Suggestions for tires on Tacoma Prerunner TRD 2x4 with Fleet camper

[Fred Stevens]

Getting ready to buy a Toyota Tacoma Prerunner TRD to be used with a Fleet pop-up.

I have some tire questions.

The TRD Prerunner comes with "P" (Passenger) rated BF Goodrich tires which I'm pretty sure are inadequate for the load of a Fleet unit. Does anyone know if Light Truck tires can be ordered directly from the factory in place of the stock BF Goodrich tires and if so what tires are people happy with? From comments, I see peope are using everything from "C" to "E" rated load tires. I estimate the total weight of the proposed vehicle with the camper to be roughly 5,700 pounds (3,800 the curb weight of the Prerunner plus 1,900 for camper, accessories and 2 passengers). My driving will be mostly on paved and gravel/dirt roads, no serious rock climbing. So here's the all important question. I don't want to go too light on a tire, but on the other hand I don't want to go overly heavy either since this affects gas mileage and figures to be more expensive. FWIW, I contacted the local Toyota dealer to get answers to these questions but haven't heard back yet. He's apparently busy selling Tacomas.
As you can probably guess, I would prefer not to have to take the factory tires off a new Tacoma and turn around and sell them privately, probably at a discount, but it may come to that.
Thanks for suggestions

 

[Smokecreek1]

Okay, this has been brought up allot around here-go and buy 10Ply E rated M/S right now! A little more bump on a paved road is worth anytime a 10-15 mile walk to a gas station or maybe nothing, on a snowy day, after that unseen tree root rips out your side wall . Better safe than sorry because gravel roads can have big rocks and things that can punch a hole your tire just as fast as they do on a 4x4 back country trail. Oh yeh, get yourself one of those handy little tire repair kits that have that neat little plug in tire pump as a extra help !

Smoke

 

[fishnchile]

just today I installed a set of michelin ltx at2 265/70r/17E on my 13' tacoma, 4x4 sport, and really love the ride better than the p rated tires, frim but not at all rough and I also have a set of superspring's sumo's I'll be picking up my new ALASKAN MINI the 11th. looking forward to see how it all fit's together, should be a sweet ride, I had the dealer install them just under $1000.

 

[Beach]

I have an 06 tundra access cab with a FWC hawk. Truck is 4400 lbs., camper is approx. 1200lbs., plus gear. Running Michelin MS 2, they are C range(rated to 2400 lbs ea), I run them at max pressure and they are doing the job. I had them on the truck prior to adding the camper so I'm using them. Even though I'm within the load spec of the tires, I would definitely go up to an E rated tire when I replace the current ones. E rated will have less sidewall flex and will probably do better on mileage since there should be less foot print on the ground. Go with the E rated tires, my 2 cents.

 

[BFH4N]

Fred,

I agree with the others that E-rated tires will be good to have. For peace-of-mind, if nothing else. The advice I got from FWC and others was to run my P-rated tires until they wear out, then move up to Es. I'm going to disregard that and have E-rated tires on the truck when I pick up the camper in June. In fact, I'm having them installed today: Cooper Discoverer A/T3. Most of the reviews I read said these tires are quiet, but a few complained that they are noisy, so I'll have to find out for myself. They are 265/70R16 on a '07 Tacoma. The camper will be a Fleet. My final cost will depend on what I get when I try to sell the old (almost new) tires on Craig's List!

Enjoy the new truck!

- Bernard

 

[Hittheroad]

As any Tesla fan will tell you the dealers are usually not much help. I had to buy new E tires from an independent tire dealer and sell my new P tires on Craig's list. Have no regrets and will do the same next time (unless Tesla delivers with E).

 

[Bosque Bill]

Fred,

Don't expect Toyota to make any changes to what the factory sells stock. Your dealer might provide some accommodation, but I'd guess not.

I have a '13 Tacoma Access Cab with a Fleet, FYI.

As you can probably guess, I would prefer not to have to take the factory tires off a new Tacoma and turn around and sell them privately, probably at a discount, but it may come to that.

