Sure is lonely up here eh?

[Swingpure]

Typical winter driving in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Photo is from 1 week ago. Running dedicated winter tires : Nokian Hakkapeliiitta R3 SUV plus 255 pounds of sand in the truck bed.

Those are likely thee best winter tires from everything that I have read and heard. I love my Toyo‘s, but reviews always put the Nokians ahead.

I will have to experience winter driving first hand with the Ranger (which will come soon enough) to see if weight is required in the back of the truck for our area. None of my friends do it, but they all have full sized trucks, except one.

Winter is a little early in the West this year. Your picture reminds me of driving to Sunshine to ski.

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[Swingpure]

Not that I am racing out to get one, but if all of the posts about dampers have you wanting one, this is the best price that I have seen on line for them In Canada: https://www.actiontrucks.com/product-detail/DEEDZ43206/truck-tailgate-assist

 

[Swingpure]

I had my winter wheels and tires installed today. The American Racing AR 915 wheels and Toyo Observe Si6 tires.

No real snow in the forecast for a little while, so I will have to wait to comment on how they perform on the Ranger in the snow.

I know the Toyo”s were excellent on my SUV.

 

[Swingpure]

There were some tires I liked on another thread, (BF Goodrich’s 265/70R17) that I may consider in the future, when the OEM ones wear out. I liked the look of them and I also liked that they fit on the OEM 17” wheels and that no lift or level was required.

i asked about this cost of them at a tire shop in Barrie and I also asked if he recommended a similar, but different tire, what would it be. This was his response:
“The BFG never goes on sale, it does come with a $70 mail in rebate in the spring and fall when you purchase 4, there $1284 installed plus tax

The other tire I would highly recommend is the Falken Wildpeak AT3W, there priced at $1006 installed plus tax“


The Falken’s are an aggressive looking tire, less expensive and at least got a good review on this Australian site: https://www.tyrereview.com.au/falken-wildpeak-at3w-long-term-review

 

[toddiscdn]

If I could find the Falkens Id have them on by now, but they seem to be unobtanium around here. Canadian Tire actually has them as a special order tire, my local parts girls says they are a "container tire" meaning a shipping container shows up at the supplier and thats your stock until the next one shows up which could be next year......

Same story with the local shops, tire craft and independents, as well as a couple Canadian online sellers I tried, they show stock, but dont actually have them.

Im sure someone has some laying around, but its 3hrs to Barrie

 

[Swingpure]

So I asked my tire guy in Barrie to rate the Falken tire against my Toyo Observes Si6’s for winter performance and this is what he said:

“The Falken is not a true winter tire, it’s a All terrain tire with the 3 peak mountain flake that you use all year around, the Falken would be about a 7 out of 10 for winter performance comparing it to the toyo”

Now if I lived in the GTA or the lower mainland and occasionally went off road or up north, or to the mountains, I would strongly consider the Falken or the BFG as my year round tire, depending on my commute. Videos show the Falken dealing with deep snow easily, but I think it would fall short on icy roads.

 

[Swingpure]

If I could find the Falkens Id have them on by now, but they seem to be unobtanium around here. Canadian Tire actually has them as a special order tire, my local parts girls says they are a "container tire" meaning a shipping container shows up at the supplier and thats your stock until the next one shows up which could be next year......

Same story with the local shops, tire craft and independents, as well as a couple Canadian online sellers I tried, they show stock, but dont actually have them.

Im sure someone has some laying around, but its 3hrs to Barrie

Joe’s Discount Tires in Sarnia may be able to order them for you. 519-344-8965

 

[toddiscdn]

Tried Joes already, no go for Joe

This is rural Lake effect country, nothing will beat a dedicated snow tire but Im good with an all terrain for year round. I ran at least a dozen sets of BFGs on different trucks and they did well in most conditions. The last couple sets after they changed to the KO2s seemed to wear badly or go "square" on me, so I kinda got put off on them. They are also a big heavy LT tire and I only tow a double enclosed sled trailer and a 16' tin boat so I dont really need all that beef either.

The Falkens look like a good option, little lighter as they come in a "P" design for my size, Nitto terra grappler with 3PMSF looks interesting too, kinda pricey though. With over 50,000km now Im thinking its time to find something different this winter.

 

[Okanagan Winemaker]

Had the GSI 6’s installed a couple of weeks ago and they had their first test. A typical Okanagan storm 10 cm’s around
O c. and lots of slush. They tracked well both at highway speeds and accelerating away

from lights. Lots of people in the
ditch !?.

 

[wanted33]

Waiting for my supercab in Qc. Normaly 2 weeks of wait left out of 11 ..!

Only 11 weeks? You're lucky Dave. I'm at 12 on my SuperCab, and still supposedly have until 12/10 before I see mine. Of course through experience Ford has no idea of when it will be delivered. They just throw a date at you hoping you'll be satisfied.

Hope yours arrives soon my friend. The wait is tough.

 

[Grumpy Old Guys Ranger]

I put Nokians on my Ranger last year and was very impressed with their performance on ice and in snow. With 4H on pulling away from a red lights while everyone else was spinning their tires on the polished ice was amazing. Got them from Kal tire in Barrie.

NOKIAN TYRES
HAKKAPELIITTA R3 SUV

 

[Swingpure]

I put Nokians on my Ranger last year and was very impressed with their performance on ice and in snow. With 4H on pulling away from a red lights while everyone else was spinning their tires on the polished ice was amazing. Got them from Kal tire in Barrie.

NOKIAN TYRES
HAKKAPELIITTA R3 SUV

They are certainly ranked as one of the top snow tires. I considered them, but we didn’t have a Kal Tire locally. Ironically because of troubles in our local tire shop, I bought my tires in Barrie. I have heard excellent experience with my Toyo’s, but your tire always come out on top in reviews.

 

[Swingpure]

I read on a lot of threads, members using their Ford Pass Points to purchase accessories. Is that just a U.S. thing, or have you also received any in Canada?

I have not received any and the dealer never talked about them at all.

 

[Swingpure]

Ranger sales up 71% in Canada! https://driving.ca/ram/column/driving-by-numbers/driving-by-numbers-canadians-are-picking-up-trucks

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

I read on a lot of threads, members using their Ford Pass Points to purchase accessories. Is that just a U.S. thing, or have you also received any in Canada?

I have not received any and the dealer never talked about them at all.

I emailed my sales guy at Thor Motors in Orillia - he confirmed it's only a U.S. thing.

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