Tacoma Tires

camper101

camper101

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2012
Messages
224
Location
Colorado
I'm going to need new tires soon, and I'm hoping for any suggestions you'd have.

I have a 2nd gen (2012) Tacoma if that matters, currently with stock P265/70/R16 BFG Rugged Trail T/A.

Main concerns are dependability and snow handling (but I don't want a dedicated snow tire and am willing to give up a little there).

I don't do super-hardcore offroad driving. I mention that because with my limited knowledge that means I might not need E rated tires? But I would like to go with something stronger than P tires for sure (maybe C or D)...

There are several choices and I can hardly tell the difference. Right now one that looks good is the BFGOODRICH: ALL TERRAIN T/A KO.

It's load rated D, but these aren't cheap. FYI I'm probably looking at using a national retailer who'll handle all the mounting etc and who has a shop in the town I'm probably moving to -- I'm not going to mount them myself, and at the moment I'd enjoy an "easy" solution.

In your opinion, is that a reasonable tire for a Tacoma with an Eagle Shell (again, assuming I'm on snow/ice or Forest Service roads, which can get messy, but I rarely find myself in super sharp jagged terrain)? Dry weight is around 700 lbs, but of course there's gotta be a few hundred pounds of junk as well.

There's also the Falken Rocky Mountain ATS II (also load rated D), which are less pricey, but come from a different retailer (I'll probably be around a Discount Tire often enough to get help if needed).

If the BFG's are worth the extra cost, I'm willing to pay it, but I have no clue what the differences are. If that's overkill, I'd rather save the money...

Thank you for any input you have.
 
I bought the BFGoodrich All Terrain you mention and went ahead and got the E rated sidewalls for my 2013 Tacoma and Fleet. I got the identical size as the originals. The price differential is not really all that much and when ever I bump over one of those rocky mountain backroads in Colorado, the peace of mind is priceless! I got mine at Discount Tire locally, they had the best price and lifetime rotate and balance. The ride may be a little "harder" with the camper off, but I really like the extra stability when the camper is on.

I recommend buying 5 tires... if you get a flat up a lousy road, you don't want to have to put on a highway tire and cross your fingers you'll make it out, IMHO. I also bought a fifth wheel to match the others so I can do a five tire rotation to get full lifetime out of the full set.
 
Almost the same truck and camper as you. I have a Ford Ranger & a Bobcat by All Terrain Campers. With my current build out I'm at 750 lbs wet, down from 825 lbs wet on the previous build out of the interior.

I've got the BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A K0 with the snowflake (10x30's, I think), however, mine are on smaller wheels than what I've seen as normal on the Tacoma. My wheels are 15" and my tires only came in a maximum load rating of "D", they didn't make them in "E" load rating at my size.

In my opinion they are great, Stability improved a lot form my original light truck tires, P255/70/R15. And, when I have the camper off the truck, I drop the tire pressure down to about 25 lbs. and it softens up the ride just enough. I do have heavier duty rear leaf springs.

I'm with Bill... do get 5 of them, that's good advice. In my case the spare just barely fit where the original spare was located. I was concerned when we started mounting them up, so, we put the first one up in the spare spot, it fit, so the rest went on the remaining wheels. All 5 wheels are the same, so, if you have a different spare wheel, I think it's a good idea to get the spare to match what you have on the rest of the truck.

For my truck that I drive a long way from home I like to use Sears for tires and batteries. Sears are just about everywhere and easy to get service (carry the receipts in the glove box). They often have sales or rebates going on, reasonable initial prices (slightly below my other local sources for my other cars that don't drive very far) and I can get a free rotation and re-balance when I want it.
 
I have a Tacoma with a Bobcat shell and I went with Cooper AT/3s, E-Rated tires from Discount Tire. I checked all over this forum and Expedition Portal's forum before I made the decision to go with Coopers. I'm totally happy with mine.

THIS IS SOMETHING I POSTED A FEW MONTHS AGO AFTER GETTING MY TIRES:

I just wanted to share my very good experience with the Reno, NV, Discount Tire store.

In preparing to take delivery of my Bobcat Shell next month,I was upgrading my tires to E-Rated Cooper AT/3s at my local Discount Tire store here in Reno. Since my old tires were still in good shape, I told them that I wanted to save them for another vehicle.

As I was unloading my old tires that evening, I noticed that their tire machine must have punctured the sidewalls of two of them and they were damaged beyond repair.

I called the store manager and was fully expecting to get a lot of push back and hassle in getting the situation resolved, but much to my surprise, the store manager immediately offered to give me four brand new tires absolutely FREE, no questions asked.

I went to the tire store the next day and within ten minutes, I had four new tires to replace the ones they accidentally damaged.

My entire experience with Discount Tire was great and I just wanted to let everyone who may be considering a tire purchase know that DT took care of me!
 
