Truck Tire Time

[HAB]

My 2000 Tacoma was regrettably totaled when some dipshit turned out in front of me. I'm now in a 2021 Tacoma (TRD Sport, since it's the only way to get a manual transmission and long bed). The stock tires are useless in snow, and I'm trying to decide what I want to do about it.

I had BFG KOs on the 2000, and drove those year round. They're obviously not as good as a dedicated snow tire, but were good enough for my purposes (Western WA, so rarely driving in snow apart from going skiing, and then a lot of dirt roads in the summer).

Seems like my options are:

1) Ditch the stock tires for KO2s or similar. Unload the stockers on CL for probably not that much money.
2) Get a second set of wheels of CL from someone absolutely had to have Methods or whatever and put dedicated snows on them for what's left of ski season. Hope that the stock tires are good enough for my summer use. Which, again, lots of forest service roads but no real off roading.
3) Make do with the stock tires for what little snow driving I have left this season, and see how they work for me in the summer. Figure out if I want to do option 1) or 2) for next winter on that basis.

What says the collective?

[Dantheman]

Yokohama G015 is kind of a mix between an AT and a highway tire.

I put the Yokos on my truck last summer (265/70R 17, E-rated LT flavor). Discount had them for $180/ea at the time which I thought was a prety good price, but somehow they're even cheaper now. I've done some pretty serious snow driving with them and last month got into some wicked mud on a job site (left behind 6-12" deep trenches, required 20 minutes at the car wash afterwards) and I've been very impressed.

[skaredshtles]

My 2000 Tacoma was regrettably totaled when some dipshit turned out in front of me. I'm now in a 2021 Tacoma (TRD Sport, since it's the only way to get a manual transmission and long bed). The stock tires are useless in snow, and I'm trying to decide what I want to do about it.

I had BFG KOs on the 2000, and drove those year round. They're obviously not as good as a dedicated snow tire, but were good enough for my purposes (Western WA, so rarely driving in snow apart from going skiing, and then a lot of dirt roads in the summer).

Seems like my options are:

1) Ditch the stock tires for KO2s or similar. Unload the stockers on CL for probably not that much money.
2) Get a second set of wheels of CL from someone absolutely had to have Methods or whatever and put dedicated snows on them for what's left of ski season. Hope that the stock tires are good enough for my summer use. Which, again, lots of forest service roads but no real off roading.
3) Make do with the stock tires for what little snow driving I have left this season, and see how they work for me in the summer. Figure out if I want to do option 1) or 2) for next winter on that basis.

What says the collective?

I'd do 3) but mostly 'cause I'm lazy and it *is* March...

[Conundrum]

My 2000 Tacoma was regrettably totaled when some dipshit turned out in front of me. I'm now in a 2021 Tacoma (TRD Sport, since it's the only way to get a manual transmission and long bed). The stock tires are useless in snow, and I'm trying to decide what I want to do about it.

I had BFG KOs on the 2000, and drove those year round. They're obviously not as good as a dedicated snow tire, but were good enough for my purposes (Western WA, so rarely driving in snow apart from going skiing, and then a lot of dirt roads in the summer).

Seems like my options are:

1) Ditch the stock tires for KO2s or similar. Unload the stockers on CL for probably not that much money.
2) Get a second set of wheels of CL from someone absolutely had to have Methods or whatever and put dedicated snows on them for what's left of ski season. Hope that the stock tires are good enough for my summer use. Which, again, lots of forest service roads but no real off roading.
3) Make do with the stock tires for what little snow driving I have left this season, and see how they work for me in the summer. Figure out if I want to do option 1) or 2) for next winter on that basis.

What says the collective?

For my Tundra, I found stock rims with studded snows on CL last summer. Drove stock tires until winter and put the snows on. Took original stock rims tires to tire shop and replaced with ATs, dumped stock tires. Put ATs on yesterday.

[anotherVTskibum]

My 2000 Tacoma was regrettably totaled when some dipshit turned out in front of me. I'm now in a 2021 Tacoma (TRD Sport, since it's the only way to get a manual transmission and long bed). The stock tires are useless in snow, and I'm trying to decide what I want to do about it.

I had BFG KOs on the 2000, and drove those year round. They're obviously not as good as a dedicated snow tire, but were good enough for my purposes (Western WA, so rarely driving in snow apart from going skiing, and then a lot of dirt roads in the summer).

