We've got a 94 Trooper with the Bridgestone Dueler (684?) 245/70/R16's (same tires that are on our new 2002). I noticed recently they were starting to dry-rot and crack fairly bad, but figured I'd try to get another 6 months or so out of them as it's all local driving right now, the weather is cooling off, and they've still got a decent amount of tread left - not lots, but who wants to let it go to waste? Anyways, to make a long story short, my wife hopped a curb pretty hard and a few blocks later the rear passenger side was flat. Out came the spare and we're in business. I guess it's time to just bite the bullet and get them all replaced. I haven't priced exact replacements yet, but I'm betting they aren't cheap...? This is my wife's primary driving vehicle, currently a few miles back and forth to work, but she's a nurse and sometimes just has to be there no matter the weather. Not doing much trip driving as our new Trooper gets those tasks. Will probably be doing some local towing of our 18' Travel trailer. Not much off-roading, but the bug is starting to bite and my mind wonders where all those small roads in the national forest lead that are unpassable by lesser vehicles...only had it out twice and nothing very challenging, but never really even had a slip out of it in 2wd mode. That to say that the 1% of the time it's off road, I'd like to have something decent on it in the way of tires. Don't want to beat up the pretty new 2002 just yet... :-) Overall, I've been pleased with the existing tire on both of our Troopers, but I'm sure I've not really pushed the limits...
Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations or personal favorites? And why do you like what you like? I want to stay as inexpensive as possible, but I know that quite often the step up from the low end is well worth the extra price.
The other thought depending on price would be to put the spare on the road and use one of the existing tires for the spare - it's a Bridgestone Dueler as well, looks like it's never touched the road. How is a tire like that likely to hold up in the long run? Best I can tell, it's a 94 factory original. Haven't looked at it really closely, but it looks to be in pretty good condition. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Wesley