I was going to drive my stock tires, they were very fine on the highway, until they wore down, then upgrade. The first "easy" off highway road that turned into a rock obstacle course convinced me to upgrade as soon as I got home.

I got the BF Goodrich All-Terrain tires that are highly recommended by many folks. I debated myself, listened to all the advice, then went ahead and bought the E-Rated tires. I'm very happy with them almost a year later. Feels to me that the truck and camper are more stable on the highway and off. Peace of mind is worth a lot and I hardly notice if the ride is a little harder. Discount Tires had the best price on the tires and they bought my almost-new stock tires at a reasonable price (don't remember exactly how much now.) I bought 5 of the BFG A/T tires, because if I was anywhere that created a flat on those tires, I would not want to have only a OEM highway tire as a spare. (I subsequently bought a new wheel for the spare as it didn't match those on the ground and now do a 5 tire rotation. Discount Tire charged me for the pressure-sensor/stem for the new rim, but mounted and balanced it without additional cost.)

I'd also recommend upgrading your suspension right away. FWC recommends Ride-Rites, and I've been pleased with mine as I take the camper off for winter. The whole rig felt too soft until I upgraded the shocks, too. I did the rear first, but soon discovered that was not enough and upgraded the front with matching shocks. It made a world of difference in the ride and handling. I'm not a hard-core off highway guy, so selected the Bilstein 5100's and are pleased with their performance.

Carrying the weight of the camper on a small truck, even a low-profile, "light" Fleet, puts a burden on the rig beyond conventional use. It is our responsibility to take the steps to make sure we're as safe as practicable and this will also extend the reliability of the truck, too. My two cents.

 

[JHanson]

Fred,

While we run E-rated BFG All-Terrains on our Tacoma/FWC, I'll note here that tire ratings are not a linear issue—some D-rated tires will have a weight rating higher than some E-rated tires. On a two-wheel drive truck with no rear locker, in which you don't plan to do any rock crawling, as you mentioned, I wouldn't hesitate to install a good D-rated tire with a moderate traction compound, such as a BFG Rugged Terrain or Rugged Trail. That would optimize your rear-wheel traction without compromising noise or on-pavement handling and fuel economy too much. More flexible sidewalls aren't always a bad thing—if you get bogged in your two-wheel-drive truck they air down better to gain flotation.

 

[takesiteasy]

I run the D-rated BFG All Terrain on my Tacoma with no issues. My understanding is that both the D and E rated tires have the same 3-ply sidewall. The difference is in the tread plies (5 vs 7), tread depth (less on the E) and the rubber composition. The E-rated rubber is harder and does not come with a mud and snow rating. Both tires will carry more weight than can safely be carried on a Tacoma.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Fred,
BF Goodrich All Terrain LT 265/75R16 have a load range of 2000 pounds per tire. LT's are Load range E
Your Fleet will weigh about 1400 pounds dry. The 2013 Tacoma Gross is 5500 pounds with the "P"rated tires (P265/70R16).

My 4WD version weighs 4200 pounds. Add the dry weight 1000 pound Eagle and one passenger = 5230 pounds. It weighs 6180 pounds with, water, food, bike, bike rack, clothes. camping gear and one human for a week in the desert. Tacoma is nimble in acceleration. Use the transmission to help with the braking.

Upgrade rear suspension to air bags if you plan to take it on and off or new springs to carry 1500 pounds if you are going to mount it permanently. Since you are buying the Pre-runner your wet weight should be around 5800 pounds which the axles are rated at.

You will be happy with the performance of the V6 and 5-speed automatic.

Good luck trying to get Toyota to swap the tires plus paying the difference. In San Diego the dealer sent me to their third party tire store. I was given a $65 per tire discount toward a new set of tires. If Toyota does the same in your area consider buying Hankook tires instead of BF Goodrich. Hankook has two steel belt, two nylon. two rayon on their 10 ply rated tire at about $130.00 each. The BF's run close to $200 a piece and so far I am satisfied with the Hankook's.

 

[shear]

So if I have BF Goodrich Rugged Terrains on my Tacoma...are those not beefy enough to support a Fleet going off road?