Enthusiast III
TIRES
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Influencer I
Oh boy here we go!
I would say part of it Is where you are going. For me in the American Southwest I prefer and run ATs.
I would say part of it Is where you are going. For me in the American Southwest I prefer and run ATs.
Depends what is meant by "overlanding". My perspective is that overland travel means weeks or months of travel, with much of the trip likely to be on surfaced roads. In this type of travel MTs are noisy on tarmac, and grip is poor, particularly in rain or snow. HTs are not adequate for the unsurfaced roads/tracks which are travelled, and so ATs are the best compromise - good on surfaced and unsurfaced roads, adequate offroad (which is likely to be a very small proportion of and "overland" trip.
Expedition Master III
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My M/T tires lasted a LONG time. Generally, I think A/T tires will last a bit longer because overlanding often requires putting behind a lot of miles getting from point to point. I ran M/Ts for several years but the first thing I did when I made the change from crawling to overlanding was the A/Ts. I also believe A/Ts are better in sand, but my experience is minimal. My M/Ts dug in like crazy out in the White Sand Dunes near Moab.
Delium Terra Raider M/T, fantastic tire, stuck to everything! lasted a very long time with minimal chipping. 35"
Milestar Patagonia AT/R, more of a road tire although advertised as A/T, great on the road, surprisingly well in the wet muddy sand trails of NJ, never got me stuck in the short time I had them. 37"
Falken Rubitrek A/T, great so far with only a couple thousand miles on them, fantastic on road and on gravel, will have to take them on some more soupy trails to test their offroad capability. 32"
Delium Terra Raider M/T, fantastic tire, stuck to everything! lasted a very long time with minimal chipping. 35"
Milestar Patagonia AT/R, more of a road tire although advertised as A/T, great on the road, surprisingly well in the wet muddy sand trails of NJ, never got me stuck in the short time I had them. 37"
Falken Rubitrek A/T, great so far with only a couple thousand miles on them, fantastic on road and on gravel, will have to take them on some more soupy trails to test their offroad capability. 32"
Is the Rubitrek a slightly more tame tire than the Wildpeaks? Something a little more polite on-road if slightly less capable than the Wildpeaks off road?
All Terrain on a truck, are just about completely obsolete now.
Rugged Terrain tires are kind of an advanced AT with nearly mud spacing.
Kenda Klever RT would be a good example.
So for me, it's RT vs MT.
My next set of tires will be RT's. MT's are overkill. For the 45 seconds that I need an MT, tire chains or Truck Claws work even better.
If I need more, I'll buy a Ktm Adv890 Rally.
Rugged Terrain tires are kind of an advanced AT with nearly mud spacing.
Kenda Klever RT would be a good example.
So for me, it's RT vs MT.
My next set of tires will be RT's. MT's are overkill. For the 45 seconds that I need an MT, tire chains or Truck Claws work even better.
If I need more, I'll buy a Ktm Adv890 Rally.
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I have been running Generals and KO's all over Baja for years. I like them is the sand and rocks.
Are you saying that KO2 and 3's, certain types of Wranglers, and WildPeaks, and such - which continue to sell like mad as the industry standard AT's - are themselves obsolete, or are you thinking, no matter what they call themselves (AT's), they are really RT's by another name?
Yep. I don't recommend those tires anymore. Unless you're 99% street and tow heavy.
I'm not concerned about what sells to the average consumers. I'd actually use that as a clue, that we can do better.
The RT's do everything an AT does, and half of what an MT does. Or in some cases and terrain, most of what an MT does.
Our GY Wranglers are OK. But a bit soft. There's just simply better options.
It's like the GY Silent Armors. Nothing wrong with the tire. But it did nothing better than the Duratrac, and costed the same. It then became obsolete.
BFG KO3's still work in arid sandy states. I wouldn't use them up here.
Even my front tire melting,13,000# Ram Cummins DRW, uses tires more aggressive than than regular AT's. The Firestone Destination XT is fairly optimal for that truck. Weird cross between an RT and work truck tire.
I'm not concerned about what sells to the average consumers. I'd actually use that as a clue, that we can do better.
The RT's do everything an AT does, and half of what an MT does. Or in some cases and terrain, most of what an MT does.
Our GY Wranglers are OK. But a bit soft. There's just simply better options.
It's like the GY Silent Armors. Nothing wrong with the tire. But it did nothing better than the Duratrac, and costed the same. It then became obsolete.
BFG KO3's still work in arid sandy states. I wouldn't use them up here.
Even my front tire melting,13,000# Ram Cummins DRW, uses tires more aggressive than than regular AT's. The Firestone Destination XT is fairly optimal for that truck. Weird cross between an RT and work truck tire.
I have a friend that owned a AK pipeline support company, he had 30 plus full sized trucks. He ran Michelin LXT on all of them year round. His trucks were up and down the pipeline all year long. When he had tires with a open tread there were more flats because of rock punctures. For him it was getting the most out rigs for as long as possible. He was always trying stuff to keep the overhead under control.
