I'm getting new tires for my 97 T 4WD. I do most of my driving on the road (~90%). I don't do any serious off-roading, not intentionally anyway. Sometimes it does get a little hairy when we're scouting out new hunting spots but I don't look for trouble.

I have Michelins on both of my vehicles now and am very pleased with them but I have the wandering eye. I know that a lot of you run Bridgestone Revos and love them. My big question concerns how well they keep their balance. I've had the Michelins balanced once in the 23K that I've owned the truck and that's because they were out of balance when I bought it.

I'm trying to weigh my options because I believe I can get the tires for about the same price but I'm moving soon and if I go with our local tire store, which I really like, I'll be paying for balancing after I move. If I buy from Sam's, I'm covered for the life of the tires.

If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. Hopefully you can help me make my decision.

I've got 38,000 on my Bridgestone Dueler ATs and have not had any need to rebalance them. I'm also a long time Michelin tire user and was cautious (and concerned) about going non Michelin.

I've been very pleased with them... outstanding performance with regard to not hydroplaning in standing water..

The only caution (and in my experience, this is true with any wide tread tire with large, deep tread blocks that have tread pattern cuts running across the tire from side to side) is rotate them say every 5-7k miles from front to rear and, especially make sure your front end alignment is perfect (particularly make sure it has only the minimally required amount of toe-in) to avoid outer edge, leading/trailing tread block wear at the front.

I measure my tread depth across the tire every time I change the oil and, if there's any significant difference in depth, it's time to rotate them so the wear evens out on the rear.

Thank you. I was worried about going away from Michelins only to find that the Revos would need balancing every 10K miles. Good advice on checking tread depth too. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I have been pleased with my Bridgestone Dueler AT's as well. Quiet on the highway, good grip in rain/snow, and they seem to be wearing well. I also rotate mine with every oil change (front to back).

Only time I have to rebalance is when I lose a weight (not the tire's fault). <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

I generally rotate with oil changes (5k) as well.

Thank you gents. I will be calling the tire store today to check price and availability, work permitting.