Tires for light Expedition travel

[DCH109]

So I am looking for tires to use for light Expedition travel. What do I mean? I will be doing Expedition travels type trips for up to 3 weeks at a time mainly in the US but Canada is not out of the questions.

I am driving a 2007 FJ Cruiser. I will use the stock steel wheels as I just like the looks and I figure a steel wheel in the back country is better then a aluminum.
The FJ Will be decked out including a Maggolina RTT. Yes i will have a light lift (About 2-3")


I prefer a MT type of tire but a good AT I am not ruling out. However a 3 ply sidewall is a must and I would like to stick to a 285x70r17

So I plan to travel in the Utah back country, Colorado etc.

So far I have looked at the following tires

Hankook Dynapro MT
Mickey Thompson MTZ
Cooper STT
Maxxis Bighorn
Firestone Destination MT


I have though about Trxus MT but 33x12.5r17 may rub and are not worth the hassle, as well they seem impossible to get.

I am not a huge fan of the BFG tires the MT suck on packed snow and ice from what I hear. AT maybe but they are 2 ply sidewalls.


So any suggestion s on a good tire for the Back country, and on road as i will have to drive to work. (i am looking to get about 30-40K in mileage out of tires)

 

[phsycle]

I guess I don't know what your definition of "light expedition" is, but for me, "light expedition" tires would be AT treads, like BFG KO, DuraTrac, etc. Maybe even some less-agreesive AT's like Michelin AT2's.

And I'm pretty sure BFG KO's are 3-ply.

 

[DCH109]

Ahh I was sure the last set i had was 2 ply, then this could be good.

Light would mean no muti month long trips to South America.

I am talking 3 weeks max out in the field on mainly Forestry service roads, logging roads, other back country roads. Not rock crawling type of trails, some are ok but up a damn waterfall not for me.
For example.
I am heading to New Mexico (part of Arizona) and Utah for a 3 week trip. I am working on a plan that once I hit the North west part of New Mexico I stay off the asphalt and onto dirt.

 

[phsycle]

I see. I personally love BFG KO's and currently have 70k on mine, which still has 10-15k left. Performance drops once past the 50% mark, but they wear like iron.

Some info from tirerack:

tire's internal structure includes twin steel belts on top of BFGoodrich's TriGard (3-ply polyester cord sidewall plies) construction for strength and durability.

 

[Owyhee H]

I dont think there is much light about the tires you mentioned. I think a good AT tire would do much better for what you are describing. BFG's and Duratrac's are both 3ply sidewall if I remember correctly. The MT's will give you bette traction in the sloppy stuff but on pavement / snow / rain a good AT will win out. If most, the other 49 weeks this year, of your driving is DD I think the AT would serve you better.

Most manufacturers make a decent tire today, find somthing you like and give it a try.

MY 2 pennies.

 

[DCH109]

I dont think there is much light about the tires you mentioned. I think a good AT tire would do much better for what you are describing. BFG's and Duratrac's are both 3ply sidewall if I remember correctly. The MT's will give you bette traction in the sloppy stuff but on pavement / snow / rain a good AT will win out. If most, the other 49 weeks this year, of your driving is DD I think the AT would serve you better.

Most manufacturers make a decent tire today, find somthing you like and give it a try.

MY 2 pennies.

Weekends and at least another long trip i planned so no not 49 weeks DD. More like 52 weeks. As my wide drives the LR3.

FYI everything i could find on the Duratracs lead them to a 2 ply sidewall in the size i am looking for, there for they are out. I am leaning to the KO's as a mud tire is nice for what you mentioned, but i do have to deal with the rest Rain being the killer.

 

[SLOwag]

I suggest you look at Hankook ATM's. I ran BFG AT's on my past 3 rigs but the price of BFG kept creeping up, so I resolved to look at other options. My choices were whittled down to Duratrac and Hankook to which I literally flipped a coin to decide. My Hankooks are a little stiff for my Tacoma in LT, but they have been very solid in snow, ice, rain, sharp shale, and the highway over the past year. They won't outperform an MT in mud, so I pick my trail, my line and drive wisely to avoid mud.

 

[toyota_jon]

I run the BFG AT's (235/85) on my taco, and the trxus MT's (255/85) on my 4Runner. IMO the AT's for general DD, light wheeling, snow ice etc they are fantastic. Wear great, tough tire, give good traction through the widest variety of terrain. My primary wheeler is my 4Runner and as such I put the MT's on it. IMO they are an excellent tire for certain applications. They are very sticky, clear mud/snow well, but have very good road manners, when driving to/from the trail. Traction is never a problem. This past winter I was up snow wheeling ~2' powder on top of 2" of ice. Nasty conditions, I didn't even realize this until I got out of my truck and nearly landed on my butt. There was another group that I stopped to help and they couldn't believe I wasn't running chains. However, I wouldn't DD them they are soft and wear quickly on pavement. Their noise level is less than other MT's out there, but you will hear them. I got mine no prob from *cough* 4 wheel parts. They came in within a week if I remember correctly.

 

[WU7X]

Great thread. I've run a lot of different tires. My favorites end up being the STT's and the BFG AT's. I think that the STT's are a bit better performance wise, but more costly. The AT's were a better tire for all-around driving. Both will eat up your MPGs a bit. With gas hitting $4+ a gallon, this is becoming a critical element to your decision making. I am planning to replace my existing tires on my stock '97 4Runner with 235/85R16 BFG AT KO's soon. I'm a retired geologist and used to keep meticulous records of how/where I drove. I realized that well over 90% of my driving was on pavement. A lot of people really overestimate how much time they spend in the dirt. If you have only one rig you will probably find out what I am saying is true. Those AT's will give you better wear than a lot of the other stickier tires. I understand your comments about "light expedition" style driving. You will probably find out that you need aggressive tires well under 5% of the time. Just my $0.02 worth. good luck and have fun!

 

[jarmentrout]

Goodyear silent armor. Kevlar. Great at tire.

 

[musicmaan]

I run the Toyo Open Country AT on both my vehicles, I like em' on and off road.

 

[Derek24]

Cooper STmaxx for my vote! I had the Firestone Destination MT's as well and loved that tire, tough as nail, but like any MT its sucks on ice. These Coopers I feel are a little more aggressive than the BFG or any other AT tire out there, but still quite on the road.

 

[oliverlove]

Another vote for the Hankook's, either the ATM or the Muds.

I have over 20k on my ATM's on my Tacoma and they look brand new. They do great in Texas both on highway and off. Aired down they keep pulling through deep sand and the little mud I can find!

The Muds have won tire shootouts for a while now. I am amazed how few people run them. My buddy has them on his Tundra, and its amazing what they get him through.

 

[DCH109]

Wow thanks everyone,
I am not sure if i am closer or further away from picking a tire.

Either way i think i have some great choices here and just due to the side wall being 3 ply the BFG At may win the vote, the Hankooks are gaining ground.
I have hear horror stories about the weaker sidewalls on the STMaxx and that worries me. The Other Cooper STT's are great I hear even though the share the same sidewall technology, one seems to be better than the other.

 

[PoindexterS]

Look at some Falken Rocky Mountain ATs which are same as Falken Wild Peak ATs. The only difference is the Rocky Mountains were only for Discount Tire distribution only. Both got excelent ratings in the last issue of Petersons 4 wheel and off road. Just FYI............