Do I really *need* E rated tires?

So I'm running about 400lbs of armor, racks, and such constantly. When we go for our week long excursions 3-4 times a year it's about 700lbs with our gear, tent, and awning. I have 285/75/16 General Grabber atx's and love them. I do a lot of beach driving (loose sand) and they've never let me down. They're heavy E rated tires.
But... the gas mileage really took a dive even with a tune. 14mpg average in the winter, 16 in summer. They're at almost 35k with very little sign of wear, but I'm starting to think about my next set.
So for what I'm doing can I get away with something lighter? I'm open to any and all knowledge/advice. Thanks in advance.

I'm running ome 2.5in lift work heavy springs and dakar heavies leafs in back.

Edit: thanks for the replies! Looking at cooper discos as the next likely candidate

 

I think a C load would be fine for the weight. Es are more puncture and rock resistant and seem to tolerate airing down better. That being said, I'm running C load on my truck and my wife's Jeep because I don't see the upside of E rated tires as worth the downside when daily driving. If I were towing a lot, wheeling in a lot of rock, or in a full size, I might see it different. Up until now, I have ran E rated tires and they have served me well but I don't want the mileage/brake/unsprung weight tradeoffs on a vehicle I wheel light to moderately. If this were strictly a trail truck, it might be different. Think about how hard you use it and decide of the trade offs are worth it to you.

 

/Thread.

 

They run e rated on 3/4 ton hauling more weight than any Tacoma will see. You would be better off with c rated

 

The Tacoma TRD Off Road comes from the factory with SL tires and a listed payload capacity of around 1000 pounds. So, no, you don’t need them. You don’t even need C. You might want them for the increased sidewall durability. But you definitely don’t need them from a load standpoint.

 

I let a 20 something fanboy neighbor talk me into E Range tires on my brand new truck. The ride went from surprisingly awesome to average. They are for sale for 25% less than I paid if you want them, (+- 250 miles). No rocks or puncture worries for me.

 

C Load 265/75/16 Duratracs for the Win!

 

Kenda makes a 33/10.5/17 that c rated I think

 

No you don’t need anything more than the stock P tires as long as you are not exceeding the gvwr of 5600 lbs.

 

I think you are off by over a factor of 2.

https://tirepressure.com/265-70r16-tire-pressure

 

After trying to push a plug through an E rated 10 ply just last week.
I don’t need to experience that again for a really, really, long time.
It sucks. It sucks more when the tire is flat, and still on the vehicle.
Even worse when you’re laying on a wet gravel driveway.

 

https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/load-range-e-on-a-tacoma.168224/

 

Changing from an E rated to a C or SL isn't going to magically make your gas mileage get better. The weight you have in your truck, and the tire size even with the tune are what is killing your gas mileage. Personally I always buy E's just for the side wall durability because I have punctured and split side walls on SL tires, and the heaviest thing I had on my Tacoma was a steel camper shell. For what you do, even if infrequent, I would stick with E's.

 

If you think you wheel hard enough to need armor..then E rated is a no brainer

 

Do what they used to do when plugging an 18 wheeler tire, drill the hole out bigger.

 

I’m not sure what you mean? I’m saying that the stock Off-Road comes with SL tires. And the stock Tacoma has a payload capacity of around 1000 lbs. OP said he usually has a payload of about 700 lbs (plus whatever passengers). I’m assuming that Toyota wouldn’t put tires on the vehicle that couldn’t support it’s listed payload capacity (at maximum PSI).

Edit: Tacoma GVWR is about 5600 lbs. Four SL tires at 36 psi will support 9876 lbs. So, SL tires can support almost twice as much weight as your Tacoma limit for total weight with payload (the GVWR). Is that what you meant?

 

I managed to puncture 4 E-load KO2s in 2021 alone. I would not consider switching to C-load tires for my vehicle. But either way I'd buy them at Discount/America's Tire -- they keep replacing them for me, even though I tell them I am using them (poorly, evidently) off road.



I did finally install some spotter cameras in my truck, no more PFFFFSFSSSSSSSSSSSsssss since.... Fingers crossed for 2022!

For what it's worth, I don't think you'll see your gas mileage bounce back substantially going from E to C. Some, yes. But if you are running big offroad-style tires with 700 pounds of crap in the bed, you aren't going to get stock mileage.

 

Heavier and most times, more tread. For example, my e rated 285/70R17 wildpeaks are 32.99" where as the other ones are usually around 32.7. The tread depth is noticeable even in pictures not focused on it.

I live in Montana, and I've had so many flats on previous tires before. I knew the drawbacks of e-rated tires. I personally felt like I had to have them. From road debris, shit left in parking lots, and trail stuff - I'd say they are worth it. But they are NOT for everyone.

You mentioned you are tuned, and that does help, but with all that weight, have you done gearing? It won't help drastically on the MPG's but it will help overall and lighten the load on your transmission a lot.

I think anyone recommending a specific brand of tire is probably biased. Lots of good options out there.

 

Great input, thanks!

 

Gears are my next mod. Currently saving up