BFG Rugged Trail T/A
- Thread starter CLynn85
- Start date
mountainpete
Spamicus Eliminatus
You're right... they are the standard fare for Tacoma's - back since around 2001 I believe. They are a step down from the All Terrains though.
Overall they are a decent tire. Low noise, good highway traction and a fair amount of siping to make it perform decently in the snow. For general exploration of forestry roads and light trails, they are work. Fine in the rain, fine on gravel. The sidewalls aren't the best so they don't enjoy being aired down too much.
Unfortunately they are an absolutely terrible mud tire. They have little ability to clear themselves - instead they just coat with mud. They also have very little lateral stability when the trail gets greasy.
Sorry I can't comment on how they operate in sand or slickrock - we don't have much of that up here!
Treadlife is fairly good as well - however you will see a noticable drop in traction at about 50%.
The bottom line with these tires is they are good, but limiting. For most Tacoma owners they will serve them just fine. However if you are on a trail that you are "unsure" of, these tires will be a big factor in deciding the route you take - especially if it involves a muddy bottom.
My advice is to at least try the tires on the terrain you travel - you may at least be able to get a season out of them.
Pete
Overall they are a decent tire. Low noise, good highway traction and a fair amount of siping to make it perform decently in the snow. For general exploration of forestry roads and light trails, they are work. Fine in the rain, fine on gravel. The sidewalls aren't the best so they don't enjoy being aired down too much.
Unfortunately they are an absolutely terrible mud tire. They have little ability to clear themselves - instead they just coat with mud. They also have very little lateral stability when the trail gets greasy.
Sorry I can't comment on how they operate in sand or slickrock - we don't have much of that up here!
Treadlife is fairly good as well - however you will see a noticable drop in traction at about 50%.
The bottom line with these tires is they are good, but limiting. For most Tacoma owners they will serve them just fine. However if you are on a trail that you are "unsure" of, these tires will be a big factor in deciding the route you take - especially if it involves a muddy bottom.
My advice is to at least try the tires on the terrain you travel - you may at least be able to get a season out of them.
Pete
Bergger
Explorer
I agree with the above. They also came standard on the Xterra we just bought. I'll keep them on for 20k miles or so then switch them out. My biggest concern with them is the side wall stength. The ones on the Tacomas are a P rated tire, not LT. With my Tacoma my solution was to not rotate them. That way they wore out quicker and I had a good excuse for the wife to get new shoes!
mountainpete
Spamicus Eliminatus
asteffes said:
Curious about your thoughts on the snow & mud traction - because our experiences seem to be different.
From my experience, they are not as good as the BFG A/T's, but I thought they weren't too bad. The more I think about it, they definately needed extra weight in the bed of the truck though - without the extra weight they were all over the place.
For mud, at least the the mud we have here, my experience has been poor. I actually slid sideways about 30 yards down a hill once after just a light coating. That was a scary experience!
Pete
Bergger
Explorer
I agree that the mud/snow traction is not as good as the BFG A/T's. The tread on that tire, or most other AT tires, is much more aggressive and will undoubtably give you better traction in those conditions. Howver I have found the Rugged Trail to do just fine in the 7 weeks of snow we have gotten here in Colorado. I've blown through 16-24 inches of snow and not gotten stuck. But you do need to use a little more throttle. They also have done very well on snowpacked roads. If I were buying new tires I certainly would get an all terrain LT tire, BFG, Firestone, Bridgestone or Nitto, but I would not dump a brand new set of Rugged Trails. They will get you through mild to some moderate conditions just fine.
jim65wagon
Well-known member
Bergger said:
Not brand new ones, but after 10 - 15,000 miles their snow/mud/rain performance drops off badly, and then I would replace them. I did in fact replace a set with 15,000 miles on them, because in the winter snow/spring rain conditions I was driving daily in they were dangerous. Try them, you might have a better experience with them; but I would start saving money for a real set of tires asap.
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