Allow me to preface this initial review with the disclosure that I have always been a BF Goodrich tire user, All Terrain T/As to be specific. The F150 was the first truck that I have driven home with the OEM tires, and I must be getting old because I got used to the smooth and quiet ride of the factory Goodyears. Anyway, onto the new tires...

After doing some research I came across the General Grabber AT2, which appears very similar in design to the All Terrain T/A (AT/TA) What appealed to me about the Generals was they are offered in two variations for my size, 'P' series and 'LT' versions [275/65R18). Checking a couple of local tire shops, the AT/TAs we coming in around $300 a tire while the 'P' series Grabber came in at $225.

Comparing specs the 'P' series were about 10 lbs lighter per tire, and knowing that they would be a softer tire I decided to take the savings and go with this option. I had them installed on Thursday morning and have about 500 kms of driving on them so far.

Initial impressions:
1. I love the look; I was mildly concerned about losing the outlined white lettering but I think the black sidewalls look fine. They certainly make the FX4 look like an appropriate truck.
2. I got a good balance from the tire shop, and the tires ride smooth as glass. Obviously this may change as they wear, but for an aggressive tire they are smooth.
3. The sound isn't as bad as I expected; despite the large gaps between tread blocks, I am only getting a minor roar at highway speed. The sound insulation of the truck is doing a sufficient job of noise abatement; no stereo volume adjustments needed.
4. Obviously it is too early to call fuel mileage, but from what I've seen over the 500 or so kms I expect to lose one or two tenths on my L/100 kms. I won't know for sure until next spring since the winter gas is killing my mileage anyway.
5. I haven't compared the specs on paper, but the Generals certainly look like they have a deeper starting tread than the AT/TAs did.
6. Cool fact: each tire is 'indexed' after manufacturing and is marked with a dot which they lined up with the valve stem location on each wheel. I can't think of another set of tires I've had where the tire and/or shop did this; the closest was Wheel Wizards in Hamilton - they entered the double 'O' in Goodrich over the stems.
7. Bonus: the tires have the snowflake symbol, which I believe entitles me to an extra discount on my insurance.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the purchase of these tires. I expect good snow performance and long life from these, and hope I'm not disappointed. Based on my initial impressions I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these tires to others looking for a reasonably priced all terrain tire.

 

looking to get a set of these myself. So you did go with the P version and not the LT?

 

I went with the P version for several reasons:
- lighter tire, therefore less unsprung weight. I don't tow or run loaded often so don't need the capacity of an LT rating
- based on experience with BFGs the only set I could ever get to wear evenly were the lighter version when I went to a 15" wheel (31x10.5) All my LT versions cut the outer edges fierce, could never figure out the correct pressure
- running the factory Goodyears spoiled me with a soft, quiet ride compared to what I was used to - wanted to not lose it all. Got the look without the performance penalty of having to run high tire pressures
- cost - P version was $75 per tire less than LT. I essentially got 4 for the price of 3

** Update **

So I've put about 3,000 kms on the new Grabbers and the honeymoon phase hasn't ended. Haven't found a downside to them yet, hopefully will get to test them in snowy conditions soon (I can't believe I just said that)

 

I put General Grabbers on my 96 not long after I had gotten the truck. I'm not exactly sure how many miles I put on the tires but I put about 60k miles on the truck while I had it and they were the only set of tires I put on it.

I don't remember having anything bad to say about them. I do remember they did great in the snow.