Dodge 3/4t tires-ToyoM55 or BFG KO2

[pvstoy]

I’ve purchased a 2012 Dodge Ram 2500 crew cab 4x4 Gasser engine with a flatbed FWC Hawk popup (from Durango1 aka Steve). It has the stock tires. I drive paved roads to get to everywhere and then dirt, gravel and deep sand roads. Mud if I have to. Live in a snow area so driving through snow is important. I air down when necessary to maintain traction and smoother ride.

I have used BFG AllTerrians for years and have the KO2 on the Toyota 4 Runner and have been pleased. A tech guru friend is pushing hard for me to put the Toyo M55 tires on the Dodge. In my research I noted that these Toyo will be a firmer ride and produce road noise at 15 – 35 mph. I can agree with him that they are a bullet proof tire for dirt road usage and will reduce flats. Sounds good for the Alaskan highway gravel road travels. Tire size is LT265/70 R17 E rated.

So question is, only comparing the Toyo M55 and BFG KO2 on heavy full size truck with camper, who has experience with these two and your opinions overall. Take a leap and make my friend happy who has analyzed them to death or stay with what I know with the BFG. Thanks.

*EDIT* Entry #15 I have new two choices*
Cooper Discoverer S/T maxx
Toyo Open Country A/T II
.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Patrick, somewhere in Expo is a tire review. It’s been linked to here in other tire threads. If I remember correctly, the Cooper Discovery AT/3 was the overall highest rated tire. I have those on my F350, Toyo Open Country on the Ranger.

 

[EDR]

I’ve had BFGs on other vehicles, but not on my Ram. I have heard a lot of negatives regarding the BFGs causing death wobble on the older solid front axle Rams. Not sure if it’s been addressed with the newer Rams. May want to search out death wobble for more information.
I had Cooper ATPs and now have a set of Cooper AT3s on my truck, and they’ve been great tires.
I’ve heard the Toyo M55s are excellent tires, but have no personal experience with them.
I would also check out Tire Rack and look up their customer tire reviews. It’s a good source of information.

 

[DavidGraves]

FWIW, the KO2's are very civilized for the long Interstate miles you may have to cover to get to your few weeks of outback.

That alone is important to us....we are done with noisy, hard riding off road tires for the "get there" miles we have to do to get there.

And, in the Northwest, Costco sells many sizes of the KO2' at excellent prices with great service ( road hazzard damage) at every Costco in the land.

And they inflate with Nitrogen !


David Graves

 

[LAWNMOWERMAN]

I have always had BFG's but was disappointed with tread wear on my last KO2's.I put Cooper St Maxx's on my new 2017 Tacoma and am very happy with them so far.Pretty aggressive tread,inbetween an AT and Mud Terain.They are a little noisier but not an issue for me.Have never owned Toyos but have heard good things from others

 

[camelracer]

I've tried to support BFG over the years due to their support for many off road events I attend but I have had 3 tread separation blowouts on my Dodge. These tires were BFG E rated All Terrains (not K02) purchased from different lots with about 30k miles. I'm now trying a set of Cooper AT3's and hope they hold up better.

I do run BFG Mud Terrains on my Jeep without any problems but that's only a 3k lb vehicle.

 

[ntsqd]

A friend very much into the CTD world cautioned heavily against my normal purchase of BFG's for our '95 CTD 4wd. Said that they were known to be "greasy" in how they handled on these trucks. I can't wrap my head around why that should be, but as we were about to go on a long trip I bought GY DuraTrac's. Which were good until they got noisy. Yeah, noisy over a 12 valve! I replaced those with Yoko A/T-S II's, which I really like and are no longer made. Their replacement I like well enough, but not any better than the BFG A/T.

 

[pvstoy]

Said friend pushing the Toyo M55 has a 2000 Dodge diesel model and experienced the BFG AT tread peal off. That is a much heaver truck than the gas engine I have. But internet says the death wobble that effects Dodge front end covers both models. I'll look at the Cooper AT3 and Toyo AT tire. Thanks for the insight so far.

 

[Vic]

I had a set of the M-55's on my old 99 2500 CTD which primarily hauled my old Sunlite truck camper. They performed as advertised and never had a balancing or handling problem. I got 5 and did a 5 wheel rotation (with a matching wheel from the junk yard) so I always had a mileage matched spare. That said, they were pricey and tread wear was not the greatest - one of the trade-offs.

If I needed that kind of heavy duty tire again, I'd go with the Toyo's again in a heartbeat. -Vic

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

I had the KO2s on my ‘96 Ram (since sold) and was very impressed with every aspect of them except one...tread life. No d-wobble, no wandering, excellent offroad traction, but excessive wear in less than 30k miles. I just had Toyo Open Country A/Ts mounted on my ‘02 Chevy 2500 HD. So far so good...excellent road handling characteristics but not much experience offroad yet. I’m hoping they deliver as advertised.
My understanding (I could be wrong, I frequently am ) is that the M-55s are a commercial type tire and seriously heavy duty. That would lead to the comments regarding harsh ride, etc. If your application requires that kind of duty rating then the M-55s might be a strong consideration, but I suspect that something more “mainstream” might be more appropriate for you. Good luck and please report back.

