I spent a couple of years working for Town Fair Tire. I went in as a Tire Tech and came out as a Service Manager, I'm very familiar with the truck tires available and I hope I can help with your decision.
You said your vehicle was a 2001 GMC Sierra Ext. cab pickup. Since you didn't mention 4x4, I'm going to guess that you have the 2WD, which means:
235/75R16, or 255/70R16, vs.
245/75R16, or 265/75R16.
If this is the case, and since I don't own a Sierra, I'm not sure the suspension will be the same as the 4x4 model and allow for the full 265/75R16 meats, which would be the tallest option for stock alloy rims. Stock steel rims are narrower, so anything larger than 245/75R16 could rub under full lock. I'm fairly certain the appropriate size tire will work without hassle on your stock rims.
If you could provide your current tire size, 2WD or 4WD, and whether you have stock steel or alloy, I could be more specific in a following post.
I heartily agree that stock goodyear wrangler tires suck. They feel like marshmellow wrapped around your rim. I find the majority of goodyear wranglers, firestones, and uniroyals to be awful. For the price of a decent set, you can buy much better.
Several of the members here have already mentioned Michelin. Michelins are probably the most popular and reliable of any brand... and also one of the most expensive. Price aside, the LTX series and SUV tires are the best daily driver tires you'll find. They balance excellent, are very quiet, handle well, and have admirable grip/treadlife ratio. Michelin rubber in general tends to be on the harder side, so while this provides better treadlife and decent traction at normal temperatures, in cold weather they can get very hard, which will make them ride rough and lose traction.
Michelin LTX M&S - An excellent blend of traction versus street. If you spend most of your time on wet or dry pavement, these will last the longest, and ride best, while still giving you plenty of bite for dirt roads. These will handle mud just as well as the AT, because they share similar shoulder blocks and the lugs on either aren't wide enough to clear. As for rain and snow, the well defined and open/full circumferential channels (OFC channels, to refrain from typing) will dig down and keep the tires from hydroplaning or floating, and they have ample full depth sipes, which combined with this style tread pattern, make for excellent grip even when wet.
Michelin LTX AT - A more agressive pattern for snow and dirt, still decent in rain as well. You'll notice the OFC channels have been staggered, the lugs wider... this makes it louder and less effective at shedding water, but also reduces the amount of gravel and rocks thrown by the tire. OFC channels, such as the M&S, are prone to this. The OFC channels on the M&S, however, are relatively small, and won't be picking up anything large. The ATs while being more aggressive, won't last as long, be as quiet, or ride as smooth.
I consider the Cross Terrain SUV tires to be purely all season street tires. They just don't have the bite on sediment, though they are excellent on pavement. The A/S is also geared more towards street & treadlife, losing the beefy siped pattern of the M&S.
BFGs - Alot of people swear by them, and they do look good. Michelin makes BFG, and Uniroyal, and you'll find that you can't any of get these on sale except through manufacturer sponsored rebates. If you wanted something more aggressive than the Michelins, these are it. However, the rubber tends to wear faster, and they are all quite expensive.
BFG A/T - Purely a dirt, sand, and gravel tire. Will also work well in snow, but not enough lug seperation for mud, and no OFC channels to speak of. Grips well on pavement, but the interrupted center lugs and wide staggered shoulder blocks make this a very loud tire, and they tend to wear quickly. They do look good though.
BFG M/T - Known affectionately in my shop as "banshees". You really have to try to get a louder, choppier set of meats. Excellent for off-road, this pattern clears well, but the rubber is too soft, you'll be buying new tires quickly.
BFG Longtrail TAs - Large, gaping OFCs that are notorious for throwing rocks (and fairly large ones). Similar to the LTX M&S, these are primarily street tires, with decent grip for dirt, snow, and rain. If you have decent mudguards the rocks are less noticable.
Kelly Springfield - Decent tires, and more than likely, at a decent price. These strike me as a great value tire, and my boss used to run them on our delivery fleet. AWRs in the summer, MSRs in the winter.
Kelly Safari AWR - Distinctive block and solid shoulder make this a great tire for top-heavy vehicles. Corners very well, makes a great all season with enough tread to handle dirt, rain, and light snow.
Kelly Safari MSR - Heavy lug pattern, wears faster, loud (but not like the BFGs!). Good for heavy snow, mud, etc.
Kelly Safari SUV - as with the michelin SUV, a pattern for trucks that stay on the road, better tread life and traction.
Yokohama H/T - very tame, street all season
Yokohama Geolander A/T (II) - my personal treads. They have a unique block design, with solid shoulders for support and cornering. The channels are wide and staggered, but not enough to be loud or throw rocks. They are well siped, and have decent OFC channels. There are better tires out there, but if you want an aggressive tire for snow that makes a great daily driver, this is my choice. They have very competitive treadlife, and most tire shops get them at a substantial discount. My 30x9.5R15s cost me $70 each. I also find them very attractive.
Yokohama Geolander M/Ts - Directional Mud tires for prices that give Mud swampers and mickey-ts well deserved competition.
Bridgestone-Firestone... Many people prefer the Duelers for their trucks, I find most firestone, and the better bridgestones lacking. The price usually isn't that great, and some of them wear quickly/unevenly. Dunlops by far had the worst reputation for hops and poor balance for a street tire, but second would be firestone/bridgestone. Having said that, they do seem to be a popular tire, and the bridgestone is certainly more robust and well engineered than the firestone counterpart.
If you have the chance, take a look at the different tires side by side, sometimes it makes all the difference. Also if you regularly carry any load or your vehicle seems sloshy, the extra money spent on higher load & speed ratings is money well spent. Be sure you're at least buying a tire that can handle the weight and performance envelope of your vehicle, and keep them well inflated.
As an aside, Ford used higher load rating tires underinflated to soften the ride of the explorers. Actually, you'll find this is true with many other Fords, except explorers and bronco IIs were poorly engineered to begin with. The engineers who designed them said they were dangerously top heavy before they were released, and Ford's test drivers were not allowed to drive them before they had been fitted with outriggers. These same engineers were payed to keep quiet during the Bronco II crisis, then again to lie under oath concerning the explorers. Ford was using the underinflated stiffer tire trick to give their cars a softer ride... a dangerous trick for an already dangerous situation. Then, when a certain batch of Firestones failed to meet their safety factor (which Ford was relying on, and should not have been) the tires failed, and the trucks rolled. Had the tires been properly inflated, the tires more than likely would have been fine.
Back on topic, having had excellent experiences with the Michelin LTX M&S and Yokohama Geolander A/T, I'd have to recommend these. The M&S is the better tire for your description, but the Geo A/T is much cheaper and more aggressive. I hope some of you found this useful, and if anyone would like a specific opinion on a tire or would like me to go into more detail, you can PM me or post your questions, and I'll be happy to reply. There's just simply to much info on tire design and characteristics to squeeze into one post /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Good luck!
