Need Opinions/Wisdom on Tire Options...

Heyas... Looking for some thoughts or opinions on replacement tires from the wonderful knowledge pool here.

Here is my setup, sorry if long or winding, and hopefully not to full of pointy typos:

Have a 2013 Tacoma Double Cab 4xsometimes4 with the Road set up (after heavy debating at the time) I much preferred it when Toyota said... Heres the truck we make, buy it.

Current tires that came on truck are the Dunlop Grandtrek AT20. Overall The ride has been nice and handle well in rain, which has always been the issue on my past trucks, and snow. Not real snow - midwest wimpy snow. Edges have worn fast compared to rest of tire. Truck has 58k on it now. Tire centre said the dealer wasn't doing a good job balancing them. "Why wouldn't the dealership put their best effort into maintenance of my truck" I said back to him...

Mainly went to the double cab from the extended cab for the kid and dogs. We live in the flat lands where paved roads get us from point A to Point B, sometimes very slippery conditions, sometimes not. Every year we head up to the Adirondacks to a camp spot my wife grew up going to. It's a long drive, so highway mileage and ride is still a key thing. The terrain is dirt and sharp rocks at times up there. the truck has a cap and many sets of thule racks on top for gear etc... We load it up, kinda looks like the old Clampetts truck when they are moving.

So.. It's time for new tires as the sides of the Dunlops are bald basically. I went to the local tire shop that i like alot, and asked the opinion of the salesman who said "If whats on there has worked for ya, then go with those" So i ordered them and set an install date.

I know little about tires and just noticed the raised letters don't seem to be white anymore. I looked at some reviews on the Dunlops and noticed a lack of praise overall, despite my experience wit them, but mainly i learned about load capacity? People had mentioned that these tires were not rated for much more than 4 passengers and a light load.

I know conditions vary and there is no one perfect tire for everything, but i am looking for opinions from people where this is their knowledge world of whats best for what. We do long road drives with lots of heavy gear to go to places with rough terain. Stay with the Dunlop or here is what i would recommend....

I called goodyear thinking i could find someone in customer service that would know their tires and give me their opinion .. that was a fail.

Any thoughts on this issue would be greatly appreciated! Thx and thx for reading.

 

Dunflops (not a typo) is one of the worst tires made. It's why they are std on so many OE applications. Cheap.

Sounds like you have a lot of road miles and little else? Would that be right?

Pony up the bucks for some Michelin Defenders. On sale at Costco for $70 off a set of four. Lifetime balance, rotation, and a healthy road hazard program provided by Costco.

Don't have a Costco or want a membership?

Buy the Michelin's anyway.

I'll PM you my account info so you can deposit your gratuity 90 days after they have been installed.

 

I say get the Michelin for most of the year and a set of Cooper st maxx on some steelies for when you hit the dirt. It's tough to balance road comfort and off road performance. I'm of the opinion that if your going on rocks you want to be able to air down and have some thick sidewalls. E rated for off road. Ko2's are also pretty good tires for off road. Not the best with snow though. I own both Cooper's and ko2's. Another suggestion is buy the off road tire used. I picked up my Cooper's for $400 CAD used compared to about $300 CAD a piece new.

 

Firestone Destination AT tries have been excellent performers for me on the last 3 sets prior to me buying this Tacoma.

I've run them on midsize and full-size 4WD vehicles.

46 mile roundtrip for work with half of it being interstate....and no problems offloading during hunting seasons.

 

Thx you guys for the info ... Since i asked this, I received a call from a incredibly helpful and knowledgebal guy from the local office of the tire chain i go to. After i left what had to be an incredibly odd message with their office, I was very glad to hear back from them. Much like Thyces (Thx!) suggested, he was going over options for terrain and loads based on various tires and pressure options. My last Tacoma i had goodyears kevlar on it as my 2nd set, I'm very wary of going back to something like that, as past 55 miles, it was a rough rough ride.

His suggestions were:

Yokohama YK-HTX
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2

Im going to get back with him and ask about the Michelin Defenders and the Firestone Destinations. Ill research all those here shortly. I looked at the new Tacomas and they have a toyo a30(?) I did a quick look on the phone while there and saw many reviews how they were terrible in snow. Bill that was what i always heard and experienced on my bike that came with Dunlops, It was pretty much standard to pull them off and replace immediately... so thx for some confirmation

Thx again very much, really appreciate the advice.

 

Just throwing this out there in case any other tire newbs happen across this.

Thx again for opinions, I have been deliberating over the Michelins and the KO2. We drove to pick up my wife's new vehicle today. (Prius's smash easily) The dealership use's a company to mod some of the Tacomas they sell, on a new cement colored and blacked out truck (next truck) they used: nitto terra grappler g2's

I was asking the sales manager about them as tires seem to be my new obsession atm. He walked me to the employee lot and showed me his, and the dealerships managers 4 runners (one pretty, one that likes to play in the dirt hard.) both equipped with the Nitto Grapplers. I think i am going to give them a shot.

Thx again.. i will post my opinon after they are installed. (unless someone has a horror story)

 

Man, I recently switched to Michelin Defender LTXs after KO2s. They could not be more apples to oranges. The BFGs are heavy; that tough sidewall comes at a cost. If you spend the majority of your time on pavement, forget about impressing people at the mall and just get the Michelins. They’ll last twice as long as any AT, and have a reputation for being tougher and better in mild off-pavement situations than they look, anyways.