Best Tires for the Ram 1500

Which are the best tires for your Ram 1500? The answer may vary. When they built the Ram 1500, they tried to strike a good balance between cost, treadwear, fuel economy, and performance. You might have different priorities when the time comes to replace your Ram’s tires. Maybe you want the most durable tires that will last your Ram 1500 the longest. Or maybe you’re a penny-pinching cheapskate and just want the cheapest tires your meager funds can buy.

Whatever your needs are, we hope our overview on the best tire options for the Ram 1500 crossover can help.

Have an older Ram 1500? See tire sizes for previous years.

Best Tires for the Ram 1500 with 18-inch wheels:

• Kumho Crugen HT51 - Best budget tire
• Continental TerrainContact H/T - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Agilis Crossclimate - Best superior tire

Best Tires for the Ram 1500 with 20-inch wheels:

• Sumitomo Encounter HT - Best budget tire
• Continental TerrainContact A/T - Best mid-priced tire
• Firestone Destination A/T - Best superior tire

Best Tires for the Ram 1500 with 22-inch wheels:

• Kumho Crugen HT51 - Best budget tire
• Firestone Destination LE3 - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Defender Premier LTX M/S - Best superior tire

Original Equipment Ram 1500 Tires

What tires are on my Ram 1500? The current generation Ram 1500 crossover is sold in multiple trims with three tire sizes:

1. The Ram 1500 with 18-inch wheels comes with 275/65R18 116T tires. Depending on the configuration, the tires could be the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT or the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W A.
2. The Ram 1500 with 20-inch wheels comes with 275/55R20 113T tires. Depending on the configuration, the tires could be Nexen Roadian HTX RH5, the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza, or the Wildpeak A/T3W A tires.
3. The Ram 1500 with 22-inch wheels comes with 285/45R22 114H XL tires. The original tire on these trucks is the Goodyear Eagle Touring.

Top Replacement Tire Brands for Ram 1500

We’ve recommended three replacement tires in 18-, and 20-, and 22-inch sizes, in budget, moderately priced and cost-no-object varieties. Whether your pockets are deeper than the Mariana trench or Ebenezer Scrooge considers you a role model, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. All of these tires have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys:

18-inch Tires for Ram 1500

• Budget: Kumho Crugen HT51 - Kumho makes a solid tire at a solid price, and its offerings for the Ram 1500 are among the best rated and most reasonably priced of any tire option.
• Moderately Priced: Continental TerrainContact A/T - This Continental tire is a good all-around model that handles itself well on both pavement and dirt trails.
• Cost-No-Object: Michelin Agilis Crossclimate - Michelin makes some of the best tires around, and the Agilis Crossclimate is a great all-season tire for people that don’t use their trucks in heavy off-roading situations.

20-inch Tires for Ram 1500

• Budget: Sumitomo Encounter HT - The Sumitomo Encounter is a great tire if you don’t use your truck off-road frequently. It will deliver solid treadlife and decent fuel economy over its long life.
• Moderately Priced: Continental TerrainContact A/T - This Continental tire is a good all-around model that handles itself well on both pavement and dirt trails.
• Cost-No-Object: Michelin Defender LTX M/S - Michelin is one of the largest tire companies and has a model for most occasions. The Defender LTX is rated Excellent in Wet, Dry, and Comfort. This tire is not the longest lasting, but instead is focused on being the best.

22-inch Tires for Ram 1500

• Budget: Kumho Crugen HT51 - Again, it’s the Crugen HT51. When it comes to the budget end of tires for your Ram 1500 with 22-inch wheels, it’s hard to beat the value and durability of Kumho’s tires.
• Moderately Priced: Firestone Destination LE3 - In the middle of the price range, the Destination LE3 offers excellent tread life ratings, near-perfect consumer ratings, and solid all-season traction.
• Cost-No-Object: Firestone Destination A/T2 - It’s more of an off-road/all-terrain tire than the others on this list, but it’s good for on-road use and is backed by excellent ratings all around.

When Should You Replace Tires?

There are two regular milestones that will suggest that it’s time to replace the tires, not only on your Ram 1500, but any vehicle in your driveway: Time and mileage.

Considering most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, the vast majority of Ram 1500 owners are going to be past the mileage that their original equipment tires were intended to cover before they’ll go past the tire’s usable age.

The life of your tire can be somewhat predicted by its UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) rating. Tire manufacturers apply their own grades to tires for treadwear, traction and temperature. When you’re researching tires online, a UTQG will come up next to the tire name in three digits and a number (ex. 500 A A).

You can glean a bit of info from the tires by reading this rating:

• 500 - The durability rating of a tire, compared to a control tire with a treadlife of 100. To obtain a grade, tires run on a 640 kilometer course for 11,520 km. Every 1,280 km, the tread depth is measured, to provide a projected tread life. The higher the number, the longer the predicted treadlife.
• A - This is the Traction rating of a tire, which indicates how well a tire stops in wet conditions. The highest letter grade is AA, followed by A, B and C.
• A - The second letter in the UTQG is the Temperature rating, which indicates how well a tire holds up to extreme heat. A is the highest, followed by B and C.

