Overlanding Tires

[jomobco]

Love my Toyo MT's

Problem with the AEV Beadlock wheels is tires like the Coopers have sidewalls that don't allow the beadlock ring to fit correctly. I really like the Toyo MT tires but they don't come in 33s. 295/70/17 is as close as they get. The KM2 are leading the pack for me at the moment. I can get them in 305/70/17.

I've got 35k miles on my first set of Toyo MT's. In the 300k plus miles I've driven in a Wrangler (88YJ and 11JKU) this is the best tire I've ever had. I've combined the 35" tire with some hutch bead locks and just finished a snow filled WY road trip of close to 2k miles. This is a great and quiet all around tire.

They do a few sizes like you're looking for:

http://toyotires.com/tires/pattern/open-country-mt-off-road-maximum-traction-tires
LT265/70R17 121P E/10 360130 7.0-8.0-8.5 32 10.8 19 62.8
LT285/75R17 121P E/10 (34X11.50R17) 360430 7.5-8.0-9.5 34.1 11.6 19 70.6
LT295/70R17 128P E/10 (33X11.50R17) 360360 7.5-8.5-10.0 33.5 12 19 72.8

 

[BIG JOHN]

Duratraks would be by first choice but they don't come in the size I'm looking for.

A 285/70-17 is a 33" tire!
This is the same tire I have on my JKU. All I can say is AWSOME! I have run BFG's, Mickey Thompsons and Yokohamas over the years and the Duratrac tires are the best Overlanding Tire I have ever owned. I wouldnt say they are the strongest tire if you frequent the rocks. I have 45,000 miles on mine and I still have half tread left. (5 tire rotations help) My first set on the Jeep were Bfg Mt and they were bald at 48,000 miles.

 

[katuah]

I'm running General Grabber AT2's. Delightfully inexpensive, tread pattern is pretty quiet and a lot like the more expensive BFG ATs. My theory is that I don't intend this to be a rock crawler or mud bogger, it's an expo rig; while I might need some relative crawling grip in occasional bad sections, most of my time will probably be spent on some kind of road. These will do that just fine.

I replaced a set of Cooper Discoverer STT's. The Coopers were nice until the siping wore off, and then they were hellish and nearly impossible to keep balanced. Not saying the other Coopers would be like that, but just putting it out there for whatever.

 

[Brandon Libby]

It's all about the terrain you will be traveling on.

My AT's were great on the rocks in Moab, and did well on the soft sand at Lake Powell, and have suited me well in many other situations. However, when my wife and I found ourselves caught in a severe rain storm at Hale Mountain Off Road Park on the Tennessee/Alabama border, we barely made it up to the top of the mountain. The trail was so slick that when I got out of the Jeep to check for damage after we slid off trail into a tree, it was like walking on ice. It would have been nice not to have had to climb out the Jeep in the rain and mud and winch us out. I have a new found respect for MT's as the local guys we wheeled with drove up the mountain like a bunch of mechanical sherpas -we were just off the rev limiter the whole way up and had to do multiple attempts to get up some relatively mild grades. Their Jeeps were fitted with Goodyear MTR's with kevlar, Toyo MT's, and BFG KM2's mostly. No tire seemed to have a distinct advantage over another, and most were 35's fitted to JK's.

After tons of research, my next tire will be a BFG KM2. I've asked countless people who have them about their wear, noise, and traction characteristics and so far no one has had a single complaint. Even though it's designated an MT, and I spend very little time in the super slippery stuff, in my opinion, it's worth having the safety and traction of an MT for those rare situations. Believe me, it was a hard sell as I try to purchase things that suite my needs for where I do 90% of my driving, but that 10% can sometimes be the most dangerous.

You may have already seen this, but Scott Brady drove around on a set of 35" KM2's in the Expeditions West - JK Overland Project.

