Best AT Tires, stock 2021 Tacoma Off Road?

Just bought a 2021 Tacoma Off Road Access Cab. Despite its trim, I find the manufacturer tires aren't quite rugged enough. What's a good off road tire that I can run without changing the wheels or a lift? I might get an additional 1-2" lift dow the road, but not in the immediate plans.

 

How have the OE tires come up short for you?

Off road for what kind of conditions?

% of miles off road vs on?

 

Should have specified - I live in Colorado and have not yet taken them off road but will do so. Would expect mostly rocky terrain. Not so much mud.

 

a 255 80 17 or 255 85 16 on your OE wheels is a full 33", giving you a bit of actual ground clearing lift. They also mostly come in E rating, which is a heavy duty (rocks/load) tire.

They are also physically heavy and will impact your MPG negatively.

Everything is a compromise.

EDIT:

Note that the OE wheel (or OE wheel spec) This is what will allow this tire to work with no lift no rubbing no cutting.

Start getting different wheel specs and certain tire dimensions and that will change.

Simple can be good.

 

Thanks, Bill! I don't drive a ton of miles in terms of commute. I will log some highway miles getting to various mountain destinations, but want to have something well-equipped when I get there!

 

"Best" is highly subjective and there is no perfect tire. The best tire for rocks and mud will most likely perform poorly on snow, ice, or wet pavement.

I sorta like the idea of 255's but that is not a common size and not available from all manufacturers. A 265/75/16 or 265/70/17 are virtually identical in overall dimensions and are the biggest commonly available tire you can run with no modifications to the truck. Depends on whether you have 16" or 17" wheels. IMO they still look good even with a mild lift. They will be about 3/4" wider than 255's and about 1" shorter.

Falken Wildpeak is a very popular tire as are Cooper's. I've used Cooper a lot in the past. They used to be a great tires sold at discount prices. They are still a great tire, but they are proud of them now. Never had Falkens, but they have gotten expensive too.

 

Everything is a compromise.

That’ll preach Billy.

 

Nobodies rushed in to say the BFGKO2s yet? I’m surprised.

I’ve got the General Grabber ATX and I can’t say enough good things about them (or General). And I’m normally a Michelin[BFG] fanboy.

 

I am also in CO and I swapped out the stock Wrangler Adventures for Falken Wildpeak A/T3W's. It was between these and the default answer of BFG K02's, but I went with the Falken's since they are 43lbs each vs the K02's which are like 50lbs each. Didn't seem to do anything to my fuel economy and road noise is the same.

The biggest thing I was looking to improve was traction in the snow and in my little same day snow storm experiment before and after changing tires it seems the Falken's improved my stopping distance by 1/4. Not sure how these would fare in super rocky terrain compared to the K02's which are probably a lot tougher with their increased load rating.

 

I'm in CO as well and I run the AT3Ws and love them. I mostly went with them on price - $90 cheaper/tire than the KO2s when I was looking. Lots of friends run the KO2s and I go the same places they do - rocky, sandy, snow, overland, etc. No issues after about 7k miles on them. Just wish I got my lift before the tires so I could have gotten 33s - right now my friend says I look like a bear riding a tricycle lol!

 

no one mentioning the Toyo AT3?

I'm in the market as well. Got some 17" wheels, and looking to shoe them up this week. Been reading up on skinny tires, but there really aren't many options. I'd like to stay C rated.

I'm torn between KO2, Falken, Toyo, and general grabber AT/X (low price). Wish Cooper had more AT options in C rating

 

KO2s are always a safe bet. Toyos and Falkens are also great.

 

I bought 17" wheels w/5" back-spacing.
NO LIFT = Stock
I plan to get Toyo Open Country A/T3 (possibly a different brand) 235/75R17, which will be almost identical to the 16" stock configuration.

I use this website to calculate what will fit, given stock configuration, revolutions and offset.

 

Ya know, I did the entire Old Ore Road in Big Bend on the stock Goodyears and that's not an easy route for anything. It is nothing but hard rocks and some arroyo washes with steep inclines/declines and some deep ruts. It is not a maintained road.

Not a problem at all. Truck was new with maybe 1200 miles on it. I think you will be surprised how well they work. Try them and see before you go spending cash for no good reason. I'm doing rock sliders and skids before a lift and new tires. YMMV.

 

I'm running the stock tires until they wear out. I haven't had any major traction issues off road. Still in the learning phases so I've not hitting super hard trails. I'm at about 20,000 mi and I'm going to change them to general ATX.

Granted I'm not going through sand or deep mud. But the stock wrangler kevlar haven't had any issues going through most of what the Appalachian mountains can throw.

If you're just doing light off-roading(Don't require rock sliders and steel skip plates) I'd recommend staying with the stock tires for a while. Save the little money

 

Personally I've been a fan of the wrangler duratrac for quite some time. They are AT or slightly above, imo they wear down nicely and don't have a lot of noise driving down the highway. A bit about my driving style don't off road much, but I like to be able to take a trip up to the mountains at least once a month which means I need a tire that can handle mixed conditions up there.

 

Best I've found in 40 years of running AT tires is the General ATx.

$299+ General Grabber A/TX Tires

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Grabber+A/TX

 

I love my Toyo AT3's.

 

I been looking online, at tire prices/shipped. (free shipping) plus tax.
The mounting, balancing would be additional.
Compared to buying at a local shop (package), they do what's necessary/done deal. Pay them. (Free flat repair, rotation, local warranty)
Is there really that much savings (as a whole) to make buying online worthwhile?

 

Get a 6 or 10 ply (load range C or E) if you will be on lots of rock.