 

[craig333]

I had poor mileage from my Toyos. I've tried a lot of tires (unfortnately) and I'm back to BFG AT's KO2s. My truck likes them. Rides well, wearing well so far. Certainly no death wobble. Other tires have like to pull to the right but that was before I found someone who actually knows how to align my truck.

 

[dharte]

Why limit your choices to those two? The Goodyear Wrangler adventurer w/Kevlar are the best tires I have put on my F250. Toyo's were noisy (I've had both the AT and MT Open Country) and wore out fast-never got more than 20-25k miles. Cooper's were squirmy with the camper on (e-rated but lower load index than my Wranglers). The Wranglers do everything well and have shown very little wear in the 8k I've put on them.

 

[veryactivelife]

We have the KO2s on our RAM2500CTD with a FWC flatbed Hawk. Going on one year now, approximately 15,000 miles and hardly any wear. The OEM tires were shot at 20,000..very quiet on pavement at any speed and do well off road. So far I wouldn’t think twice about getting them again.

Dean

 

[pvstoy]

Thanks Dean. Just watched your video on U-tube, well two videos now(one on your web page) nice vacation.

 

[pvstoy]

Been looking and reviewing and down to a couple of choices for my Ram (gas engine).
Cooper Discoverer S/T maxx
Toyo Open Country A/T II

tire size still the same at LT265/70/R17 stock. Thought about 285 but only they both only come in "70" and has a taller sidewall, where a "65" would keep the diameter the same and have a slightly wider foot print to help airing down.

The Cooper Discovery A/T III does show a size LT285/65/R17 but leaning toward the other two tires.

Really this tire needs to be aired way down for deep sand driving and be able to handle the weight of the truck and camper and all the personal stuff. Side wall needs to be tough. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[klahanie]

...
Toyo Open Country A/T II

tire size still the same at LT265/70/R17 stock. Thought about 285 but only they both only come in "70" and has a taller sidewall, where a "65" would keep the diameter the same and have a slightly wider foot print to help airing down.
...

Really this tire needs to be aired way down for deep sand driving and be able to handle the weight of the truck and camper and all the personal stuff. Side wall needs to be tough. Thanks for your opinions.

Just to make note, the larger LT285/70R17 size can carry the same given weight at a lower pressure than the smaller LT265/70R17 size per the Load Inflation Tables linked on the Toyo website.

So, to pick a number, say the rear axle wt is 5000lbs (ahem) then half of that (2510) is the load limit for the larger size when at 45psi, the smaller size when at ~52psi. If the axle wt is 6000 then half of that (3005) is the load limit at ~59 vs 70psi.

With a heavy and therefore stiffly sprung vehicle - speaking of leaf spring suspension here- less air pressure in the tires will give a more comfortable ride off highway. In my experience airing down 7-10 psi for gravel, the difference is significant.

Of course the larger size is wider and taller (for height different I like to look at the revs per mile spec) and that may not be wanted, fair enough.

How it all helps with sand IDK, just thought I'd throw it out there...

Like Craig my first set of AT2 s wore quicker than I would have liked. The second set seems to be better so far. The M-55 s I had many years ago, great tire then. Now, I couldn't say but wouldn't hesitate to buy them if they were available in my preferred size.

 

[Bill D]

I've been running KO2's for about a year now. I like them for highway travel, gravel, ice and snow.
Costco sells them. About $800 USD for the set installed.

 

[pvstoy]

Good information David, as I was not thinking of airing down loads effect of the larger tire. More you air down for bottomless sand you gain a wider contact patch and helps to float. If you can air down more on the larger tire size that would be a plus as long as you don't let out so much air that your load weight becomes a problem.

The diameter difference would be 32" to a 33". The dealer might be able to adjust the computer for the 33 inch as that diameter was a tire size option.



Bill D Costco here has a sale on the BFG KO2, Now a set of 5 is $1297.00 USD ~$259.40 a tire.

 

[Marc]

Patrick, I've run about every quality AT/MT out there and always go back to the Cooper "Discoverer ST". This is a hybrid AT/MT. Works well in all conditions. Im about to purchase my 5th set in 255/85/16 for my Sprinter 4x4. This is a true 33' tire.

marc

 

[Rafter C]

I've run the Toyo A/T on my Dodge/Cummins SRW 3500 since new. Most of that time I ran the 285/75/17 (E weight rating), but just recently went to the 12.50x35x17. The 12.50's can carry the same weight at a lower pressure with a slightly wider footprint. I've had nothing but great luck with them. They work well in the snow, though the best all terrain snow tire Ive ever used was a Bridgestone Dueler on my '03 4Runner. Unbelievable snowy road traction.... but i digress.

One BIG motivator for me with the Toyo's is that Les Schwab offers a 50,000 mile no questions asked warranty. My first set cost me full price, and every set since has been pro-rated based on actual miles travelled. It really is hard to beat when you're getting a quality tire with that kind of warranty..