Best tires for overlanding on stock suspensions, no lift?

Unfortunately those are consumer survey reports. I'm curious as to the context in which the tires are judged. 9.3 for offroad? I dont think so.

 

Yeah I take that report with a grain of salt, but sometimes consumers are more honest than the sales guy.

 

After having Ko2's I can honestly say they are a good tire but they do not last long. On the east coast our off roads have shale and cut hard. The toyo open country 2's or 3's are the best all rounder.on a side note they handle towing way better as well.Cheers Bud

 

This thread is 5 years old. Pretty sure he's purchased tires by this point.

 

Whoops thought I was on new members stock overlanding newbie mistake.

 

Optimized for both overlanding and long highway travels is a unicorn tire. Generally speaking, those two use cases are on opposite sides of the spectrum. What makes a tire great and durable for overlanding, likewise generally make the vehicle that wears it less comfortable and less fuel efficient for on-pavement cruising, and vice-versa.

You can't go wrong on a stock Taco OR with stock sized BFG KO2s LT-rated tires for overlanding. LT not P-metric tires, E load rated, so much more durable and pinch/puncture resistant than the P-metric "AT" on/off highway rubber that comes on the truck, and most of the P-metric "AT" on/off highway alternatives that LOOK more like real off road tires, really aren't where it counts in the durability department.

That said, your fuel economy, which is not very good to begin with given our antique 6AT, will be even less good after installing 4x50# KO2s. They'll be stiffer riding and louder than stock on the highway as well, so the cabin will become much better for off roading and somewhat worse for long highway driving.

Another option which I have not tried personally (I've run BFG KO2s on other vehicles) but is purportedly an LT tire with a D load rating, so should have respectable overlanding durability and puncture resistance, is the Hankook AT2 Extreme. It'll likely be stiffer than stock and nosier than stock, but not as stiff and noisy as E-rated BFG KO2s, and also not quite as rough-condition durable.

I'm also in the tire shopping mode for a 2022 TRD Off Road LB used for backcountry camping on BLM land in the US western states and desert southwest. Thus far I am carrying and extra full sized spare (+1 over the stock bed mounted spare) and running the stock Goodyears on all 6 wheels. I picked up a stock wheel takeoff with the tire and tire pressure monitor on Ebay for $230, hence having 6 stock tires presently. (Yeah, if I had a place to store dual sets; one for highway and one for not highway), that is what I'd do, but alas, I have too many other hobbies competing for garage space.)

I've experienced three punctures on moderate graded dirt and unmaintained two-tracks in 8000 miles, two of them on the same day, same run, meaning that I am lucky to have had the second full sized spare. The Goodyear Territories are very pleasant long highway trip P-metric truck tires with an "off roadish" looking tread pattern, and have adequate traction coupled with the vehicle's mechanical assistance systems for the kinds of routes I take. What they lack is sufficient durability to be trusted on multi-day off-pavement runs, if you plan on doing this a lot. I do 2-4 week-long backcountry trips a year on average.

Once the stock main four tires (I don't rotate in the underbed or extra spare as I am looking to go a different direction) are showing wear symptoms in highway driving, I'll jettison all 6 Territories in favor of either (probably) the BFG KO2s in stock size, load class E, LT build, swap on Base 1400# Sumo Springs, front and back, in place of the stock bump stops. And be happily ever after for my particular needs. Though there's a small chance I will try the Hankooks just to try something I haven't tried before, but because I am buying 6 new tires rather than 4 (4 mains and 2 full sized spares) would hate to buy something I ended up not liking for my needs.

Love to hear comments from anyone who has bitten the Hankook hook, and likes or dislikes them for fire roading and light two track routes.