[roo_ster]

Howdy:

About 20 months and 30k miles ago I bought two D load rating mudgrip tires from Treadwright:
Guard Dog Mudgrip D
https://www.treadwright.com/collections/filter/products/guard-dog-g26516d

My truck is 2WD, but I wanted a bit more capability in the mud & slop, as my kiddos were/are getting into hunting and suchlike. Also, I wanted a tougher tire than a P-series to withstand rough surfaces and towing. They were everything I wanted. Only downside was a bit of mudgrip hum. Not as bad as a more aggressive mudgrip (Treadwright offers a mudgrip named "The Howler"), but noticeable. They rode as well as the Long Trails that came on my truck from the factory--which isn't saying much, as those Long Trails never rode well in my opinion. But I like my trucks to function as trucks, so no worries. Those mudgrips got me & mine through some nasty stuff the Long Trails never would have managed.

Whelp, my driver-side mudgrip developed a crack in the tread and I tested their warranty. Treadwright passed, IMO. The warranty is 2 years. First year free replacement and into the second year pro-rated. Turns out that Treadwright can't get casings fast enough to keep up with the demand for my tire size. So they offered a different tire--an all-terrain deal--instead. And since I had to then replace both rear tires, I got 40% off both, plus free shipping:
Warden All-Terrain D
https://www.treadwright.com/collections/filter/products/warden-w2616d

OEM and the Guard dogs were 265/70/16, the Wardens are 265/75/16. Given tread types, though, the Wardens are only a half inch greater in diameter.

Cost to me was less than $150 to Treadwright (free shipping to my front porch) and less than $18 to Walmart to mount and balance while I shopped for groceries. WM also slapped the good mudgrip on my second spare. The tire on that wheel was in rough shape, but the mudgrip still has plenty of life left(1). Also, I ordered from Treadwright Friday and they hit my front porch Saturday. Granted both Treadwright and I are in Texas, but that indicates to me that TW did not dally getting them out the door.

So far, so good. Biggest difference is no more road hum. They have a different, quieter sound than the mudgrips. They ride as about the same, but have more grip in the dry. I fill them to the PSI listed in the door jamb or a few pounds more when not towing. Still need to try them out in the wet and mud. The tread pattern is a popular and rather aggressive all-terrain tread pattern. I think I gave up some mud performance but gained dry, wet, and snow performance. If these pan out, I will replace my front Long Trails with Warden AT tires in 5000 miles or so.

To sum up, I would rather my driver's side mudgrip had not failed. But Treadwright's service and shipping has been great, really above and beyond what I expect out of a company nowadays. Both my original purchase and the warranty claim were handled by friendly and knowledgeable folk looking to make things happen. I originally ran with Treadwright recaps due to their tires' reputation on the net and pricing. I still recommend them, given the service they have rendered. Now, if one of THESE fail at 30k miles I might revise that.





(1) I would say another 30k miles. Most TW tire buyers on the net claim 40k miles before their tires are worn out, but I think most of them are driving heavier trucks than a Frontier.

 

[whistler]

Just can't bring myself to using retreads. Never did, never will.
I don't think many people here do use them either.
Glad they work for you.

 

[Undercover Brother]

Used Treadwrights on my Jeep with no issue as have a few others in my local Jeep club. When time comes around for my Frontier, they will be a contender when I shop.

 

[AndysLog]

i did buy a full set a couple years ago, got rid of them after 6 months. way too heavy, way too much road noise. the price was cool but i just couldnt justify keeping them for being cheap.
although i do think for trail rigs they are the perfect tire.

 

[roo_ster]

I now have some experience with them in the wet to go with the dry: active rain, wet streets, and standing water.

These TW AT tires are much superior to both the TW mudgrips and the OEM Long Trails in wet conditions. Not high hurdles, as mudgrips are not designed to be especially good on wet streets and the OEM Long Trails were not good in _any_ conditions, just worse in some than others.

So far, so better. On the street in dry and wet conditions, as well as rolling-noise-wise. Mud/slop and snow TBD.


AndysLog wrote:

i did buy a full set a couple years ago, got rid of them after 6 months. way too heavy, way too much road noise. the price was cool but i just couldnt justify keeping them for being cheap.
although i do think for trail rigs they are the perfect tire.

Did you go from a P-rated tire to a D or E load-rated tire? P-tires are much softer and lighter than D or E, even if given the "LT" moniker. I went with Ds because I did not need E performance and I did not want to pay the extra weight/ride penalty.

My 1997 Nissan pickup was almost perfectly mated to high-quality P-series all-season tires. With good P-series tires, quality KYB shocks, and the front torsion bar suspension, it rode magnificently while still handling any load it was rated to haul. Still miss that truck. The second-gen Frontiers exist in the uncomfy gray area where P-tires are not really enough tire (IMO) and D and E truck tires are a bit overkill. I choose overkill, though I can certainly understand the other POV.

 

[v1ru5]

Interesting I am half way tempted to try these since they fit the bill, however I could not find any info as to how much each tire weighs. I am on the fence of the firestone duratrack ATs bf ta ko2 or the duratracks

 

[Nissan4Life]

I ran a set. In fact they are still currently on my truck. Pretty bald now, and use them only as summer beater tire. Did ok. One did not balance up well always gave me some issues. But my truck always seems to have a shake here or there so I didn't bother trying to warranty it. I did tear a couple of knobs, from wheeling them on sharp rocks and spinning. Seemed to have tore right down to the bond. But that was some abuse with a fully loaded truck stuck, spinning on rocks. Held up great for the situation I guess. Never had a flat. NEver a blow out.