Seems like my options are:

1) Ditch the stock tires for KO2s or similar. Unload the stockers on CL for probably not that much money.
2) Get a second set of wheels of CL from someone absolutely had to have Methods or whatever and put dedicated snows on them for what's left of ski season. Hope that the stock tires are good enough for my summer use. Which, again, lots of forest service roads but no real off roading.
3) Make do with the stock tires for what little snow driving I have left this season, and see how they work for me in the summer. Figure out if I want to do option 1) or 2) for next winter on that basis.

What says the collective?

I tried the "see how they work" portion of (3) on my F-150 and ended up cutting a sidewall on a forest service road, followed by installing the spare at 10k feet and being very grateful the weather was actually nice up there.

If your Forest Service roads involve sharp rocks and your stock tires are a highway-oriented variety, I'd suggest that ordering the AT tires you want is better than buying whatever you can get after you cut one, let alone bring forced to swap in the field.



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[Wes Mantooth]

My 2000 Tacoma was regrettably totaled when some dipshit turned out in front of me. I'm now in a 2021 Tacoma (TRD Sport, since it's the only way to get a manual transmission and long bed). The stock tires are useless in snow, and I'm trying to decide what I want to do about it.

I had BFG KOs on the 2000, and drove those year round. They're obviously not as good as a dedicated snow tire, but were good enough for my purposes (Western WA, so rarely driving in snow apart from going skiing, and then a lot of dirt roads in the summer).

Seems like my options are:

1) Ditch the stock tires for KO2s or similar. Unload the stockers on CL for probably not that much money.
2) Get a second set of wheels of CL from someone absolutely had to have Methods or whatever and put dedicated snows on them for what's left of ski season. Hope that the stock tires are good enough for my summer use. Which, again, lots of forest service roads but no real off roading.
3) Make do with the stock tires for what little snow driving I have left this season, and see how they work for me in the summer. Figure out if I want to do option 1) or 2) for next winter on that basis.

What says the collective?

Was your `00 a manual as well? If the KO2's were good enough in the winter to not get a ton of wheel spin on starts and met your needs then maybe just go with option 1 since in the new truck you have more weight and smarter traction control so it'll be better in snow off the bat. I have an `01 manual and run Duratracs year round in Western CO and definitely appreciate having a stronger knobbier tire like that for the summer and don't feel like I lose a ton in the winter (I honestly just hate driving a truck in the winter regardless even with dedicated snow tires).

Not sure which kinds of forest service roads you're driving but a huge plus of Duratracs (or something similar) for me is the sidewall strength and ability to run at lower pressures which I've found very helpful for a lot of the adventures we end up on. It's like all rocks here so being able to drop my pressure down to 19 and crawl over scree without worrying a ton about punctures is really nice peace of mind, plus the improvement in grip is obviously insane. Without a rear locker on the Sport it may be nice to have that extra grip when climbing loose dirt. But all depends how rough the roads get - if it's just washboardy graded dirt and you don't often find yourself in 4lo and dropping tire pressure you can likely get away with stocks no problem, or at least give them a shot for a month or two

[HAB]

I tried the "see how they work" portion of (3) on my F-150 and ended up cutting a sidewall on a forest service road, followed by installing the spare at 10k feet and being very grateful the weather was actually nice up there.

Yeah, as much as I'd like to not bother doing anything yet, I'd also like to avoid that scenario. Or getting stuck trying to get to a trailhead for spring touring. Scared myself a little in a couple inches of half-melted, refrozen glop the other day. I've got chains from my old truck, but of course they don't fit the stock tires on the new one.

[Meadow Skipper]

I'd do 3) but mostly 'cause I'm lazy and it *is* March...

Annnddd, people driving around on OEM tires pretty much guarantees there’ll be lots of punishing snow storms.

And HAB, I've been using Michelin LTX A/T2s on my 4Runner year-round, probably in more snow than you, but still a lot of dry pavement (northern NM), and they’re just great. Cheaper than KOs I believe.

[skaredshtles]

Annnddd, people driving around on OEM tires pretty much guarantees there’ll be lots of punishing snow storms.

So we'll call that a win, right?

And HAB, I've been using Michelin LTX A/T2s

Great minds and all that...

