23 TRD OR Tire Replacement Recommendations

Casual off-roader here. I was running the stock Goodyear Wrangler's and was perfectly happy with them until I caught a flat on an unassuming gravel road. We went over a hump @ ~20 mph. Nothing crazy, the suspension didn't come anywhere close to bottoming-out but after that there was a loud pop and the tire was empty within a couple of seconds: discovered a 1/2 inch horizontal tear on the tread. I had 29k miles on those tires. Did some research and found out that they're far from the best.

Now I'm shopping for a new set. I'm aware of real popular picks like the KO2's and Wildpeaks, but I was hoping some kind souls on here could possibly offer perhaps a better-tailored recommendation. 99% of the trails I hit are rocky-type terrain, no mud or sand, low-to-moderate difficulty/technicality. My big thing is that I drive pretty far distances and would like to keep my 20 - 24 highway mpg if possible.

Basically, I don't need a high-performance or heavy A/T tire and am instead looking for one that better balances off-road and on-road/mpg performance. Since I'm buying a total of 5 to replace the spare my budget is a little lower ($200/tire) but I'd be willing to bite the bullet if it's a tire that has everything I'm looking for.

Please Advise, thanks

 

I’ve been recommending the new Yokohama Geolandar AT4 to everyone since I got them. I have about 15,000 miles on my set since I purchased them last year and it’s the best all terrain tire I’ve ever run. I’ve previously run General Grabber ATXs, Yokohama g003s and Maxxis Razr MTs on this truck. These are my favorite by far, especially for someone looking for a good mix of on and off road Preformance.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-yokohama-a-t4-g018.835869/

https://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/geolandar-a-t4

You won’t get a ton of cool points but it’s fantastic on and off road.