Backcountry Vehicles

[Artemus]

No pics because it doesn't actually exist yet. I had to ogle a white one as they didn't have my color of choice in-stock. Mine doesn't even begin production until later this week and won't arrive at the dealer until mid-late December. Merry Christmas to me! But the pic below is basically what it would look like. The running boards are a little different though. The one they have coming has brushed stainless step boards.

I have the same inclination on the tires. They are happy to swap them out for me for whatever I want but they haven't given me a price on that yet. The Michelins did look okay on the white one I looked at, but not as mean looking as the BFGs. Reviews on Tire Rack seem to give the BFGs a slight edge but not huge.

I'm also going to add in remote start (won't fit in my garage) and a 3-piece folding tonneau. I like sleeping under the full tonneau but a folding one seems a bit more functional overall.

View attachment 36668

Merry Xmas! Nice ride. Except for the ladder steps to get in

You did get accolades for sticking your taco axle deep in the mud next to the San Rafael Reef but I haven't seen the same positive feedback for you bending your truck yet.

 

[Nick]

Considering how many trips it's taken to the car wash (3) to get my truck right after the last trip, I think that I should get some credit there. And you obviously haven't heard the story about me taking out the fence post...

 

[DAA]

You only get offroad cred for damage if it A) Happens on purpose while achieving a goal - "getting where you need to go" and B) you show that you clearly don't give a crap afterward.

Do it on accident (unless while attempting an obviously high risk factor obstacle) or show that you care, no props.

On the tires... The Mich's have a solid reputation, but, OEM tires are a shaky proposition. No idea on these specifically, but the tires from the factory are often an OEM spec - and often spec'd for low cost, at the expensive of quality. They may not have any outward identifying characteristics to differentiate them, either. I shredded a couple OEM GY Wranglers on one of my new trucks once and the guys at Discount told me the OEM's were total crap - showed me the same tire as they got them vs. the ones I'd shredded and you could see in the bead bundle that the OEM's were obviously weaker.

Like I said, may not apply to the Mich's on the Tundra, but, nobody at the dealer will know either. So, if you are even slightly inclined to get rid of them anyway, I sure as heck would!

And, in fact, I've had the OEM tires swapped out for the ones I wanted before taking delivery on my last three new trucks and have gotten killer deals on the new tires each time. The dealers have always been able to get better prices on the tires I wanted than I could get on my own, plus they have always given me some trade-in on the brand new take offs to boot. So you get a great price on the tires, plus can have it bundled into the purchase/finance if you wish (might be particularly attractive on a lease?).

For example, when I bought my current '13 Ram 1500, Discount Tire wanted $1525 out the door for the 4 Duratrac's I wanted. Dealer did them for me for $800 (after trade-in credit for take offs).

- DAA

 

[Nick]

That's very interesting on the OEM spec tires being different. My current truck has BFG ATs from the factory but I haven't noticed any issues. I think I'll probably go ahead and have them swap out the Michelins for the new BFG AT KO2's. They should be able to swap as soon as it comes off the truck so hopefully it doesn't cost too much.

 

[Aldaron]

A few weeks ago I put the BFG AT KO2s on my 4Runner and they were awful, which was surprising because the reviews on them are so good. But then I went to BFG's website directly, and they don't even recommend that tire for the 4Runner. Luckily, I just returned them and got another tire that isn't quite as aggressive, but it's better than the OEM tire. The lesson for me was to check with the manufacturer for tire recommendations rather than trusting the dealers.

 

[Nick]

What was awful about them? I've had them on Tacos and 4Runners and they were great for me.

 

[Aldaron]

They were really loud and bouncy/jumpy at certain speeds. It could have been an air pressure thing or something, but after seeing that BFG didn't recommend them for my vehicle, I just decided to take them back.

 

[Aldaron]

And I was stoked about them when I got them because they looked great.

 

[Nanda]

I replaced my stock tires with Bridgestone dueler revo2 all terrains on the 4runner. On road performance has been great, haven't noticed any loss of MPG and couple times I've taken it minor off roading, it has handled well. I have yet to try it out in southern Utah country though, hopefully sometime this winter.

 

[Nanda]

While on the subject, I also have these bad boys waiting to be mounted.

again, probably overkill for me but I love look of sliders on these vehicles.

 

[Mike K]

I think we need to split off a new thread and name it Backcountry Vehicle Tires.

 

[Udink]

Does anyone else see this sometimes when an image is posted? I've seen it now from several different users.

 

[Nick]

Does anyone else see this sometimes when an image is posted? I've seen it now from several different users.

View attachment 36777

I see it. It's something to do with Google hosted images.

 

[DAA]

Yeah, I see it too. The image thing.

Loving the KO2's on my 100 Series LC. Not that much different than a Runner and can't imagine they wouldn't be excellent on a Runner. Don't know what the issue was Alderon, but I'm confident that it wasn't actually the KO2's. The symptoms you mention do sound like a PSI thing. Hard to diagnose from here though, don't really even want to try. I think you got bad advice from several sources.

Just a simple fact, I have a lot of experience with AT tires. On a variety of platforms. Have worn out over a dozen sets, nearly a million miles on AT's, put it that way. Currently own and regularly drive three different kinds. Which has been my typical situation for more than 20 years. I'm telling you, KO2's are fantastic!

- DAA

 

[Aldaron]

Yeah, I suspect you're right. Unfortunately, I was leaving two days later for a road trip and I didn't have time to diagnose the problem. They had already put two different sets of the tire on it in the previous week, so I needed to get something on it that would work for the road trip. These tires I've got seem to be doing okay. I may try the KOs again on the next set.

 

[Nanda]

Fixed image, stupid G+ image hosting.

 

[WillisBodillus]

I just got a new backcountry monster. I think she handled the road up to Notch Peak pretty good.




Happy to be sporting the BackcountryPost.com sticker.

 

[steve]

It sounds like the titan cummins is actually happening. Whether you like it or not, it's nice to see a cummins in something other than a dodge.

Even better news for me is that the NV (van) will get the diesel too. That's great news for me.

 

[Artemus]

Yeah, I suspect you're right. Unfortunately, I was leaving two days later for a road trip and I didn't have time to diagnose the problem. They had already put two different sets of the tire on it in the previous week, so I needed to get something on it that would work for the road trip. These tires I've got seem to be doing okay. I may try the KOs again on the next set.

Could have been that you had a defective one too - or an infant failure. Sounds like a badly out of balance condition. Had that happen to me one time on two Goodyear Wranglers that were new. One bubbled/bulged on the sidewall in the first hundred miles, the second at a thousand miles. The bulge was bad enough you could feel the imbalance. This was recent and I am now an anti-goodyear tire owner. That was after great Wrangle experiences decades ago.

 

[Nick]

You're a Toyota guy Nick. Just get a Toyota. It's what Toyota guys do. Simple.

Quoting this for emphasis.

I think I bought a Ford today. And I LOVE it.