Best Aggressive All Terrain or Mild Mud Terrain Tire?

erstwild

Active member
You asked, so here are my thoughts:

Tire size... The 255/75R17 size you're looking at exists because of the Wrangler Rubicon. I've not seen any yet that have a load range higher than C. I would not put a LR C tire on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck... I would recommend the size I'm running as being a good alternative: 255/80R17.

Tire pressures... First, check your door sticker. Run your front tires at that pressure. On my 2500 GMC, that pressure is 55psi. That was on tiny 245/75R16's, and generally speaking, bigger tires require less pressure to handle the same load as a smaller tire. There is no reason to run more pressure than the sticker recommends unless you have a heavy snow plow or big pipe bumper and winch adding considerable weight to the front axle.

Ideal rear pressures for an empty truck are usually the same or even slightly less than the door sticker suggests for the front tires. (Trucks are often front heavy when empty, and since you're always mostly empty from a weight perspective, this applies to you...) Running the rear tires at higher pressures when empty amplifies any axle hop tendency, reduces traction on any soft surface, creates washboard very quickly on dirt roads, wears the tire out much faster, and makes for a rough ride on back roads.

Your desire to run equal pressures all around is for cars, not trucks. Get over it. For trucks, you run appropriate pressures front and rear for the axle weights. "Compromising" pressures on a truck means running the rear tires at or near max pressure all the time becasue you actually use the truck to haul things regularly, and you're compromising things when empty. There is no need to "compromise" on your truck, as you're not hauling regularly, if ever. There is certainly no reason to run such high pressures on an empty truck, aside from keeping the TPMS light out for the rear axle.

The suggestion in the post above is a very good sanity check. BFG also publishes load/pressure charts IIRC. Ford may be erring to the high side, after their Firestone debacle from years gone by, so a sanity check may show that the door sticker is even higher than it needs to be...

You can get axle weights at any gravel pit, grain depot, or highway weigh station when it's not busy. Or you can probably look them up for your truck and just add several hundred pounds to the rear axle.

As usual, YMMV, but probably not by much... :)

Thanks so much! I will be getting my fully loaded rig weighed which I have been putting off as well. My camper and upgrades are way under the GVWR, but it will be good to know exactly how much.

Great points all around on measuring and optimizing the tire pressure based on the weight distribution. I will test and iterate starting with the manufacturer door specs until I find the right combinations.

Yeah, that particular tire has a load rating that is way too low at 2400 lbs. They don’t make a Cooper STT Pro in 255/80R17, but they do make a 265/70R17 with a 3195 lb load rating. I have to see if that would fit on the stock wheels for me.
 
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RubiconGeoff

Adventurer
I can definitely recommend the ST-MAXX, which I've used and loved for years. If you wanted a more aggressive tire that's still very street friendly, I can recommend the Milestar Patagonia M/T, although they are not available in as many sizes as the Coopers are. As long as you are diligent with rotations, the Patagonias will remain deceptively smooth and quiet.
 

erstwild

Active member
Thanks All! I decided to go with Cooper STT Pros 265/70R17 and getting them swapped on tomorrow. They might be a bit overkill but as someone who does hit the dirt regularly and is a low mileage/non-commute driver I think they should do the trick.
 
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rayra

Expedition Leader
a little too late for me to mention, but I've been using Yokohama Geolandar A/Ts in 265/70-17 on my Suburban these last 4yrs. They've worked well in the desert southwest, sandy, washboard, fire trails, snowy mountain roads. But I've avoided mud as much as possible. So I really can't attest to their mud-slinging ability. Their E-rated is good for 3200#. My Sub loaded up is easily in the 6600-6800# range and I've getting good dry traction in hilly terrain.
And they've got a decent bit of sidewall protection.
 

erstwild

Active member
a little too late for me to mention, but I've been using Yokohama Geolandar A/Ts in 265/70-17 on my Suburban these last 4yrs. They've worked well in the desert southwest, sandy, washboard, fire trails, snowy mountain roads. But I've avoided mud as much as possible. So I really can't attest to their mud-slinging ability. Their E-rated is good for 3200#. My Sub loaded up is easily in the 6600-6800# range and I've getting good dry traction in hilly terrain.
And they've got a decent bit of sidewall protection.

Nice! I actually had those on my previous old jeep. Very good all around all terrain tires. I can highly recommend those too.
 

