Advice On Replacement Tires

[stikine]

The BFG AT T/A KO (315/70/R17D) that came on my van have chunks of tread missing from the outside of the treads (from hitting rocks) and lots of small, shallow cracks in the middle of the tread and I'm trying to figure out what to replace them with. They only have 28,000 miles on them, but maybe that is par for the course on these 10,000 lb rigs.

I have read plenty of other posts and there does seem to be a persuasive argument made for going with E rated tires for the heavier build up that allows higher PSI and/or max load per tire as compared to D rated tires, which in turn gives a greater safety margin for these heavy rigs.

I was looking at the BFG MT T/A KM2 (305/65/R17E) which is about 1.5" smaller in diameter, is E rated, but has the same max load, 3195 lbs as my AT's but does allow 65 PSI as compared to 50 PSI for my old tires. I realize there will be more noise on the highway, not very good on ice but they do get very good reviews on rocky dirt roads, where I often find myself. I also realize the speedometer will be off a bit, as it was flashed for the BFG AT's.

The other options are to replace with the same tires, or I do see where the Nitto Terra Grapplers (305/70R17E) at 3640 lbs max load seem well liked on this forum, though they don't have a very aggressive tread, they would seem to be a very good all around tire.

Any thoughts appreciated.