Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 50k tire review | 3 years of use

As I prepare to upgrade my wheels and tires I reflect on my 3 years of experience with the stock Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires. These tires have seen almost 50k miles of use, including 2 cross country overland expeditions. How did they hold up?
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[@dxankor4136]

50,000 miles is about the maximum one should ever expect from off-road tires! Where did you get the idea you should expect more?

[@varsityoverland]

I agree with you but some people believe otherwise (like the first comment on this video). A mechanic froma dealership told me a while back that they could probably go further than 50k, but I decided to go with my gut and swap them sooner lol thankfully

[@ichef]

I had the same experience with those tires , were so noisy I could not take it. Got new tire at 35.000 miles. Back to my favorite tire that has never let me down BF Goodrich KO 2's.

[@evictioncarpentry2628]

Those still have like 40% tread depth life left lol. Honestly for northern climates the duratrac is one of the best tires you can get to run year round. Theyre solid in snow, on and light offroad. Theres a reason youll see like 80% of trucks in Canada running them. If i was in a climate with minimal to no snow a good portion of the year, they wouldnt be my first pick at all. But theyre good tires, and ive tried about 15 different tires at least.

[@ronhu6035]

Yes, I have on my '23 ZR2 285/70/R17's. Now are they P, or 'C' LT tires. I don't factually know if they are "E" or even "D" walled tires, but with EPA being so vital, weight is everything. P or LT "C" is most likely.

[@carlosmiranda628]

I have these in my Tacoma and love em, quiet light rugged no complaints.

[@eflamand]

I had Duratrac on a Grand Cherokee years ago, I removed them at about half the tread cause of noise. I now ride in a Colorado ZR2 Bison 2021 that came as yours on Duratrac, same thing again! Great tire at first, but get noiser as they wear, at about 40 000km I got rid of them. Every single time my wife was with me, I got the "What's that noise?" question, I think answering that on a regular basis was worst to me that the tire themselves...! Now on tires half the price of Duratrac and happy so far, and btw way those are 265/70/17 and no rubbing...

[@varsityoverland]

Good to hear. I just put 265/70 on with a slight lift from some stiffer springs and so far so good👍

[@hamhouke]

I’m sure this is not typical, but I am replacing my Duratrac RTs tomorrow after 89K on my F250 Tremor. Yeah, they are done, done, but I am putting new Duratracs on. Are they loud? I guess. Or they were before they turned into racing slicks. 🤣 But not enough for me to say, “I can’t hear myself think in here!” No, I would not recommend anyone run any tire anywhere near as long as I have run these. But if you are interested in the failure test length of these tires, I’m there.

[@MontanaDirtRoads]

Ive run these tires for 13 years and have them on multiple vehicles.ive gotten through stuff with these on the wear bars that was just down right surprising.the montana fwp wardens use these on all their trucks so that should speak to the tires performance.

[@jefftenhave8038]

Did you have the tire balance rechecked after 30k? Vibes start from not being rotated enough. Tire noise for Duratracs comes from not rotating them enough. Due to their aggressive tread design they should be rotated every 3000mi/5000klm just like MT tires. Duratracs are the go to AT tire up north and NO the KO2 cannot keep up with the Duratrac.

[@TheBeatenPaths]

I'm in New Brunswick Canada, and I find they have no grip on icy/snowy roads. But I knew that when I bought them, they have no real sipes in them.

[@joshuacurley417]

Yeah, they only seem to run well for the winter for the first 10K kilometres or so. I am from PEI so Ifeel your pain with those Maritime winters. Way too icy for them there in my opinion. I always ran a dedicated winter tire back home, but now that I live in Northern BC, I usually run the Duratracs for the first winter I have them, then switch to a studded winter tire. The mountain passes up here can get pretty wild in the winter, and I like the comfort of a dedicated studded winter on my truck.

[@thatguyforsure7819]

Great review. After 40k mine got super loud. They were great for traction but I just switched to HTs so I could get some peace.

[@Ya_Boi_Newton]

So just looking at the thumbnail of this video I can see signs of significant cupping on the shoulder lugs. That would definitely explain the noise and vibration, but it's not unique to the duratrac - thats an alignment issue. I have seen the same exact thing happen to Nittos and basically every other "hybrid" terrain tire. Treads with tall lugs and huge voids are way more sensitive to alignment problems than shorter, tigher packed tread patterns. Get frequent alignments, especially if youre off roading, or get a more mild AT like a KO2 if you want to avoid this in the future.

[@varsityoverland]

Great feedback! Much appreciated 🙏

[@jzdank1981]

I drive like an old man, but I didn’t swap out my duratracs until 6 years, 62,000 miles on my Silverado and they still had a little life yet. It took me until the last quarter of their life to figure it out, but at 45-50 psi it keeps the edges from cupping as bad. I’m at 8k on the fresh set, recently rotated, and I don’t see any sign of cupping yet.

[@Jaredius]

I’m not sure comparing OEM Duratracs with aftermarket Duratracs is apples to apples, but I could be wrong. OEM tires are typically designed for a better ride and fuel economy.

[@MilkBone3327]

I agree with your assessment. I love my duratracs in the first 35k. Then they got loud and lost traction. Ironically, they look to have a lot of tread life left but I’ll replace them by fall.

[@varsityoverland]

Im glad someone is able to relate lol I had quite a few people tell me I had a lot of tread left but I couldn't ignore the negative experiences I was having with the tires.

[@joshuacurley417]

@@varsityoverland This makes sense, they are pretty much at the end of their treadwear rating. When I bought mine they had an 80,000km (50,000 mile) treadwear life rating. I run them as winter tires for the first year I have them, then transition to a separate dedicated winter tire after and just run them for summer.

