I have 265/75/16 BFG AT's

At 4,000 Miles the rear tread depth is 9, 9, 10 and 10, 10, 11...

Front is like 13, 13, 14 and 13, 13, 14

Rotated today...

Is that bad?

 

Do you tow alot of weight and/or do you drive off-road, on rocky or gravel roads alot of the time?? These factors could be a reason for the accelerated wear, but there IS some accelerated wear involved. The A/T's usually come from the factory with 16.5/32nds (measurable) tread depth, so for them to be down that far with only 4,000 miles is a bit surprising. Are they wearing evenly or is there some uneven wear from tread bar to tread bar (cupping)? Just trying to figure out why you're seeing that much wear that quickly.

 

Yes, there is some cupping...

And I've hauled a few big loads...

No offroading or anything...

 

Oh, and my AT's came with 15/32nd's

 

I had those tires they did not last at all. I had 315/75R16's and got 22,000kms out of them that is it, and never hauled anything, just empty pan.

 

Wow! We run BFGs on all our vehicles. Ive got 25k on my a/t's and not even down to 1/2 tread yet. My dad has 20k on his a/t's and same thing. My bros jeep has 40k on them with tons of tread left. Our work truck has bfg m/t's that have been on 3 ranch trucks (mostly gravel with 15% highway or so) for some 40k and are just starting to look worn. Personally Ill never buy another kind of tire again.

 

Generally the rear tires should wear evenly, I would check your u-bolts to make sure there tight or check the alignment of the rear end.

 

I just replaced my LT295/75R16 BFG ATs with 90K miles on them. Yes, 90K. And that wasn't running them down to the cords or anything like that. Still a little tread left on them. Occassional off road, koleche roads, etc, the occassional load. No real heavy towing. Probably all under 5K lbs. Kept the air pressure up and kept them rotated.

 

Most off road tires are primarily designed to perform 'off road', ie more open tread design for better bite, softer tread compounds, and softer sidewalls for added traction and side bite. Run these on the pavement and you can expect more rapid tread wear. Factor in the torque of the Cummins and these tires are really getting some demands placed upon them. Heavy towing requires a stiffer sidewall, thus narrower tire, to support the added weight and flex from tread to rim. Ever see a dragster tire 'wrinkle'? Your tires do this on a smaller scale every time you let out the clutch. The tread will slip a little to catch up to the wheel and all those big gaps flex and feather off as the truck begins to roll causing more rapid wear. I have always thought dirt tires look great on the Dodges but have always gotten much better mileage out of higway ribs so I stick with them. Rotation more often might make them last a little longer.Kurt

 

What air pressures are you running? What is the weight rating on the 265s on your truck? The d-rated 285/70/17s on my truck have approx 38,000 miles on them with an easy 15,000-20,000 miles left. I run max pressure (65psi for my tires) all of the time and rotate every 7,500 miles.