Thoughts on E load K02 for 1st gen ?

I will be hauling this camper around in my truck bed soon, am running the OEM 15" aluminum alloy wheels in the picture, and will be buying the E load rated tires and have it installed on a set of OEM 16" 4Runner wheels similiar to the ones in the picture. It depends on how you want your truck to perform and what it can haul. I'll need my truck to be able to handle the load of the hard side truck camper in the picture so the load rated C or P tires on 15" wheels won't cut it for me.

 

Not trying to bash anyone here, but a 1st gen Tacoma has a towing capacity of 5,000lbs bone stock with regular suspension and P metric tires. A Tacoma with King suspension, E rated tires, and airbag helper springs has a towing capacity of... you guessed it... 5,000lbs. Adding heftier tires doesn’t mean you can tow or haul more weight. IMO if a Tundra, Silverado, or F-150 can tow 8-10,000lbs with P metric tires from the factory, those same tires can easily handle the 4-5000lbs someone will tow with a Tacoma.

 

I don't run E rated tires for towing, I run them because they are far more indestructible on the trails than a lighter load tire. And you can air them down much lower for better traction without the risk of popping a bead.

 

Can’t remember the guys name on here’s but this fella runs Cs and does not have any issues with the lava rock in Hawaii. he’s a Automotive engineer if that rings any bells.

 

Fair enough. But many guys try to make the towing argument...

 

yeah and I would agree that it's unnecessary for any generation of Tacoma to run Es just for the sake of towing, definitely overkill

 

Once the stock tires went out have been running E rated BFGs for 14 years now. The first Gen BFGs were tough lasted me 10 years and the guy at discount said I could go a couple more years. They got rock hard and a little wobbly here and there. I have the KO2 E rated and they are great. Lot softer ride and balances really well. Not one wobble yet a 85 mph. I do a lot of urban cruising not much wheeling unless its snows.

 

Running E rated 265/70-16 Toyo Open Country Mud Terrains . No problem on my 02 DC Tacoma Pre Runner 4cyl

 

I've run 235/85-16 BFG AT KOs in Load Range E for about eight years on my Gen 1 DC 4WD TRD with Old Man Emu suspension (first a 2001 and for the last two on my 2003) always a with bed cap or tonneau. The ride quality is excellent. The speedometer (and gearing) is about 3% under indicating as a result of sidewall height.

They're wearing like iron on a mostly-road with some dirt and offroad driving. They do like to be rotated every 5k miles or they start to get noisy and choppy, which is cured by rotation. (That's a BFG AT characteristic IMO, at least for the first two generations as my XJ Cherokee was the same -- all of 'em with in-spec alignments).

The 235/85-16 size works well on our Tacomas, again IMO, although it's not as meaty as some people like. I'm running the same size in KO2 on my 2015 Gen 2, and the latest version seems to be quieter and better-running than the KO.