86cj

Explorer
Yokahama AT/ X:
I know you made your choice but for others looking, I went with a set of Yokahama AT/X in a 305 70 18 size or true 35x12.50x18 also on sidewall. I could not find much info on the new tire but there is a reveiw on here hauling a camper, seemed good. Discount tire pushed me hard "out door" on my Ram HD 3500 axle rating, so my first set of Toyos I wanted were out.
The AT/X tire is not snowflake rated so I did not want them and it is to wide for my own taste in winter. I did not want F tires I dont plan on hauling that heavy. I wanted my first set of 65psi tires hence the width rated at 3750@65psi, I have had enough hard ass 80psi tires in my past 4 decades driving alot have squirmy steering to. I looked at the AT/X tire in person and I could tell it's a good winter tire so I went for it with little info from others. I get alot of snow here but I also run through upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and into Maine regularly, results were stellar in the deep and on ice "I am sure there are better ice tires"...

I run them in the 35 to 50 psi range not loaded and love the ride it worked as planned, the rut tracking I was ready for did not happen? weird, the steering input is tight. Our roads suck really really bad and they bridge the potholes great, the side walls are very thick and its a heavy tire..........
I did almost get the ST-Maxx and Ridge Grappler, could not be happier, they balanced with very little weight and are smooth as silk............Pretty quiet, louder than new BFG At same as worn ones maybee, the noise is kind of pleasantly noticable. The new Ram HD is so quiet your results could be different............
 
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Regcabguy

Oil eater.
Yokahama AT/ X:
I know you made your choice but for others looking, I went with a set of Yokahama AT/X in a 305 70 18 size or true 35x12.50x18 also on sidewall. I could not find much info on the new tire but there is a reveiw on here hauling a camper, seemed good. Discount tire pushed me hard "out door" on my Ram HD 3500 axle rating, so my first set of Toyos I wanted were out.
The AT/X tire is not snowflake rated so I did not want them and it is to wide for my own taste in winter. I did not want F tires I dont plan on hauling that heavy. I wanted my first set of 65psi tires hence the width rated at 3750@65psi, I have had enough hard ass 80psi tires in my past 4 decades driving alot have squirmy steering to. I looked at the AT/X tire in person and I could tell it's a good winter tire so I went for it with little info from others. I get alot of snow here but I also run through upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and into Maine regularly, results were stellar in the deep and on ice "I am sure there are better ice tires"...

I run them in the 35 to 50 psi range not loaded and love the ride it worked as planned, the rut tracking I was ready for did not happen? weird, the steering input is tight. Our roads suck really really bad and they bridge the potholes great, the side walls are very thick and its a heavy tire..........
I did almost get the ST-Maxx and Ridge Grappler, could not be happier, they balanced with very little weight and are smooth as silk............Pretty quiet, louder than new BFG At same as worn ones maybee, the noise is kind of pleasantly noticable. The new Ram HD is so quiet your results could be different............
I'm considering them too. You're right on the new quiet Rams. I rode in one a few weeks ago that had Toyo MT's. No issues at all noise-wise.
 

tdferrero

Active member
I'd highly recommend the Nitto Trail Grapplers, I have them on my LC and they've worked great for highway, mud, and trails alike thus far. Minimal road noise, great life, and relatively inexpensive.
 

bluejeep

just a guy
I've run the Cooper MAXX for just over 40,000 miles now, no issues, good both on road and off, they air down and flex nicely. I plan to switch to Kenda Klever R/t in the 35 x 10.5 x 17 when these finally wear out, primarily because of the 10.5" width. The tread looks comparable, they are cost effective, and have specs showing a tuff build. Worth a try, I can always move back to MAXX if they don't work out
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
The Hankook dynapro is an awesome tire.

For my heavy setups, Ive stuck with Toyo AT2 ?

48514195421_435b8f2e6d_b.jpg
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
Same here. The Toyo carcass is confidence inspiring. The AT3's are next but the way things are going it's going to be awhile. I'm returning to 285's again. My 35's don't see and sand or silt anymore.
If I had a half ton I'd consider other brands.
 

Inyo_man

Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.
One of the main concerns, in my opinion, is the sidewall construction of a tire used off-pavement.
Personally, I look for a 3-ply sidewall. I've seen tires with "weak" sidewall construction not stand up to the demands of off-pavement driving.
Cheers
 

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