for the last several years. Until this set of KO2s. I've been very pleasantly surprised.

The DuraTrac is a hybrid. But, it's not really any good in the mud. For all that, a true AT isn't out of the question.

Haven't really played in the much with KO2s yet, but, as soon as I get this rear axle in, I'll be giving them a good once over.

FWIW, I ran E rated DuraTracs on my Quigley work van, and C rated on my POV. There is a trade off with all tires...

The reason we stayed with the DTs was the snow rating, now, the KO2s have it.

Your money, your choice.

In the end, I see no advantage with either tire. Boils down to price, and preference.

Chase

 

[RedF]

I was in the market for tires recently, and Duratracs (on sale) were about the most affordable tire I could find - and I looked around.

I have had a set of Duratracs before, and I was happy with them. I would definitely purchase again.

 

[Wally'sJimmy]

I had them on my truck (33x12.50) before I switched to 35" K02's. I did like them but the sidewall is soft and they did get noisy with age (and yes I'm picky about balance and rotation). I'm hearing good things about the new Toyo Open Country R/T also, but I don't know anyone with a set yet.

 

[NCtrail4R]

Had pretty good results with my Duratracs. Got around 45,000 miles out of them on an Xterra and still had a bit of tread left when I sold them. Surprisingly quiet, good highway manners and good off road. Got louder as they aged, but still tolerable. Picked up several nails that could all be patched, but never any cuts. By the end of their life the tires had some small chunks, but nothing major. Good tires.

Have owned a lot of ATs over the years and am a little more than halfway through a set of Cooper AT3s. Really good road leaning AT. Great road manners and still good offroad. Plan to do some research on the new Falken Wildpeaks.

 

[BigJimCruising]

I've been running Duratracs since they first came out in my size and wouldn't run anything else! While tire life isn't as great as some others I do admit that I use my tires hard and rough so I'm not surprised. I use my trucks like a truck should be used, no trailer queen here! I've tried most of the other name brand AT's and even an MT here and there and unless I need a very specific tire for a very specific use then these are my tires of choice.

And yes I've read the stories about the sidewalls being a bit weaker then other brands but I always air down to around 20psi for my off roading and have yet to have a puncture! Others in my group have had plenty and I've used my ARB kit many times over to repair others tires yet throughout thousands of off road miles I have yet to have a Duratrac fail me. And yes I've had punctures with other name brands so you can probably tell I'm pretty sold on these tires! Frankly I think some of those comments in the off road magazines about weak sidewalls might be more imagined then real world. Anyway that's been my experience.

As for tire life, well they tend to get a bit noisy as they get worn. I seem to replace them around 40,000 miles on average. The noise isn't really bad but you do start to notice them towards the end of their lifespan. Sure I could get a few thousand more miles out of them but I like the traction I get when they are newer so I don't wait for slicks to replace them. So that's my take on them, and yes I'll take them every time and not look back!!