Thinking about new tires for your rig? Whatever you do, don’t go looking for advice in a car or truck forum. Seriously. Step away from the forum, sir or ma’am. Trust me, I’ve been there myself, and if you think American politics are fractious, you haven’t seen anything. Forums are swamps of misinformation, fanboyism, and unfulfilled masculinity seeking affirmation via irrationally large tires and treads. You’re likely to come away disgusted at the open misogyny and, more relevant to this story, confused as hell about tires.
Instead, here are a few broad rules of thumb. Stock tires on almost any SUV or truck will get you almost anywhere you want to go. Airing down should get the rest of the way. All terrain tires are great for almost anything. And, as my friend and colleague Scott Brady and his buddy Matt Swartz half-joked on an Overland Journal podcast dedicated to tires, whatever size you think you want, get the next size down.
In the past five years, I’ve owned four vehicles (I know), each with different treads. My first generation Sequoia had Cooper Discoverer AT/3s; after 18 years and with my kids grown, I sold it for a third generation 4Runner, which had BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2s.
The underpowered 4Runner lasted a year and then I debated for a long time between the Lexus LX470 (i.e., Land Cruiser) and the GX470. I went with the 2006 LX470, which was amazing for about a month and then I couldn’t handle the size or anemic MPG. It had generico all-terrains and I lived with it for a year before deciding I’d made the wrong choice.
That led to a 2007 GX470: the Goldilocks SUV and already the best rig I’ve ever had.
The GX470 came with nearly bald original KOs, so getting new rubber was mandatory. I bought Method wheels (because vanity) and shod them with Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs, the newest version of their highly regarded all-terrain standout.
Now, unless you’re Scott Brady, it’s almost impossible to compare tires objectively. First, it’s not an objective experience. Second, who has the resources to test different tires on the same vehicle at the same time? Not this kid, and not this magazine. All of which means you have to take everything you read and hear with a grain of salt, including my experience.
Which, with the Toyos, has been fantastic. I loved the Coopers because they dramatically improved the Sequoia’s off-road capability over the pavement-oriented tires that came before. The Sequoia gets a bad rap as a soccer mom car, and yes, we hauled a lot of kids. It’s not bad off-road, though, and the Coopers made it significantly better.
The KO2s have an extremely wide following and fanbase (KBro2s?), but I found them loud and heavy-footed on pavement. Off road, yeah, great. But like most people, I spend far more time on road and I don’t see them in my future.
The Toyos matched the GX perfectly in that they’re the Goldilocks tread. They’re the quietest of all the tires I’ve used in the last five years and are pretty darn comfortable on the road (though you won’t mistake them for a street tire). MPG hasn’t taken a hit: I’m getting the EPA rated 15 MPG around town and exceeding it by 1 MPG on highway, where I get 20. (These are unflinchingly miserable metrics, and I can’t wait for an electric truck.)
Toyo introduced the second generation of Open Countrys in 2012 and spent the next eight years in R&D looking for ways to improve it. The third generation, launched in 2020, brought a lot of changes. Biggest was a new tread design, in which Toyo abandoned five lines of street-friendly lugs in favor of three lines of interlocking lugs. This makes for better off-road use, more efficient shedding of gravel, and better snow performance. The siping—lateral cuts that allow the lugs to spread slightly—was adjusted to provide better traction and wear. A new rubber compound is better for wet and dry braking.
In short, Toyo improved the Open Countrys in almost all conditions, but especially off road, while still offering a 65,000 mile warranty.
There are more than a hundred different sizes of A/T IIIs, including 28 options in my rig’s 17-inch standard. I chose to keep width the same as stock (the first number in the tire’s size designation), which is 265, but increase the aspect ratio one increment, to 70. That gets me a taller sidewall and a bit bigger tire. (My size: 265/70R17.)
Also, instead of the light truck version, I went for the lighter P-metric model. It was so tempting to go light truck for durability, but the LT designation adds six pounds to each tire, a massive percentage jump and way more rolling resistance.
Should you try the Toyos? I give them two thumbs up, and if you want to check them out there’s no risk. Toyo lets you try them for 45 days or 500 miles and if you aren’t happy you can return to the dealer and replace them or get a refund. Based on my experience, I doubt that would happen.
Most full service dealers should have or can order the Open Countrys. Cost runs around $183 per tire for the 265/70R17s, though we’ve seen them as low as $173 here.
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+1 Had these Toyo’s put on my Ranger this spring. Incredible so far in mud, rocks, and on pavement or washboard roads. Very good traction esp. when aired down. Have used Cooper AT3s and various stock tires. These are an awesome upgrade.
