Tire Load Rating question

I have decided to go with a 265R75/16 tire and am wondering what load rating most folks are buying. My Tacoma is a 23 Stock TRD Off Road that will see very little if any towing. The only weight I will be adding is one of the smaller front bumpers to mount a hidden winch. Considering Nitto Ridge Grapplers and Mickey Thompson Baja Boss Ats. I am leaning towards SL over Lt due to the weight difference. I do understand the lighter tires won't take the abuse the Lts will but it seems the Lts can be harder to balance and keep balanced. The off roading I do is primarily sand and clay based mud. I am in North Florida so not doing any rock crawling. Wondering if anyone has had bad experiences running the lighter tires.

 

I think most purchase heavy E rated tires for their puncture resistance as opposed to towing heavy loads. What tire you run off road can be very subjective and personal. Some swear by heavy E load and others get buy with Light truck/SUV tires. If you are a daily driver that can be a huge consideration on deciding on load rating as well. Also, really evaluate your needs for your off road use. Ultimately it's just luck of the draw or a calculated risk if disaster strikes and you get a flat while off road with any tire. However, the more Ply's it should increase your successes off road. YMMV.

 

I’ve had zero issues balancing all kinds of ATs in load range E.

265/75/16 is a great size for the Tacoma, and won’t be too heavy in E load. I wouldn’t hesitate to go with E load if I was doing any off-roading.

From my experience, E load tires tend to last much longer as well. I only run E load on my truck. I tow, and air down off-road quite often. Loving my 33x10 skinnies!

 

FWIW my old school dad has got SL 265/75/16 “wild country” or whatever ATs on his stock 2004 4R and man, the places he goes to… He is an avid overnight hiker and drives on some gnarly trails. I would never on SL tires… let alone some Chinese made ones.

I told him about 10 ply rated tires and he wasn’t interested whatsoever.

 

Smart man right here. I run SL rated tires too. Super light, easy to balance and I love my Toyo open country at3. Has a few sets of AT2s and now all my Toyota trucks and 4runners sport them. Beats the shit out of the tires bfgs I ran for years. No need for a E rated tires

 

I've been some stupid places on my SL tires while overweight with my AT Habitat setup. They were 265/70r16 Duratracs. Looks like the discontinued them. I'm now running E-load 265/75r16, and am happy for the added stiffness and weight capacity. They are 8 pounds heavier per tire, whereas the C load are only 1 pound heavier. If it was running a relatively stock/unloaded truck, I'd probably go with the C. Offroad and heavy? Definitely E!

 

I did this on SL tires.

50k miles, looking back I think I picked up one nail.

 

Look at the weight difference. My 265/70 - 17 weighed ~ 40 something lbs. The 255/80 - 17 E loads weight 56 lbs. I lost 2-3 MPG.

 

Load Range C is a good happy medium.

 

I don't carry weight and absolutely loved my C Load 265/75/16 Duratracs. Disclaimer, never did rock crawling, just narly trails...

 

Toyo AT3s are very nice tires. I was between the Toyos and the Wildpeaks. The only reason I went with Wildpeaks was because of a more aggressive sidewall. Zero issues balancing by the way and it’s been 3 years since I got my skinnies. My next set will be 255/80/17 wilpeaks at4w.

I’ve had 245/75/16 Toyo AT3 on my 2012 chevy express work van and they were phenomenal, especially in the snow. They made a slight hum though.

There is a need for E load if you are running heavy and air down off-road quite often throughout the year. Having 2 tires go flat in the middle of nowhere is not fun.

He does about 5-6 overnight hikes a year in the summers, whereas I spend hundreds of miles off-road throughout the whole year. E only for me. I’m still able to get stock MPGs if I drive my pig conservative.

 

My 255/80/17 Wildpeaks are 51 pounds, but less rolling and wind resistance than 265s. I would say it’s a wash.

 

SL for sure in this scenario.

My issue with my last set of SL Coopers is I burned through them, I haul, drive rough roads daily and they just melted with wear. I was down to 6/32nd in 2 years 30,000km of driving.

I now run e rated and pay for it, but in 2 years I'm down to 11/32nd from 16/32nd new.

I likely lost 5-10% in fuel going up a size and to a heavier tire, so I spent 400$ more in the year on fuel.

FWIW I like the pressure choices with 10 ply, its less likely to lose a bead at low pressures, and I can crank it up when I'm heavy on tongue weight.

 

C Load is just fine off road if your truck is not super heavy. I’ve had C load ko2s in all kinds of terrain and these babies were tough as nails.

 

I'm a tad disappointed that I just missed the boat on AT4's since that I just bought the AT3's, but am still happy with them regardless.

But my next tire purchase might be the 34" 255/85/17 Mickey Thompson BAJA BOSS A/T's. Taller & they have the 3 peak snow designation (my #1 priority in an aggressive A/T tire). Stay tuned (in about 4-5 years....)