Vantage A/T Tire Review: Budget All-Terrains Tested on a Dodge Power Wagon

For drivers shopping for LT285/70R17 all-terrain tires, the Vantage A/T offers an unusually low entry price backed by promising early results. A set of four cost $681.09 for a 2005 Dodge Power Wagon, including the tires themselves. After a few thousand miles, they’ve proved quiet on pavement and capable on muddy farm lanes. Long-term durability is still an open question.

Why a new budget set made sense

The search began with used tires. Local tire shops and Facebook Marketplace had sets of recognizable all-terrain brands priced between $750 and more than $1,000. Many had 75 percent or less tread remaining, and some carried date stamps showing they were several years old. After weeks of looking, buying used seemed like a poor fit for a truck that needed tires now.

Discount Tire’s online “Entry Level All-Terrain” listing changed the calculation. At $127 per tire, it cost at least half as much as many new alternatives for the Power Wagon’s size. The trade-off was uncertainty: the listing said the entry-level brand could vary with availability, so the buyer couldn’t choose which tire would arrive. The order was placed online, with mounting and balancing scheduled for the truck’s factory Alcoa forged aluminum wheels.

The delivered tires were Vantage A/Ts, a brand the owner hadn’t used before. Their appearance made a good first impression, but the real test would be how they behaved across the truck’s mix of pavement, gravel and pasture tracks.

Quiet manners on pavement

So far, the strongest surprise is how civil the tires feel on the road. Ride quality and handling have been very good, with no vibration or other unpleasant behavior reported. Tire noise is nearly absent in the cab until about 40 to 45 mph, depending on the surface; above that, it remains modest. The reviewer found them quieter than some more expensive all-terrains tested previously.

Vantage says the tread uses variable-pitch-sequence blocks to reduce noise and vibration. The early driving impressions support that claim. Wet-weather performance has also been reassuring: the tread and shoulder sipes provide grip in rain, and the tires channel standing water away at speed without causing surprises for the driver.

For this LT285/70R17 size, the speed rating is Q, which the source identifies as good for 99 mph. Each tire has a load index of 121 and can support up to 3,195 pounds in a single-wheel application at the specified inflation pressure. Vantage lists a 50,000-mile limited tread warranty. Buying through Discount Tire also includes free tire rotation and balancing.

Farm roads and muddy tracks

The Power Wagon regularly travels gravel roads and muddy lanes in northern Illinois farm country, where it’s used to retrieve equipment and check fences. On washboard gravel and pothole-marked surfaces, the Vantage A/Ts have delivered predictable handling and solid traction, including at speed. So far, the tread has resisted chipping and chunking. One small nuisance: stones tend to remain lodged between the tread blocks longer than they do in some competing all-terrains.

The tires have also handled ruts and pasture trails, including contact with rut walls, without reported problems. Their sidewalls look comparatively plain, lacking the pronounced serrations and shoulder details seen on some all-terrain designs. The A/T has a 10-ply rating, two-ply sidewalls and a load range E rating, but the reviewer hasn’t yet encountered the sharp sticks or rocks that will provide a tougher durability test.

In this part of Illinois, the mud is often a slick layer about 2 to 3 inches deep over hard soil. That combination can make even modest climbs and descents tricky. The Vantage tires have carried the truck through muddy pastures and farm lanes without drama, and they cleaned themselves better than expected when given some wheelspin. They aren’t mud-terrain tires, but their performance has matched the owner’s needs so far.

The early verdict

Founded in 2014, Vantage sells several tire lines alongside the A/T: the Vantage SUV, the work-truck-focused Vantage HD, the Vantage M/T and the Vantage R/T. The company describes its range in terms of value, traction, handling and tread life. The A/T’s first few thousand miles suggest that low price doesn’t necessarily require a noisy or unsettled daily drive, though the available experience is still short.

At $681.09 for four tires, the Vantage set undercut the used options the owner found, while arriving new and delivering useful performance across pavement, rain, gravel and moderate mud. The tread warranty and included rotation and balancing add practical ownership details, but they don’t answer how well the tires will wear or how their sidewalls will fare over time. For now, the Power Wagon’s driver is satisfied; the longer-term test will be measured in tread life and the next encounter with sharp trail debris.