Tire/ recovery advice for noob in PNW

A winch is a certainly a great tool, but not in any way necessary for a beginner. I view that the ownership of a winch is dictated by the necessity driven by experience.

I have only put winches on my ATVs as my experience off road riding ATVs has developed the need for the winch.

In all my years owning and driving midsize and full sized trucks and SUVs in very remote areas in the PNW, I have yet needed a winch. Common sense leads my decisions, and taking paths that flat out require a winch are not my cup of tea. Save those of the ATVs.

Further, a winch will have very limited to no need in the Alvord/Steens area.

Cell phone with a GPS, traction boards, shovel, paper maps and at least two forms of communication.

Please don't just go out and buy any of these items willy-nilly. Research and develop an actual need for any recovery gear. Your mileage may vary.

 

Tested km3..looks aggressive but not so good on rain. Ko2 a lot of issue with rain. Fishtail to often. Nitto trail grappler was okay, traction was overall average. So far running falken wildpeak at3 and it’s performing the best out of all.

 

Ko2s are exceptionally slick and unwieldy in the wet. My St Maxx have never slipped like the Ko2s did and have our performed them in mud and snow. If you've only run Ko2s, there are much better options out there

 

I've just about ran them all - Duratracs, KO2's, Cooper At3's, Grabbers, S/T Maxs, Ultraterrains, Wildpeaks, etc. I'll probably get around to trying out the Mickey Thompson line at some point.

I prefer Duratracs myself but the KO2's have done just fine for my weekly trips up to the mountain or out to Eastern Oregon. Never had an issue with traction, even when yanking folks out of the snowbank. My only gripe is they're heavy and they lose some of that traction as they age - maybe that's what you're talking about. I think alot of people hate on them for the "bro factor" on here haha

S/T max is a great tire, albeit a bit loud. To be expected tho, given they're closer to an MT than an AT in my opinion

 

Everybody will have their own opinions about tires, but my Duratracs haven't failed me yet. I've only been stuck once when I drove into about 4 plus feet of snow into a Ditch to avoid some gymkhana kid in a Subaru. Snow was about half way up my passenger side window.
Other than that, I'll 100% be buying another set of 285/70r/17 duratracs. Only downside is they don't come in a C load and they suck in the rain. I also have solid recovery points, a good snow shovel, recovery boards and a hi lift jack. I've never gone passed my driving/truck limits while out adventuring by myself but regardless my truck has gone through way more than I thought it was capable of. Another piece I'd consider is a tire deflator. If all else fails 95% of the time airing down will get you un stuck. Just drive slow to the closest place with air if you don't have other options

 

I ran 285/70/17 c range nitto ridge graps for a while and loved them. They’re super quiet, air down well and did great in the snow. I only got a different set of tires because I wanted a more aggressive lightweight 35” tire. But from the sounds of what you’re doing an AT or hybrid AT will do fine.

also look into the kenda klever RT. @Buttskevin21 and others are running it and love it.

 

I keep reading various reports of KO2 and KM3 are not good on wet pavement.

I've ran KO and KO2 tires on four different vehicles ever since 1997 without any kind of slipping issues on anything shy of black ice. Three are auto, one is manual.

In 2020 I put 33" KM3s on my 17 TRD OR (my fifth vehicle to get BFGs) along with appropriate lift and gear change and have traveled on every surface imaginable both towing and not towing my small off road trailer. I can honestly say that the KM3s have been the best balanced, best traction, and so far best wear tire I've owned. This is a manual as well.

I'm curious to those that have issues with these BFG tires on how you drive, and if you are manual or auto?

 

Within 6 months, I moved from Falken Wildpeak at3ws to BG's KO2s when I went from 265/75/16 to 285/75/16...no significant difference in daily driving, including the rain (most complaints about KO2s seems to be about poor rain handling, but only CA transplants seem to struggle with driving in the rain).

 

If you drive like an old man I'm sure the Ko2s are fine. I drive with a heavy foot, with a heavy truck, and they could not keep up. The coopers never had a problem, neither in the 33" or 34" variety

 

I am an old man.

 

I guess I am too at 50.

So, it's less of a tire thing, and more of how you drive. I drive my trucks like they are trucks and don't at all expect them to handle like a sports car. If some brands makes a tire for trucks to satisfy you car guys, well that is a good thing.