Advice for a Rocky-Mountain-Rookie?

I will be moving to CO (a bit west outside of Denver) for work in the coming weeks.

I have a '16 Tacoma SR5 4x4. I haven't made any serious upgrades yet. But I am looking forward to taking full advantage of the environment CO has to offer.
So upgrades are inevitable.

First on my list is tires. What seasonal/year-round configuration works best for y'all in CO?
Next is probably some skid plates.
After that. Not really sure.
What do y'all think are some essentials/do's-and-don'ts for a Taco interested in trails/camping out there?

*Any and all input is greatly appreciated. Can't wait to get out there!

 

Hey what's up man Glad to hear you're moving out, you wont be disappointed!
As for tires, there are mainly four choices for year-round tires and I'm going to put them in order of my preference/bias
#1 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
#2 Cooper Discoverer S/T MAXX
#3 Hankook Dynapro ATM
#4 BFGoodrich KO2 (Great tire... just a personal bias against them)
And yeah man I think you're on the right track, good tires and proper armor will get you through 80% (or more) of our trails. also not sure if you are lifted yet, but ground clearance is a heavy factor as well, "Rocky Mountains and whatnot".. If not already I would budget for a small lift before you buy tires, so you can buy the size you want right out the gate. Buy once cry once! Good luck man hopefully some other members chime in.

 

Rok's tire list seems pretty representative. Only thing I'd say is that if you're around here long enough, you'll find people either love or hate Duratracs and KO2s. Depending on whose opinion you're getting, either one will be great or terrible. The other two people generally like and don't have much negative to say about, with Coopers getting more talk time. I think most people run one set year round. I wanted a street set and an off-road set, but cost and storage just aren't all that practical.

I've heard a few different times sliders before skids if you can't do both at the same time. I'm just going to put that out there and let others argue for/against.

After that you'd probably be looking at lift (which as Rok says affects tires, but those are already expensive enough so a lift might put you out a bit further - best to start budgeting for it early) and bumpers. Even if you don't do a full bumper up front you might want to consider something that provides better recovery points. Like a lift and tires, there's arguments to be made for wait and do it all at once vs. spend more overall and do a small upgrade first and then what you really want to end up with later.

As far as essentials, you'll want basic recovery gear - shackles, recovery points, strap or two. Other things become more essential the harder stuff you do - like shovels, a winch, hi-lift, maxtrax... Not sure where you're coming from, so can't really say what might be different than you're used to in terms of camping/weather/wheeling/etc.

 

Come on everyone knows that Duratracs are the best (just limited size selection), No one listens to Asher (& he owns a turd gen) thus his anti- Duratrac rants.

 

Get a pack rack from All-pro and put a RTT on it. Then some good MTs and that will get you in more places than you would believe. I did a ton of exploring deep in the mountains while I was stock with only mud tires. But when I started upgrading I did a 3" lift, then front bumper and winch together, then 35s and then sliders. Next I'm planning something with the rear bumper and skids.

 

Cooper STMaxx FTW

 

BFGs last a lot longer than Duratracs in my club (Rising Sun 4WD of Colorado). It's the sidewalls and the Goodyears just can't take the punishment from rocks and roots. But honestly you'll be fine with any typical AT tread over pavement treads.

I wouldn't worry about the rest of the upgrades unless you're already an experienced 4WD trail driver. Most of it is farkle for mall cruisers. I find that going with a group of experienced people was the best training and seeing what they and I actually used. Knowing now what I didn't back when, I would say AT tires, gasoline and sliders are all you need to start out.

With a little skill (practice, practice, practice!) and good spotters your stock junk can get through a whole lot of stuff. My last truck spent several years on 30x9.50 tires with an add-a-leaf and lots of camping gear before I started making money to upgrade it.

This was around 2001 on the trail up to Wheeler Lake near Fairplay on Hoosier Pass. I'd only had the truck about a year at this point, completely stock except for the upgraded 15x7 stock steels and tires. I did remove the front chin air dam but that was it.

 

Can a newbie join in on your next trail run? Trying to find more trails to explore, being new to off roading, don't want to beat up my new truck.

 

I'm sure there will be more runs as weather improves. I don't mind doing some easier trails with newbies. Of course it will be in my Xterra lol, Taco isn't getting wheeled for a while.

 

Even my local tire shops are biased to one or the other. Regardless, both tires are 3Peak rated for snow, which is a Big deal if you are only going to roll on one set of tires. IMO KO2s are heavier with the 3 ply sidewalls and Duratracs are louder. In my area, Chaffee County, all the Forest Service and DOW trucks are shod with Duratracs.

 

I wouldn't read too much into this. Goodyear may just have a better corporate sales program or just came in at the lowest price. The USFS trucks are usually Chevys and that's not necessarily because they are the best. Could be Goodyear was the only one to bid on the contract or something.

 

Having worked for them myself, I know this to be false. Having spent a few years in CO National Guard with many LEO's and EMS folks from up there and not to mention the HAATS at Eagle, they all swear by them and use on their own vehicles. But even I can acknowledge Coopers have gotten better.

So much hate for an American tire maker is unreal.

 

The guy who bought my original rims needed to move to 17s because he could get all the free tires he wanted from a buddy who worked at the USFS but only in 17s. Also, the big complaint people keep mentioning is sidewalls. How often are sidewalls at risk where LEOs and EMS typically drive on roads? I'm not saying they're bad tires or that I hate them or anything. But I also know something about how government contracts (or even private party for that matter) work, and the product itself isn't at the top of the considerations list. Truth is, every tire is the best (or worst) if you use the right measuring stick.

 

St maxx are awesome. Great hybrid between an AT and an MT, they've got a beefy sidewall, and they're relatively quiet.

 

Copy that.

I know BFG is owned by Michelin, so I guess they are actually French. The sidewalls on my KO2s say made in USA. Sort of like my Tacoma, Japanese company, US-made. I'll admit that my previous truck was specifically Japanese-built and that wasn't a coincidence.

I don't hate Goodyear, I consider them any time we're shopping for car tires. I've had good luck with BFG ATs so is it possible that I just simply spent my money on something that I perceive to be the higher value? I didn't mean for it to be a political statement when I bought them, it's just my personal experience and club observations.

 

Thank y'all 10x10!
This is an awesome amount of critique and information.
Though it might take a minute for me to raise the funds, my next post will be of the addition/s I've decided to make first(ish) and foremost.
Thanks again for all the (wonderfully specific) information

 

@4AM_TacoTruck We do 95% of our posts in Colorado BS thread https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/colorado.172/ (Much more traffic)

 

Welcome!

I'd second getting a lift then tires for the sole reason to make sure you don't see any subarus next to your camp spot . I would check out both traildamage.com and trailsoffroad.com before attempting anything (especially solo) as they both have different ratings. I am a very average driver in a 2015 SR5 and my lift kit and tires all in was around 5k (icon stage 1 lift with toyo MT...great tire!), it has allowed me to check out the good parts of CO.

 

I'm partial to traildamage.com, but maybe that's because I'm a member.

 

Traildamage is an awesome resource but it could use a face lift and some new functionality (some navigable trail maps would be nice)