 

[shogun]

After tons of research, my next tire will be a BFG KM2. I've asked countless people who have them about their wear, noise, and traction characteristics and so far no one has had a single complaint. Even though it's designated an MT, and I spend very little time in the super slippery stuff, in my opinion, it's worth having the safety and traction of an MT for those rare situations. Believe me, it was a hard sell as I try to purchase things that suite my needs for where I do 90% of my driving, but that 10% can sometimes be the most dangerous.
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Whats this? You mean there is more to "great tires" than getting 50,000 miles with no discernable wear? Who'da thunk it?

 

[JCMatthews]

BFG Ats. I have run them in snow, mud, sand, rocks, and slick rock, and they never let me down. They will give you great traction, a lot of miles, and are quiet. I used them for 13 years guiding in Moab, except for a short try with mud terrains, I now run them on my Tundra and just love them. I would run them as low as 8 psi on my Cherokee when I was rock crawling and they never missed a beat. If an all terrain tire is aired down properly there is no need for a mud tire on a regular basis.

 

[Topgun514]

I've used Duratracs and BFG AT's so I can only speak on those. I have slid trying to stop in the duratracs but that was driver error, once. I have used them in Southern Utah and all the time heading the mountains to ski here in the cottonwoods. Currently, using them on my ice only (I mean this truly) driveway and they do not even bark back at me while I cannot even walk up it. They feel good in the rain and dry sand, rocks are sticky, offroading is great with them.

While I have time with AT's, they spun more I feel like in mud (could be driver error as well however) and felt more squirilly in the rain I think. They are both great tires.

As a tid bit add on, my roommate has the AT's on his pathfinder, and when I moved his car out of the driveway to get mine out, his needed to have a running start to get up the snow and ice, wheels spun and the electric driver system was growling hard in 4wheel. Mine made it up fine in 2wd but needed 4wd to get high enough on the driveway where my jeep would not slide backwards when parked. I did not even flinch driving up, and dont bat an eye with 6 inches of road snow heading up to Snowbird/ Little Cottonwood Canyon. So steady. While these are 2 different vehicles I compared, weights, balence etc, the pathfinder has stability control, my jeep is open/open.

I just vomited my thoughts on this page because I am in a rush.

 

[JKBANDIT55]

Duratracs are going to be your all around best tire. M/Ts are going to be useless in light snow and ice. Duratracs are great in light and deep snow as well as ice. For an A/T, they have a very wide spaced and aggressive tread pattern making them very reliable in mud and slick rock as well as gravel compared to other A/Ts.

They have quiet road manners and last a really long time. Honestly, you cant beat them when it comes to having a tire ready to handle any situation you throw at it.

 

[sluff28]

i have the grabber red letter and they are quiet on the road great on trails and rocks but not the best in mud they d look nice though. very soft so they wear quicker than i would like

 

[DallasJKU]

When I had my FJ and Xterra, I ran Duratrac's and KM2's. My problem with the KM2 is the feeling through the steering wheel. If I was off pavement I would go with the KM2, but for mostly street driving and then off road, I would go with the DT's. I'm trying to decide between the DT's and Toyo's at the moment for my JKU. DT's are load range D and Toyo's are E which seems like it would be a little too stiff.

 

[ElCaminoManT]

LOVE my Falken Rocky Mountains. Beat on em pretty good this past weekend and they did great! Price was pretty legit as well.

 

[DallasJKU]

I went ahead with 35" Duratracs. 3rd vehicle with them so I know how well balanced they are.

 

[Howski]

Durtracs or Kelly TSR (Duratrac clone). Air down excellent and have fanstastic road manners

 

[tommudd]

Having ran Goodyear MTRs/ BFG-ATs and now Duratracs
No way I'd go with anything else now except the Duratracs
Great all around tire
Installed at 129,000 now with 180,000 and still doing great
Just have to keep them rotated on a regular basis like any tire
Just looked at a set of Kelly TSRs on a buddys rig last weekend
They do look good but haven't heard many reports on them yet

 

[Septu]

The only thing I can contribute to this, is don't use the Nokian Vatiiva MT. Tread wear was horrible. Ice was bad (but that's to be expected). Snow use was great! They were good on the trail, however I'm sure others are just as good. Road manors were fine (although I have nothing to really compare them to).

All I know is my next tire will likely be a Toyo or a BFG.