Steve, thanks for your comments & review. Very helpful. I’ve outdoor “expedition” vehicles & SUV street vehicles & have had mid size trucks & other vehicles. For most who use vehicles on the street, in snow, slight mud or dirt, an AT tire is going to work just fine. A more serious expedition vehicle (4 door) might use a “mud tire” and a smaller 2dr. an “in between” such as a BF Goodrich Duratrac. I have Nitto 33″ MT on a 4 dr. and 33″ (a bit narrower) Duratrac on another. On a SUV that runs primarily streets and some dirt another brand AT tire is used. The reviews on the Toyo Open Country are mostly positive. If someone is looking for new tires and wants to stay in the AT range, I suppose that is good option.
Great topic and info.
Funny thing about the Overland Journal podcast……..I used to listen pretty religiosly, and while I really think Scott Brady does an excellent job…..co host Matt Scott is so cynical and hypocritical that I cant even listen anymore when he is on.
One minute he’ll tell you you only need a reliable Toyota on stock tires, then spend the next 4 podcasts waxing about how all anyone needs is a Ram on 40s (like anyone in their right mind is taking an American truck through Central Asia on 40s). When hes not on about 40’s hes making fun of people ‘who have all the gear and no clue’ while reminding you 5 times in 45 minutes that he is the Maxx Trax distributor.
But I digress, Tires can turn into quite the rabbit hole if your let it happen.
I remember the late, great Mickey Thompson once said something to the effect of: tires wont win you a race, but they can definitely lose one for you.
Choose wisely, and take care of your tires, and they will take care of you.
Great info but I think this is what happened…..you were on a reddit off-road forum and had typed up this great reason why Toyos are the best option and you didn’t want t a bunch of down votes so you decided to make your comment an “article” 🙂 Just kidding, but yeah, they are really good tires. Call me a bro though because I run KO2s on my Wrangler and will never look back. I previously ran Nitto Ridge Grapplers on an SUV and if you think KO2s are heavy-footed…..
I just put a set of these on my Chevy Trail Boss. I did a lot of research (including those forums you mention 🙂 ) and I found a lot of love for these tires, so I bought a set. I am extremely happy with them! They replaced a set of Goodyear Duratracs that had great traction off-road, especially in the snow, but they’d drive you out of the cab on the highway with the noise. So far, so good. Haven’t tried them in snow yet, but they take muddy forest roads without a problem. Great tire!
I spend a lot time driving my half-ton truck off-road in southern Utah and in Utah’s west desert, often with heavy loads of gear. Though I have been a BFG fanboy since the early 80’s, I’ve come to believe that there are quite a few good AT tires out there, and I’ve become less brand loyal. I currently run General Grabber ATs since they were on sale when I needed new treads a few years ago. I’ll add Toyos to my list of tires to consider in the future.
My post-stock tires are slightly oversized to what came on the truck, and would agree that all too often people are running larger tires than they need. Oversizing adds weight and stress to components, and can adversely affect gear ratios.
Early in your article you wrote a general rule of thumb: “Stock tires on almost any SUV or truck will get you almost anywhere you want to go.” But later wrote: “I loved the Coopers because they dramatically improved the Sequoia’s off-road capability over the pavement-oriented tires that came before.” The two statements seem to be at odds, though I would agree that most people are just fine running stock tires rather than upgrading (which tends to be more often for vanity than for true need).
While P rated tires are lighter and tend to ride better, I’m a big believer in the greater resiliency of LT tires and will gladly pay the added costs (rougher ride, diminished MPG, and higher $$s) for piece of mind in the middle of nowhere. In the past 30 years of driving in Utah’s and California’s deserts I’ve had a number of flats, but I can only recall one when I was running LT tires — it came while jamming branches and brush under the BFG KOs when our old Bronco was buried to the axles. I’m not sure any sidewall would have survived my abuse. Life is full of anecdotal info, but some of it rolls true…
Agreed. I run beefy 6 ply MT maxxis bighorns in summer but opt for a LT Blizzak from late october to april.
The peace of mind from the specialized rubber is worth swapping rims come the seasonal change.
What are your thoughts if people run 2 sets? I run Blizzak dmv2 in winter and shoulder seasons in stock dimensions (next time going nokian) on the stock rims, and just mounted up maxxis bighorn 31×10.5 on some 7 inch wide pro comps for 3 season PNW camping duty. Its a snow/camp rig that isnt daily driven so the extra 1.5 inches of clearance in the summer and the durability of the chunky mt rubber is a good trade off, as summer interstate miles are limited.
The studless snows make it a great crossing the pass in a storm rig and ride well on road.
I guess what im getting at is that imo 2 sets gives you the ability to have more specialized options for seasonal use.