I went through all the same questions and concerns last Fall. The guys at my local alignment shop were very concerned about "retreads" on a vehicle with children in it, etc... I have 3 and 5 year old little girls - who love the LC and off-roading now.
I did a lot of research and considered all the yays and nays. I ended up ordering one Treadwright 265/75/16 Guard Dog C load tire for my spare and to let my shop check it out and see. I'd heard the Treadwright customer service was great and figured I could send it back if there were any issues. It looked great and balance right up. In fact, the shop I went to used road force balancing and everything was fine. Then, a couple of months later I finally ordered the other four. I ended up getting four more tires from the same cap tire model and all five were upgraded to load range D for free. The shop did the whole road force balancing thing again and all were within normal range for that size truck tire. Two were even very low, meaning very good. The guys all said they were impressed and these did not seem like the old retreads from the 70's.
I've since heard very similar comments from many places over the last 5 months or so.
So, my story is that we moved in January. Not only were these tires great in Lansing, MI in the snow and ice around town (except black ice - one minor scare), but we loaded up the cruiser and hauled a trailer for thousands of miles. We drove from Lansing, MI to Salida, CO. Drove around there for a few weeks in Jan/Feb 2011 and then drove up to Missoula, MT. This trip included many miles at 70+ and a good 20+ mile stretch across the CO/WY border on a rocky, dirt road. I'm not sure the exact number, but I've put at least 4,000 miles on these tires and they seem fine. We're very happy with them and have had no concerns.
When I first got them they were a little wild and tracked all over the highway but those brand new 90 degree edges quickly rounded enough that it drove like a normal vehicle after 50-100 miles. Same for the tire noise. It was naturally really pronounced those first few miles but even that was fun. Today, now and then I notice the tires when the music is turned down or off but it's just light background. Maybe that's partly because I got 265s? I can also say that the guys in Lansing put them on at 65 psi! I didn't realize that until the folks in Colorado checked them. We aired down to around 36-40 psi all around then.
So, after thousands of miles, a cross country trip, some light winter off roading, high tire pressure, and several mechanics and tire people looking at them and approving, I'm very happy with my decision and would gladly get Treadwrights again. I noticed that the USPS is a customer and maybe that doesn't mean what I think it means, but knowing the federal government as I do it tends to mean they've been thoroughly checked out.
My only problem at this point is that they pick up rocks like crazy but that's partly because there are so many rocks and rocky spots around Montana. Maybe after this summer I'll have some new impressions but we'll just be on backcountry roads, not hard wheeling or rock crawling with low tire pressures.
The only reason I might not get Treadwrights next time is that I'm really interested in those 255/85/16s I've read about. Treadwright doesn't offer that size.
Hope this is a helpful contribution.
I did a lot of research and considered all the yays and nays. I ended up ordering one Treadwright 265/75/16 Guard Dog C load tire for my spare and to let my shop check it out and see. I'd heard the Treadwright customer service was great and figured I could send it back if there were any issues. It looked great and balance right up. In fact, the shop I went to used road force balancing and everything was fine. Then, a couple of months later I finally ordered the other four. I ended up getting four more tires from the same cap tire model and all five were upgraded to load range D for free. The shop did the whole road force balancing thing again and all were within normal range for that size truck tire. Two were even very low, meaning very good. The guys all said they were impressed and these did not seem like the old retreads from the 70's.
I've since heard very similar comments from many places over the last 5 months or so.
So, my story is that we moved in January. Not only were these tires great in Lansing, MI in the snow and ice around town (except black ice - one minor scare), but we loaded up the cruiser and hauled a trailer for thousands of miles. We drove from Lansing, MI to Salida, CO. Drove around there for a few weeks in Jan/Feb 2011 and then drove up to Missoula, MT. This trip included many miles at 70+ and a good 20+ mile stretch across the CO/WY border on a rocky, dirt road. I'm not sure the exact number, but I've put at least 4,000 miles on these tires and they seem fine. We're very happy with them and have had no concerns.
When I first got them they were a little wild and tracked all over the highway but those brand new 90 degree edges quickly rounded enough that it drove like a normal vehicle after 50-100 miles. Same for the tire noise. It was naturally really pronounced those first few miles but even that was fun. Today, now and then I notice the tires when the music is turned down or off but it's just light background. Maybe that's partly because I got 265s? I can also say that the guys in Lansing put them on at 65 psi! I didn't realize that until the folks in Colorado checked them. We aired down to around 36-40 psi all around then.
So, after thousands of miles, a cross country trip, some light winter off roading, high tire pressure, and several mechanics and tire people looking at them and approving, I'm very happy with my decision and would gladly get Treadwrights again. I noticed that the USPS is a customer and maybe that doesn't mean what I think it means, but knowing the federal government as I do it tends to mean they've been thoroughly checked out.
My only problem at this point is that they pick up rocks like crazy but that's partly because there are so many rocks and rocky spots around Montana. Maybe after this summer I'll have some new impressions but we'll just be on backcountry roads, not hard wheeling or rock crawling with low tire pressures.
The only reason I might not get Treadwrights next time is that I'm really interested in those 255/85/16s I've read about. Treadwright doesn't offer that size.
Hope this is a helpful contribution.
I got a set of 