[HAB]

Was your `00 a manual as well? If the KO2's were good enough in the winter to not get a ton of wheel spin on starts and met your needs then maybe just go with option 1 since in the new truck you have more weight and smarter traction control so it'll be better in snow off the bat. I have an `01 manual and run Duratracs year round in Western CO and definitely appreciate having a stronger knobbier tire like that for the summer and don't feel like I lose a ton in the winter (I honestly just hate driving a truck in the winter regardless even with dedicated snow tires).

Not sure which kinds of forest service roads you're driving but a huge plus of Duratracs (or something similar) for me is the sidewall strength and ability to run at lower pressures which I've found very helpful for a lot of the adventures we end up on. It's like all rocks here so being able to drop my pressure down to 19 and crawl over scree without worrying a ton about punctures is really nice peace of mind, plus the improvement in grip is obviously insane. Without a rear locker on the Sport it may be nice to have that extra grip when climbing loose dirt. But all depends how rough the roads get - if it's just washboardy graded dirt and you don't often find yourself in 4lo and dropping tire pressure you can likely get away with stocks no problem, or at least give them a shot for a month or two

Yeah, the 2000 was a manual too. KOs (the older ones, not KO2s, FWIW) were good enough in snow for my needs.

Cutting a sidewall on the OE tires is a worry. The stuff I'm on most of the time isn't CO levels of rocky, but much more so than basic graded dirt.

[Bronco]

If you were really buried to the axles, it's unlikely tread would've helped.

As for @Peruvian, he did specifically state "not really any class IV or four-by expected" so I would anticipate 30' long mud holes would not be on the menu.

It is likely AT's wouldn't have made a difference but I wouldn't have felt so dumb getting stuck and asking for a pull. I figured a commercial tow would've been $2,000 from that location and I was lucky there was an F-350 with mudders willing to give me a pull. It was one of those spots that looked pretty tame, gravel going in and gravel on the other side. Just caught me by surprise.

[skaredshtles]

It is likely AT's wouldn't have made a difference but I wouldn't have felt so dumb getting stuck and asking for a pull. I figured a commercial tow would've been $2,000 from that location and I was lucky there was an F-350 with mudders willing to give me a pull. It was one of those spots that looked pretty tame, gravel going in and gravel on the other side. Just caught me by surprise.

You should probably buys some mudders for your truck.

[skaredshtles]

I'll be damned...

TIL that Michelin owns BF Goodrich.

[Wes Mantooth]

Yeah, the 2000 was a manual too. KOs (the older ones, not KO2s, FWIW) were good enough in snow for my needs.

Cutting a sidewall on the OE tires is a worry. The stuff I'm on most of the time isn't CO levels of rocky, but much more so than basic graded dirt.

I think you got your answer then - I'd definitely upgrade to an A/T tire with a good winter rating. I really like the Duratrac but it's a bit more expensive than the KO2

[Muggydude]

Anyone have experience with both Falken Wildpeak AT3W and BFG KO2?

Trying to decide which tires to put on my van conversion. Need it to wear relatively well on highway, but still provide good traction in ice and snow, and decent on dirt and mild off-road.

Leaning Falken, seems like people who have had both like them more. They’re also ~5 lbs lighter per tire than the KO2’s which will be nice for my (poor) gas mileage.

KO2’s do have more plies in the sidewalls I think, which is a little better for off-road durability


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[HAB]

I think you got your answer then - I'd definitely upgrade to an A/T tire with a good winter rating. I really like the Duratrac but it's a bit more expensive than the KO2

Yeah, that's probably the move.

Anyone have experience with both Falken Wildpeak AT3W and BFG KO2?

Also interested. Those, plus maybe Duratracs, are probably my shortlist right now.

ETA: The Falkens and Duratracs come in SL or E load ratings in the size I'd be looking at, whereas the BFGs are C or E. Don't think I want Es, but the BFGs in a C might be a worthwhile improvement for toughness? ~4300lb of truck, plus a canopy and a bit of gear, but nothing super heavy. No towing.

[Bronco]

You should probably buys some mudders for your truck.

Yeah but where do you draw the line? Lift? Lockers? Winch? Flare kit? Roll bar with KC Lights and full size spare tire attached? Nudie Mud Flaps??? Flat brim cap and White Framed Oakley's?????

I think I'll just try to avoid the mud holes. I'm getting too old for showing up to work with a vehicle that oozes mud every time it rains for the next month.