Overall I would say these are ok tires. Good price. THe company was sold and moved a few years ago. I think it improved the company and product. Mine were still from the old owners. Would consider another set.

 

[Dark Night 18]

I'm on my 2nd set of wardens 285/75/16. I would not hesitate on another set in the future. I got about 45k on the first set and looking to get about the same on these.
The only difference between the 2 sets, 1st set retreads, 2nd set bead fo bead remolds.

 

[roo_ster]

Update 20180205.

The Warden AT tires have been great. Zero complaints. They do all that you want tires to do very well on my Frontier.

That said...

My front tires (OEM Longtrails) needed replacing, so I tried to order some from Treadwright. It turns out that if they can't get old tires of the correct size & load rating, they can't make retreads. Go figure. The somewhat larger tires found on contemporary full sized pickups and SUVs are more common than those for our Frontiers, it seems. And E load rated tires are more common than D load rated.

I kept after them until I absolutely had to get new tires and then got some locally from Discount Tire:

Nitto Terra Grappler AT
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/nitto-terra-grappler-at/p/40193

My now-used Treadwright Wardens went up on the front axle, replacing the old worn OEM Longtrails. I was somewhat leery putting them up front, but I should not have been. They rode so much better then the Longtrails.

After riding on D-rated AT tires on all four corners, I think that the D-rated tires are about ideal for the Frontier. I keep them between 35-40psi unless towing. They ride and handle well at 35-40psi, but are not harsh. Less harsh than the OEM Longtrails, which had the odd property of being harsh over bumps, but squishy & sloppy in the turns. Not going back to passenger load rated tires on a mid-sized truck again. I think E load rated tires would not be ideal, as keeping them at 35-40psi would generate more heat than the D rated tires and inflating them up to 50-60psi might make for a harsh ride.

The new Nittos on the rear axle are doing well. Thus far, dry & wet traction on pavement is good, as good as the Treadwrights Wardens. Need to get them in some slop.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

Not to sound too picky but their tires don't seem all that cheap to me. Maybe I didn't look closely enough but it seems most of their tires are in the $110-170 dollar range for my tire size.

They are decent looking though, at least their bead to bead versions with their name on the side.

 

[roo_ster]

Not to sound too picky but their tires don't seem all that cheap to me. Maybe I didn't look closely enough but it seems most of their tires are in the $110-170 dollar range for my tire size.

They are decent looking though, at least their bead to bead versions with their name on the side.

Kinda depends.

Relative to standard load rating all-season/M+S tires, you are quite correct and Treadwright retreads are not much cheaper. Everybody and their brother produces SL tires and in all levels of quality from super-spendy top-end Michelins to cheap bottom drawer store-brand tires. Where you start to see significant separation is when you go to AT or mudgrip. Then even more when you go to D & E load ranges on top of AT/MT. I priced them out last year and I saw 2x to 3x difference in prices. It was an eye-opener.

The absolute cheapest I could find the AT D-rated Nittos I bought this go 'round were still more expensive than the equivalent from Treadwright by 50%-75% or so. The Nittos are decent, but not top end tires(1). I kinda doubt I'll see 50%-75% more service life/miles on the road over the Treadwrights I already bought. I could be wrong. Since it was my money being spent I hope I am wrong and they wear like iron.




(1) Discount Tire had a couple cheaper AT D load rated tire options, but the reviewers claimed they were pretty craptastic, grip-wise. One of whom was driving a Frontier or Xterra. So I avoided those and moved up to the Nittos.

 

[shift_RUSH]

IIRC, aren't the Treadwrights kinda heavy/heavier?

 

[AndysLog]

much heavier. saem sized tire dropped mpgs by almost 3 lol.

 

[kgordon]

much heavier. saem sized tire dropped mpgs by almost 3 lol.

Did you have the same load rating? Changing the load rating can have a serious increase in weight.

 

[roo_ster]

Short Answer:
Preponderance of the evidence points to TWs being heavier than identically-configured spanking new tires for the top tire makers.

Longer Answer:
Both Treadwright retreads and the Nittos are heavier than the OEM Longtrails. I have not yet had both Nittos and TWs off at the same time where I can compare weights between TWs and Nittos. That would be a close comparo. Closer would be to a new BFG AT or Goodyear AT tire, since these are mostly what TW uses as casing for their retreads.

Things I see that help account for weight difference between OEM tires from the Frontier and TW or Nittos:
1. Load/ply rating. D and E rated tires simply have more and tough material inside the tire to accomodate heavier loads. 3-4 ply (SL) vs 8 ply (D) vs 10 ply (E).
2. Highway / Passenger tire to AT or mudgrip. Just plain more tread material in AT & MT tires Deeper and wider.

 

[Dark Night 18]

Used Treadwrights on my Jeep with no issue as have a few others in my local Jeep club. When time comes around for my Frontier, they will be a contender when I shop.

They seem to have gone down hill since being sold. Last 2 sets I want through, I only got about 25,000 miles a set. When you figure in the the additional weight and reduced mileage, I've decided the Treadwrights aren't worth the money.
I just bought a set of Falken Wildpeaks. 5 tires 265/75/17 for $750. So just a bit more expensive, but they carry a 55,000 mile tread warranty and a free road hazard warranty.