C or E rated tires?

Okay so i've got a Double cab Long box trd Sport, prob gonna need new tires in the summer after a 2" lift. On average i tow a trailer 1-5 times a month during spring-fall season towing an atv, boat and/or jet ski, and about 40% of roads around here are gravel.
Is there anyone in a similar scenario as me that has an opinion on what load rating they prefer to use?

I've done a lot of reading but curious to see what people would do in my scenario

 

The standard P rated tires that come on the truck will carry more weight than the trucks suspension will handle. They are a bit cheaper and work for most people. If you spend a lot of time on rough roads or off road then an E rated tire will hold up to more abuse than either the C's or P's. In fact in the same size C rated tires are rated for less weight than the tires that came on the truck.

Personally I'd either stay with standard P rated tires or skip straight over C's if I wanted a heavier duty tire. Just be aware, if you're buying oversize tires, or tires with aggressive mud tread, many of them are only available in E rating. I've had E rated All Terrain tires on my Tacoma for about 5 years now. Fuel mileage is exactly the same as before. Ride is a bit more firm, but not objectionable. I didn't upsize and stayed with a mildly aggressive tread which helped.

Also, my Tacoma is a 3rd vehicle. If it were still a daily driver I might be more concerned about ride comfort and a little better fuel mileage.

 

Im hoping to find a 255/75/17 or 255/80/17 A/T tire after i get the bilstein 5100's and AAL on the truck. I currently have winters on it, i dont even know what the summers will ride like since the truck already had the winters on it when i picked it up last month.

The main reason im thinking about an E tire is due to the gravel & rough roads around my area

 

I run e rated tires. If I wanted to fix flats on the trail all the time I would run c's

 

Same. E's all the way.

 

I've wheeled in nasty sharp rock trails in the PNW mountains for 16 years on C-loads and never had an issue. Choosing a tire with decent sidewalls goes a long way, C-loads are way overkill for a Tacomas abilities. No need for ultra heavy power and mpg robbing 1 ton E-load tires on a Tacoma to run rough gravel roads, that is just naive.

Gravel and rough roads do not require a heavy performance robbing and rough riding E-load tires. You might find this thread interesting:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...eel-tire-combo-trd-rock-warriors-ko2s.381030/

 

If your looking for a tough tire in 255 then the ST Maxx is a good choice.

 

OP,

I run Es on my truck because of the heavy rock wheeling I do, but the comments regarding the downsides of Es are correct. One really great tire that I recently found for gravel rounds and less than severe service is this:

$304+ General Grabber A/TX Tires

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...XRWLXLV2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

These are great performers, and provide the durability you need without excess weight. I'm running them now on a Suzuki, and really like them. If you drive in lots of ice and snow, another really good midweight tire is the Yokohama G105. I have run this tire on several vehicles, and it holds up well on gravel roads too.

Make no mistake, Putting heavy tires on a Tacoma WILL come with a price. Do your research and know what you are buying! Tire weights vary wildly, and I have even seen C rated tires that are heavier than Es! If you cannot get an accurate weight on a tire, don't buy it. That is a primary point of knowledge. FYI, I spent a ton of time researching my E tires, and found a great choice in the Dick Cepek Xtreme, made by Cooper. My total tire/wheel combination weighs only 72 pounds in the 255/85-16 size. I razor siped my center lugs for ice. This is a mud tire, and actually not the best choice for everyone. I would not use these where ice and snow are in the picture much, unless you can sipe them.

I can't overstate this. EVERY POUND YOU ADD TO YOUR TIRE IS EQUAL TO 10 pounds of payload. You can easily add 8-10 pounds of weight (x4) with E tires. That will affect your braking, suspension performance, and acceleration very similarly to 400 pounds in the bed. If you choose Es as I have, understand the tradeoff and make sure it is the right choice for you!

 

C vs E really isn’t the right way to look at it. Anything from the stock P through an LT E has more than enough load handling capacity. Rather what matters is the tire construction and tread relative to what you want to do with it.

Very roughly as others have said durability increases while efficiency decreases moving from P through LT E. But that’s just a rough guide. There are E tires that will get you nothing more than a rougher ride and lower gas mileage. There are other cases in which the manufacturer documentation clearly states that their E versions do in fact have a stronger sidewall construction (3 vs 2 ply) compared to their C versions. There are others where the construction is just the same and the rating is just based on the size of the tire. In general a C rated M/T is going to roar, wear and suck gas far more than an E rated A/T does. The load rating is really secondary to so much else about the tire design and construction.

I don’t have any specific recommendations for your use case as mine is much more severe but I’d suspect a relatively light C rated A/T would be excellent for your use case and I’m sure lots of folks here have good recommendations from direct experience.

 

This is a good point. I actually prefer an E with a 2 ply sidewall. The tire will be more compliant, ride better, and wrap better on rocks. The only downside to 2 plys is that you have to be a little more conscious of protecting them while driving in sharp rocks.