HELP NEEDED! KO2 are they really worth it or all talk? Should I increase size of tire?

I think the real question you need to ask yourself is, do you want 1 set of tires that does everything pretty well, or 2 sets of tires dedicated for summer/winter to swap as necessary?

 

+1 for Cooper AT3s

I ran a set for over 50k and just replaced them with another set of the same AT3 4S tires in the stock OR size. I also debated upsizing on tires and whatnot, but I only do mild offroading, primarily on unmaintained forest roads and otherwise I like the nimble handling of my truck as-is and as such am not keen to change the geometry.

 

I do agree that there are better choices for wet roads out there, but i have never felt unsafe with ko2s in the rain. I felt unsafe with my duratracs couple of times. I could see michelins being the best for road driving, they do have a lot of siping.

I had pirelli scorpions, toyo at2, duratracs and 2 sets of ko2s. From my experience, Pirellis were the worst and duratracs second worst, amazing in the snow though. Toyo was a better road tire than ko2 but its kind of weak at the sidewall. I go offroad a lot in the summer and like the durability of ko2s. I just came back from a camping trip with 10 other 4x4s and 80% of them are running ko2s. Im not a ko2 fanboy by any means, it just seem to fit the best for the things that i do at the moment.

 

If cooper at3 had a beefier sidewall, i would have highly considered them. They do look like a great tire.

 

Helpful comment! I'm looking to replace my tires again soon. I have had 2 sets of the stock (Goodyear Kevlar Wranglers) - bought the second set because the dealership gave me a set of takeoffs for 450 (or 475 can't remember). I'll get about 45K out of each set. I chose them for the price and to be honest they have been fine for me. I drive a lot - 74K miles since I bought the truck (Jan 19). I am off road a lot , but not hard stuff - on our horse farm, through fields (very little rocks), small pebbles/river rock along our river, etc. I'm usually on small rural roads around state parks - 35-55 MPH average, so high priority is road capability (rain, small amounts of snow, dry). My son (18 years old) has Duratracs on his 2002 TRD Off Road 4x4 Tacoma, and he slides a bit in the rain on the roads. That could be his heavy foot and inexperience and not the tires. He loves the Duratracs and they are probably a good choice for him as he needs a more aggressive tire than I do- as he camps, kayaks a lot and is in deep mud areas far more than me, plus he probably only drives 15K miles a year, opposed to my 45-55K. I'm really thinking the Michelins AT will be one I'll try - I've got to think they are every bit as good off road as the Goodyears I have and the rain/snow should be improved.