Member II
This thread is so relevant, as I have BFG AT KO2s on my Land Cruiser, which are wearing quite nicely (they look almost new) and have done the job very well for my needs over the past few years. I have almost 40,000 miles on them, rotate them every 5,000 miles (including the spare), but wondering what tire I will get next. I will likely end up with the KO3s, but definitely going to explore other 18" options. I do not need an MT tire at all, but want to explore any other options before making my decision.
Advocate II
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mud tires are like lube : better to have and not need then to need and not have / mike and molly
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Yes - when we bought the Wrangler for the Canada trip (see below for more details of our experience, which may be useful to finlayforprez, I was concerned that the LXTs would not be up to the task, however they did well. We did replace the one which had two punctures with an AT, perhaps though biased assumptions on capability rather than evidence of underperformance.
Experience with ATs:
2010-2018 - Tyres we used in South America on our X Trail T31 then Montero:
- Dunlop Grandtrek AT3 - good tyre on the highway, OK offroad
- Pirelli Scorpion AT - similar to the Dunlops
- Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S - the best of these three - good on the highway, more capable offroad.
2017 - In 2017 we made a "big trip" through Africa and had BF Goodrich T/As on our vehicle there (LC80) - they were a little noisier on the highway, however better than all of the previous tyres offroad.
2019 - In 2019 we made a "big trip" around Australia and at that point had the Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S on the vehicle. When we needed to replace one we found that the nearest shop had BF Goodrich T/As and we asked them to put one on the vehicle, however they recommended a Toyo Open Country AT as being as good as the BFG at a lower price. We took their advice and when we subsequently replaced two more tyres put on two more Toyos, which we have on the vehicle now (in South America). The Toyos are excellent - quiet and capable on the highway, and good offroad. So, I'd recommend Toyos.
2022-2024 – In 2022 we acquired another vehicle – it was way too expensive to ship our Montero to North America so we bought a Wrangler JK LWB and took it 53,000 km around Western/Northwestern Canada. It came with Michelin LTXs and although we were initially concerned at their capability they proved remarkably capable on tarmac, gravel, and “offroad”. We did experience 2 punctures, which we fixed, however it should be noted that on this section of the Dempster we helped fix a lot of punctures on other vehicles (as many as 3 simultaneous punctures on one vehicle in one case!), so having only 2 was not bad. Later in the trip we replaced the tyre which had experienced 2 punctures with a new Bridgestone Dueler A/T and put the spare on the rear axle. The choice was partly owing to the fact that the spare tyre was a Dueler and the tyre workshop in Fort Nelson had one available. We ended up with 2 x Dueler A/Ts at the back and the Michelin LTXs at the front and as the spare. If we had needed to replace all of the tyres on the Wrangler we’d have gone for the Toyos.
The tyres on the Montero are Toyos now, with one Geolandar left.
So – Toyos are our recommendation.
I've seen a lot of recommendations recently for Falken Wildpeaks, however have no experience to offer.
Member II
Thank you so much for that thoughtful post, it really does help as I investigate my next tire brand. My LC200 is primarily on the road, or dirt roads, so I definitely am looking for an AT that has a good blend. I really appreciate your help! By the way, our overlanding adventures sound AMAZING!!! Wow, you are quire well traveled.
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Yeah, very very similar but slightly more tame. Thinner gaps between lugs, etc. But just barely. They're both 3PMS rated and all that.
Advocate I
I had an 88" Land Rover, when I bought it it had Firestone Destination AT's on it. It really looks like a street tyre(5.5" x 16 rims). While I owned the Rover I took it through mud in the Coastal Mtns and a couple trips to the Nevada Desert and Death Valley. Never had an issue with flats or traction. Really surprised me.
Currently I am running wider rims(8" x 16 rims) and Goodrich mud-terrain A/T on my 109" Rover and with trips to the Desert it just feels planted where ever I drive.
Any tyre has to be better than those 10 ply Armstrong Norseman Tru-trac's I ran in the 70's! They looked like something now run on skidsteers, so noisy people heard me coming for blocks.
Currently I am running wider rims(8" x 16 rims) and Goodrich mud-terrain A/T on my 109" Rover and with trips to the Desert it just feels planted where ever I drive.
Any tyre has to be better than those 10 ply Armstrong Norseman Tru-trac's I ran in the 70's! They looked like something now run on skidsteers, so noisy people heard me coming for blocks.
Enthusiast III
As always, real world insight from a couple who have "been there".
Just to be clear here, are you talking about the Michelin Defender LTX, or the LTX A/T (2?).
Also, very interesting comment on the Yokohamas. Though you recommend the Toyo Open Country, how would you compare them to Michelin LTX or Yokohama Geolandar?
The tyres on the Wrangler were LTX M/S.
I think that the Geolandars (ATs) are a better option than the Michelins, and that the TOYO Open Country ATs are better than both.