Original equipment Firestone Destination A/T2 tires on the Ram 1500 earn a decent 540 A B UTGQ rating. Unless they are damaged, these tires could last as long as 54,000 miles before you need to replace them.

The other consideration is time. Each tire has a raised date code on the sidewall. The number begins with the letters “DOT” followed by 12 digits in three four-digit groups. The date code is the third group of four digits. To decipher the date of your tires, the first two digits represent the WEEK the tire was produced, and the second two digits represent the YEAR.

For example, if your tire’s date code is 3217, that indicates the tire was manufactured in the 32nd week of 2017, or some time between August 7 and 13th that year.

Once tires go beyond five years old, it’s time to consider replacing them. Tires are made up not just of rubber and steel or kevlar belts, but chemicals that help the tires resist UV rays, temperature changes and a lot of other environmental hazards. Those chemicals start to break down after five years or so, and the tires aren’t doing the job that they need to do.

Why Not Replace with Original Equipment Tires?

There’s no harm in replacing your tires with the shoes it came with from the factory. However, depending on what kind of driver you are, there are significant reasons to purchase something different.

You only need to purchase ONE set of tires for your car every four years or so, depending on how much you drive. When an auto manufacturer purchases tires, they buy them by the hundreds of thousands. For the manufacturer, the decision to choose a supplier one brand or another comes down to a price point.

For you, your consideration may be completely different. If you could get a tire that stopped 20 feet shorter for an additional $50 per tire over the original equipment, you’d probably do it. Similarly, if there was a tire that made less road noise for a minimal investment over stock, you’d probably decide on the slightly more expensive tire (that is, unless you’re trying to drown out the conversation of your back-seat-driving spouse.)

Changing Ram 1500 Tire Sizes

Depending on the year and model, you may be shopping tires to fit anything between 15-inch for older models to 22-inch wheels with various widths and sidewall sizes along the way. It is possible to change the wheel and tire sizes, but a general rule of thumb is to keep the total diameter of wheel and tire the same. So, that means that downsizing an 18-inch wheel to a 17-inch wheel would include a proportionate upsizing of the tire sidewall to compensate.

Downsizing wheels has its advantages. Benefits include:

• Better ride quality – More rubber means more cushion for poor road conditions.
• Cost reduction – Big tires are expensive, so moving to a smaller wheel size will mean less costly tire purchases.
• Seasonal changes – Winter and snow tires are available for a larger selection of smaller wheel sizes and the narrower footprint will provide better traction.
• Off-road – Many people choose to downsize wheels for off-road use to increase the vehicle’s shock absorption capabilities and bump traction on loose surfaces.

On the other side of the coin, going up in wheel size has its benefits:

• Better handling – Slimmer profile tires makes for less rubber to move around.
• Better looks – This one’s subjective, but many people feel that larger wheels look better than smaller wheels with more rubber.
• Better braking – Larger, wider wheels provide a bigger patch of rubber on the ground to slow the vehicle, reducing braking distance.

How to Read Tire Sizes

When reading tire sizes, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean. The Ram 1500’s 22-inch wheels come with 285/45R22 114H XL all-season tires:

• 285 - indicates the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters. This tire is 285 millimeters wide
• 45 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. In this case, it’s 45 percent or of the tire’s width.
• R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire and have fabric woven in at various angles with tread that is strengthened with additional layers of rubber
• 22 - indicates the wheel diameter
• 114 - is the tire’s load rating
• H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph

You may have noticed that the Ram 1500’s two tire sizes have different diameters and also different aspect ratios. Generally, automakers choose tires that have the same outer diameter. This allows them to have only one speedometer setting.

Now that you know what comes on the new Ram 1500 and how to read the size numbers, let’s look at the different types of tires available to you. Depending on the type of driving you’re doing, where you live, and the weather, you have a variety of choices for tire types:

• Touring and All-season tires - provide a smooth ride, good wet and dry traction, decent winter traction, and longer tread life. These tires are acceptable for winter use but can’t be expected to provide the traction and stopping power that a dedicated winter tire can.
• Performance tires - are focused on providing confident handling, better wet and dry traction, and a sporty feel. Their higher grip and speed ratings come with a tradeoff of shortened tread life and reduced ride quality.
• All-terrain tires - are built to maximize off-road traction and provide good durability overall. Their construction means more noise and less comfort on the road, but winter traction and tread wear is acceptable.
• Winter and snow tires - are made with special rubber compounds that maintain grip and pliability when temperatures drop. They are also built with special tread patterns to maximize the vehicle’s ability to start and stop on very slippery roads.

Tire Sizes By Year

Read more on the Best Tire Deals available here.

See our overall recommendations for Best Tires

See our recommendations for the 10 Best Tire Brands for 2024