Treadwright Guard Dog Mud tires: Kedge Grip or Not?

[nspdx]

So, I placed my order for the 285's for my 450. I ordered the Kedge grip added with walnut shells and glass ground up in the rubber. Who has experience with these tires, with the Kedge grip or without? I have used retreads before and realise that not everyone wants to use them. I am looking forward to getting them. I am interested in opinions from folks who have first hand experience with these tires, what do you think? Should I get the Kedge grip or skip it? Are they way more grippy on road, snow, wet roads? Off road, on rocks? Does the Kedge grip make them wear a lot faster? Thanks!

 

[Manuelsv]

I got a set of 265/70R17 GUARD DOG M/T (E) about 4 months ago ran them hard the last few months.. And no complaints what so ever..
I did notice that in 2 of them the side chunck in 2 small places started to separate.. but I am talking about a very very slight separation on a side Knob.. Sent them pics explained and they sent me 2 new ones for FREE!!!

Now if these where not retreads maybe this slight separation would not have happened,,But as far as customer service these guys can not be beat!

I also got the Kedge compound.. and they absolutely rock offroad!
Very grippy!

 

[Tacoma4life]

I'm so temped to get Treadwrights for my next tires as their factory is only 50 miles away. No shipping charges...

I've read lots of great reviews and only seen one blowout that led to a rollover, but that could happen to any tire if pressures aren't maintained correctly.

Sorry no real help fr you, but their website does say they will wear faster. I would skip it unless you regularly drive on wet, icy, and snowy roads.

 

[lt1fire]

I'm so temped to get Treadwrights for my next tires as their factory is only 50 miles away. No shipping charges...

I've read lots of great reviews and only seen one blowout that led to a rollover, but that could happen to any tire if pressures aren't maintained correctly.

Sorry no real help fr you, but their website does say they will wear faster. I would skip it unless you regularly drive on wet, icy, and snowy roads.

where is their factory??

 

[Nay]

If you are going to get a retread, you'd might as well add the mayo

 

[Polar Bear]

Been running the guard dogs in 285/75 with the kedge grip for almost a year (18k). Absolutely love them. Done several long road trips through desert, and several different mountain ranges. I live in the seattle area, so wet sloppy weather is the norm- great wet traction. Im a snowplow operator when the white stuff falls, so getting to work and back is not optional for me.

These tires have been on several snow wheeling outings and motor through 2+ ft without hesitation. They grab superbly on compact snow and ice (stil lneed to use your brain however). I usually don't air down any lower than 15lbs on the rocks or trail just to be safe, although theyve never developed any bad attributes when doing so.

Chunking is not a problem for me, but my throttle-drunk-monkey days are largely behind me YMMV.

I check my pressures every couple weeks and before trips to be safe, but they are rarely more than 1-2 lbs either high our low.

Having previously owned a few sets of BFG'S, these things are a much better tire all around. After working them pretty hard for 18k, any tread wear is negligible at best.

 

[Hank]

I have a set of 285's on BFG A/T Carcasses on my 80, they were on Woody's 80 previously. They do have Kedge Grip. I am very satisfied for the price. I have 4500 miles on them so far, Woody had them for a couple years. I have 3/4 tread left for sure. I do wish they weren't so damn loud.

 

[Manuelsv]

My experience is really positive with Treadwrights

As I posted before CS is really something that I wish other companies would do 1/2 as well as the Threadwright folks. !

I had geolander M/T's before and the stock Michellins before that, and here is my short + and - on these

Michelins (Stock)
+ Long lasting
+ Quiet
+ Easy to replace anywhere in the country
(+-) Standard customer service depends on your dealer
- x2 super EXPENSIVE
- Sucky off-road, completely useless in mud!
- Looks like a road tire on a tank..Socker mom/mall cruiser style.

Geolanders
+ Grippy
+ Long Lasting I put 45k on them before I punctured the sidewall on a trail and went to the Treadwrights
+ Good Looking (not Mall cruiser look)
+ good on mud and great on rocks(if aired down a lot)
(+-) Standard customer service depends on your dealer
- Super x3 EXPENSIVE
- Noisy

Treadwrights
+ SUPER Grippy (With Kedge grip)
+ So far semi-long lasting (I've only had them bout 5-6K miles) but no noticeable wear so far
+ Great looking and you get to tell people they are custom tires (which they are) You get to choose the compound, carcass and tread design!!!
+ X2 CHEAP For the price of a set of other brands I cna replace my treadwrights 2X So-what if they last 2/3 of the miles I'll just get another set! And still be under the cost of the others.
+ Awesome customer service (No dirty dealer)
- Must order online..and wait not widely available for immediate replacement anywhere
- Noisy
- Bad reputation of retreads but again that's debatable

Anyhoo hope this helps!

 

[Polar Bear]

where is their factory??

South dakota IIRC. I got mine delivered in 3 days to the seattle area. Awesome customer service, very friendly and knowledgeable.

 

[maybe_a_80...]

Kedge Grip for sure in Oregon

 

[LINUS]

I don't have the thread link handy, but the guy that rolled his Cruiser out in the NV desert was running these & the blowout was the cause of the accident - are you really into running these, or are you saving money?

I have no dog in this fight - and I only bring it up as nobody so far has. He had clear pics of how badly the Treadwright retread blew, but if you have confidence in them & are aware of his experience there, then all the best to you.

 

[Tacoma4life]

I actually did mentioned that blowout in post #3...
I agree retreads might be gambling, but the fact is that could (and does) happen to any and all tires. In fact one could argue that there's not a single brand of tire that someone hasnt blown out. Further more a rear blowout shouldn't have even caused a rollover. So I guess what I'm saying is statistically one blowout is completely insignificant.

 

[ridgerunner]

I ran them from 2005-2007 and put over 35K on them when I sold the truck. It wasn't kedgegrip back then but greendiamonds. Religiously looked for seperation, was careful with them and never had any issues. Great tires. I'm going to order another pair.

 

[joseywales]

I have a friend with a 09 Taco that is running the BFG AT version of the Treadwrights with Kedge. I cant see any of the "bits" in the tread, but I can see where they were. I don't know if the holes left by the departed nut shells actually do anything or not. For the record, they look great and he has driven about 6000 miles on them in the past month with zero complaints.

As far as the "blow-out thread", I read it and have to say, that rig was really really loaded up with stuff. I know we all put a ton of gear in these things, but they were at the top end of the scale. They also, (I believe), got the tires with the truck, so didn't know how the tires were treated before. If pressures are not watched regularly, any tire loaded to near its max can fail. Especially in the heat of the NV desert.