[@derrickmastalka2360]

You should keep in mind that the tire that came on your truck form Chevy likely isn't the same one you would go buy off the rack somewhere. It's common for automakers to specify certain specifications of a tire supply for their vehicle. The tire companies do this because 1 they get the business and 2 they have to order so many that it doesn't really impact tire production. Not that you should give the tires another shot but you would likely have a different experience.

[@notsmart745]

Yes, after 48k miles of on road and off road driving they will have less traction and be louder. I thought this was common knowledge.

[@davidhamera7854]

Did you rotate your tires as often as you should, those symptoms sound like what you get when you don't rotate them at all

[@demonwithglasshand]

Alignment issue? How often you do alignments sir?

[@kt3505]

If you are getting 3 years of good off/on road use out of a tire I'd say that was a success. There is those that "use" their tires and then there is the folks that USE EM! Also , don't forget these tires degrade without even using them.

[@crs1474]

I think the vibration happens to every tire as they age. That’s how you know it’s time to replace. The noise issue also is a sign they need to be replaced. Specially true with off road tires, the tread blocks are much larger than passenger car tires so the vibration would be greater. Regarding the traction, did the air pressure increase vs when the traction wasn’t an issue? Also, from what I’ve read in reviews KO2s are the worst of the popular brands for wet traction.

[@HottNikkels]

I had cupping issues with 2 sets of Duratrac's after 50-60k kms. Switched to Falken wildpeak at3w and im at 70k kms and they still ride as new. So that issues doesn't happen with all tires.

[@JasonLee-m6b]

You said “at about 30-35k I found things I didn’t like about the tire as they got old. The treads got old etc.” that’s not even an argument on the tire itself that’s just normal wear and tear on any tire you’ll buy. They don’t last forever. So to say you don’t like the tire because it took wear and tear after 35-50k miles is insanity. Not to mention there’s still some decent life in them even now. Another thing is you said “In completely dry conditions the tires slip while going up roads” I find that hard to believe as I’ve worn regular tires to the literal wire on some and still Never lost grip just cruising uphill. You have some phenomenons with your tires but good review

[@f5fstop]

Honest review. I have never had a serious AT or RT tire that was not losing traction, was not getting louder when it hit the 40K mark. That includes K02, ST Max and especially MT tires. If you are close to 50K, time to get new ones. That's my opinion. Basically, if winter is coming and I have over 35K, a set of tires are replaced. If hitting 35 in spring or summer, might last until fall. Other people will have different experience. For example, my tires failed more in Utah climbing slick rock steps; which are NOT slick. Just slide down a few fins in a pair of jeans and feel the holes appear, be careful with dog paw pads on slick rock. Story is it was slick to mormon metal wagon wheels. Cannot say yes or now, neve road a wooden wagon up/down slick rock; never will. As for Duratrac (and with some other brands), even though they have sipes that are full depth, they are not great when worn down, and if not mistaken the center lugs have only standard sipes; not 3D. And yes, sipes help out in rain as well as snow. Looking at the new Duratrac RT, they appear to have 3D sipes in the middle lugs as well as outer. And I'm wondering if the use of Kevlar throughout the new silica formula might (maybe) increase life.

[@wlew3499]

My stock tires on my Taco wore out at 20k(warranted for 50k). Would be ecstatic if a stock tire went 50k. Besides as mentioned there were no issues at 30k.

[@emmanuelibarra4561]

Always run duratrac for 15+ years, never had an issue with them, and nose was never an issue.

[@jasun6859]

does your truck seem have plenty of power on the freeway at 80 mph like going over mountains And are going stay at that same tire size

[@luisrodriguez7215]

You have 50,000 miles and lots of tire wear, tires are going to slip as you call it. If you are getting vibration try balancing the tires.

[@scotw67]

I’m guessing 265/70/17?

[@varsityoverland]

Yes, new tires are barely taller 😅

[@GetRich23]

Mine didn’t last me 15k miles. WTF did I do wrong???

[@thomasschofield6633]

50,000 miles on an offroad tire aint bad,

[@apbt067]

This seems like a pointless review. Anyone with any sense at all is going to know after 30k miles the performance is going to be cap compared to new. Anyone that says they don’t experience that with another brand of tire wither doesn’t do much with the tire or they are lying. I have Toyo mt’s with around 60k on them and they suck. You know why? Because they are bald, I can’t go over 50 or 55mph in the rain. But they were awesome when they were new. Duh.

[@eric69parent]

I am gonna try the new baja boss at on my overland zr2

[@chadrides914]

Likely this is a problematic tire because they are made in USA. The newer tires being made in chile may be a lot better. American made isn’t worth its sweat anymore.

[@varsityoverland]

That's interesting. Didn't realize that. Thanks for sharing! 🙏

[@chadrides914]

@@varsityoverland yeh I’ve heard the new RT version of this tire is actually being manufactured in 2 or 3 different plants. None of which are USA anymore. :(

[@vspd303]

Yes, when a new great tire. Now at 42k, they suck

[@Ric62]

Very bad review. Has no clue about rough tires.

[@varsityoverland]

I agree. No clue lol

[@krisrigan5857]

This tote is complete trash for any on road use. It wears terribly. Falken Wildpeak AT3W/AT4W all day long. These tires are about as noisy and crappy riding as can be after 15k

[@jefftenhave8038]

Did you have the tire balance rechecked after 30k? Vibes start from not being rotated enough. Tire noise for Duratracs comes from not rotating them enough. Due to their aggressive tread design they should be rotated every 3000mi/5000klm just like MT tires. Duratracs are the go to AT tire up north and NO the KO2 cannot keep up with the Duratrac.