Backcountry Tire Question

Outdoors24

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2015
Messages
175
Maybe it’s is an odd question, but for those that spend a lot of time out in the desert on roads/trails what type of tire do you run on your vehicle? I got a new Tacoma a while back and I am starting look into the type of tires I should get when the current ones wear out. I have spent a lot of time on Tacoma forums reading about their recommendation, but I imagine most of those people don’t significant amounts of time in the desert. So I figured I would ask here and see what people run. Right now I have been looking at the different tire load ranges. Some run load range E but others say it is not needed, where a SL tire or load range C tire would work just fine. I am trying to figure out what would work best for remote trips.
 
On my Nissan Frontier ... Cooper Discoverer ATW LT. Load range E. Added bonus they are great in the snow.

On my Chevy trailboss ... Goodyear wrangler duratrac LT load range C. Not bad either.

Both have seen lots of gravel, sandy stuff. Like the Coopers as in the slickrock trails around Moab.
 
I agree. I have 60K on them & they still have 10mm tread depth ( 18mm new ).

Running them on my third vehicle now. Great on trails and icy mountain passes both.
 
I have had BigO Bigfoot AT's (31×10.50 r15) for years, with a full load in the bed for extended time out (weeks to months). Mojave, Colorado Plateau, Rocky Mountains. Snow ,mud, sand, rock. Never had a flat or been stuck. 4wd helps with the stuck part of course. And they are reasonably priced. Have thought about changing it up, but don't see how paying more for the same performance (hopefully) benefits me.
 
appreciate this thread!

my 2-year-old 4runner is on the tires it came with (which aren't great, but have taken some significant abuse w/o problems so far) and I've been starting to think about what to put on it next...
 
Falken Wildpeak AT3W is the best IMO. All my tires see heavy rough FS road use so I've never had any tire last more than a year, but the falkens have never left me stranded or having to change a tire no matter how bad the road
 
Happy after 4 years with Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT on the Tacoma. E rated as our FWC camper stays on for 6 months of the year. Most of the mileage has been on pavement but they do see regular duty on gravel and rougher forestry roads. Desert experience is limited to our annual fall trips, but they handle the typical Utah-Arizona mix of sharp rocky and sandy backroads just fine. As Bob says- decent in snow but I switch them up for true winter tires from December to April.
 
The a
ATW Coopers have the three peak snow rating on them... Where I'm at can be found on roads the better part of 6 months
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Both the Wildpeaks and the KO2s are my top choices. It seems like I may need to do some research on the Cooper tires that were suggested.
 

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