[bodywhomper]

Yeah but where do you draw the line? Lift? Lockers? Winch? Flare kit? Roll bar with KC Lights and full size spare tire attached? Nudie Mud Flaps??? Flat brim cap and White Framed Oakley's?????

I think I'll just try to avoid the mud holes. I'm getting too old for showing up to work with a vehicle that oozes mud every time it rains for the next month.

Flat brimmed hat, white tank top, and very baggie pants driving a llfted, blinged out truck... we call that look, “truck hop.”

[skaredshtles]

Yeah but where do you draw the line? Lift? Lockers? Winch? Flare kit? Roll bar with KC Lights and full size spare tire attached? Nudie Mud Flaps??? Flat brim cap and White Framed Oakley's?????

I think I'll just try to avoid the mud holes. I'm getting too old for showing up to work with a vehicle that oozes mud every time it rains for the next month.

You can probably get by with the non-AT tires, then.

[Wes Mantooth]

Yeah, that's probably the move.

ETA: The Falkens and Duratracs come in SL or E load ratings in the size I'd be looking at, whereas the BFGs are C or E. Don't think I want Es, but the BFGs in a C might be a worthwhile improvement for toughness? ~4300lb of truck, plus a canopy and a bit of gear, but nothing super heavy. No towing.

What size Duratracs you looking at? I have 32's and they're C rated which is nice for running lower pressures but I'm considering bumping up to 33 or 34's when I replace (16" rims) so I'd have to jump up to E for those. The E rating is definitely overkill for even a loaded up Tacoma (especially my first gen) but I would like some slightly bigger tires. KO2s are known for having slightly stronger sidewalls than the Duratrac, though I know a lot of people who run Duratracs and haven't heard of any sidewall shreds. I'm considering the KO2s to get something bigger with the C rating but I do love the Duratrac

[HAB]

What size Duratracs you looking at? I have 32's and they're C rated which is nice for running lower pressures but I'm considering bumping up to 33 or 34's when I replace (16" rims) so I'd have to jump up to E for those. The E rating is definitely overkill for even a loaded up Tacoma (especially my first gen) but I would like some slightly bigger tires. KO2s are known for having slightly stronger sidewalls than the Duratrac, though I know a lot of people who run Duratracs and haven't heard of any sidewall shreds. I'm considering the KO2s to get something bigger with the C rating but I do love the Duratrac

265/70R17. I was wrong, those come in a C rating too.

[Peruvian]

If you were really buried to the axles, it's unlikely tread would've helped.

As for @Peruvian, he did specifically state "not really any class IV or four-by expected" so I would anticipate 30' long mud holes would not be on the menu.

Clearly you haven't driven in Vermont during 'mud season'!

As for the GY Wranglers, they seemed to wear quickly (sub 40k miles) and only have a 25k warranty.

[Falcon3]

I’ll second the Geolandar G015 AT rec. I had issues with mine but it was the first year. Since then, the P-metrics were increased from 113T to 115T and it looks like they figured out the tread wear issue.

They’re the quietest AT I’ve used, best snow performance for AT, look more aggressive than street tires and ride like a road tire. Make sure you buy from somewhere that will work with you on the warranty though in case you get a bad set.

Mine were the 113T and only lasted 24000 miles on a 4Runner before they were down to 6/32. The sidewalls always felt flexy too. But I’d guess the recent models are much better. I’m looking at the 121/118 version in a 265/70r17 for my 1500 van.

[zion zig zag]

My last two tires have been the Hankook Dynapro ATM and before that Cooper Discoverer AT3. I thought the Coopers were a little better.

Here is Tirerack's list: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve....jsp?type=ORAT

For my next tire, I'd probably just pick the cheapest one in the top ten, which would be the Yoko GO15's it looks like.

[mcphee]

Put the Falken Wildpeak A/T on my AWD Sienna back in January. Small sample size of only 4k miles, but lots of snow and ice driving this winter and they've been great. Long highway trip and a 30 mile daily highway roundtrip to work and they're very comfy and not at all loud.

Another tire to take a look at is the Firestone Destination A/T. Had them on a '98 LR Discovery for 60k miles and a '00 Cherokee for 55k miles. Completely even wear, strong sidewalls, quiet at highway speeds, handles snow and ice like a champ. Also had them on a '55 CJ5 with a Chevy 327. Held up well under burnout conditions.