The advice Kevin gave on tires was to buy tires from Sam's Club or Cooper AT3 tires from Duluth Tire. The AT3s have a more aggressive tread than the Michelins that I had. Since I try to buy local I called Duluth Tire. Duluth Tire told me that the AT3s in the size I wanted were on back order.
I called back a week later and a week later and … Somewhere along the line I was told that there was a strike. I sent an email to customer service at Cooper and was told that they were working through a big backlog. A search of the web gave me the info that actually Cooper had locked out its union employees at its Findlay, Ohio plant. Oh boy, do I buy the Coopers produced by substitute workers or do I buy other tires probably not made in America. Do I buy tires made in my home state and in a town I worked in one summer? Or from somewhere else?
On one of my trips through the part of Duluth where Duluth Tire is located, I drove by. Oh, they also sell Firestone and Bridgestone. OK, I'll stop in soon just to see what choices I have.
I did so last Friday afternoon when it was snowing. Surprise! They had received eight AT3s that morning. I'll take four! We are busy; can you come back Monday? Well, OK. Oh, a bay just opened up, we can do it now. Super!
Less than an hour later, the tires were on and the spare back underneath. I wrote the check for a few dollars less than I had expected. I got in my SUV, turned on the ignition, and saw the low tire light was on. I went back in and was told the computer would reset itself once I started driving. Sure enough, it went off before I left the parking lot.
The cost of the tires may seem like a lot, but the safety I bought is priceless. These tires stop easily on packed snow. One of my tests was to go up a steep hill with a stop sign at the top. I went up slowly without a slip. I timed it so that the vehicle in front of me was out of the intersection when I got to the top. I'm not sure if I stopped or rolled slowly into the cross street. However I did it, there was nary a spin.
The next day we drove to the cabin on packed snow, 40-50 mph depending on the curves. The tires held beautifully. I should have replaced the skidders long ago.