I would second Bill's recommendation and add that the new BFG All-Terrain A/T KO2 is now out, improving on the always reliable A/T. I would recommend 4 Wheel Parts , there are 3 in Colorado. I say this because they price match and have a extended tire warranty for $39.99 (was $25.00 when I purchased) that covers EVERYTHING. So far I have replaced 4 tires because of side wall cuts do to sharp rocks.
They have the LT265-75R16 E-rated @ $176.99, ask to price match the lowest you can find.
Cheers
 

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Just got the new BFG A/T KO2's on my truck and also paid less than for the KO's I put on in 2008. I like the improvements they have made to the tire, and the handling feels the same to me.

SunMan said:
FYI, in November BFG released their new KO2's. My regular KO's were toast and I was able to get a new set of KO2's with a $70 rebate from BFG. I ended up paying over $200 less than my old pair purchased over 2 years ago. Kudos to BFG for not marking them up just because they are new.

EDIT: Just noticing Captm's post.

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/category/off-road-tires/all-terrain-t-a-ko2/tire-details


http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/promotions.page
Click to expand...
 
All, thank you for these answers. Always nice to get suggestions and real experiences.
 
highz said:
Just got the new BFG A/T KO2's on my truck and also paid less than for the KO's I put on in 2008. I like the improvements they have made to the tire, and the handling feels the same to me.
Click to expand...
High Z,
Agree about the handling, no change. Look forward to seeing how they perform in the sand while aired down.
 
The BF Goodrich tires are great and I am currently running them on my 2012 Tacoma. They are a bit noisy, especially when they are wearing down. I am switching to the Cooper ST MAXX for a number of reasons and have not tried the redesigned BFG's.

One thing to consider changing might be the tire size. I did a fair amount of research when I replaced the stock Rugged Terrains, and a number of very experienced people were recommending a taller and narrower tire. It tends to go through sand and snow a little easier, and slightly improves gas mileage. However, if the conditions you face tend to be muddy, they won't work as well.

I ended up going with a 235/85/16 which is only slightly narrower and taller and, as advertised, made a huge difference in both snow and sand. There were no issues fitting them on the truck but it threw the speedometer off by 2 mph.
 
I'm ready for a new set of 5 tires... For years I have used the BFG All terrains KO on many different trucks and even have them on my trailer. I have to wait until March for the release of the KO2 in my size. Locally I buy them from Costco.
 
One unusual choice of tires: Kumho tread pattern KL61 which is all season but with a snow flake winter tire designation. Not many people have these tires and I do not. I tried to get them but my local rural tire dealers could not find them. I do have four snow tires on my Xterra and my AWD Astro so I am a fan of the snow flake winter tire rating. I would not expect the KL61's to last as long as BFG and they are only worth considering if you want to take a chance and are also a fan of the snow flake designation. A few other tires are both all season and snow flake but this is the only one I know of. The BFG's I have owned got lots of miles but I was not happy with the snow traction but you most likely get less ice than we do. I expect my tires to wear out quicker with the snow flake rating but that is the price for better winter traction. Every place has different winter traction characteristics.
 
Another Cooper AT/3 user here. I have been very happy with them so far but haven't been through a full winter with them yet. I did have mine siped when I bought them so that should help with the winter traction.
 
A good friend recently replaced the BFG AT radials on his 2006 Taco (the old standard tread design) with Michelin ATX Load Range E based on my recommendation since I've been so happy with the set on my Superduty diesel. He is not running a truck camper (nor am I) but we're each running a fiberglass shell and tend to carry a boatload of gear. His was actually maxed out per the GVWR on a recent Seattle to NC road trip. Mine checks in at 8,840 lbs with a standard load of tools and power equipment for a weekend cabin maintenance trip. He's crazy about the new rubber and I am very happy with mine. I've been in a little bit of mud and a goodly amount of snow in the NC mountains, and the traction has been excellent. They're great wet road tires and the sidewall stiffness provides a stable and good handling ride. I'd gotten away from Michelins for a set of Terra Grapplers. Never could keep them balanced for long, they wore out in <35,000 miles, and were very loud in the process. Glad to be back on Michelins and won't be straying again.

Foy
 
Correction: the Michelins on my Superduty and friend's Taco are LTX A/T. Tread somewhat more aggressive than LTX M/S. I managed 60,000 miles on a set of LTX M/S on the same Superduty a few years back.

Foy
 
Check out the General Grabbers AT2 great reviews in snow. I put some on my Jeep and they are working great in the snow and on the Highway.
 
Running the BFG KO2's now and loving them, tried to post a picture and can't do it? Maybe because it's my first post?
 
Whatever brand and model you choose purchase "E" rated tires because of the weight of camper and truck. Our Tacoma and Eagle shell weigh 5200 pounds.
Add one person and camping gear for one week in desert = 6200 pounds.

Yes .........6200 pounds........700 pounds over gross !!

You need 10 ply rated tires for the weight.
 
I agree with using E-rated tires. I've been running the Hankook ATM since ditching the stock tire early on. I always had a heavy truck even before the pop up and ran the E rated tire in sand, snow, rain, gravel, shale, and asphalt with great success…mud is a different story.
 
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