Ideal tires -> Duratrac or KO2s?

Hey guys, I'm starting to get my truck (03 Tundra AC 4WD) ready for some trips to Baja and am looking for some insight on tires for sandy conditions. I've narrowed my search down to the Wrangler Duratrac LT265/75/R16 Load Range E and the BFGoodrich KO2s T/A 265/75/R16 also load range E. They both seem great, however, I'll prob be lowering the tire pressure by quite a bit at certain moments and I'll be carrying a heavy camper. What would be the best option? I would also consider the Duratrac LT265/75/R16 Load Range C ones, but they might not be "strong enough" for such a heavy camper. Thank you all in advance.

 

Did you have the Falkin Wildpeak AT3's as a option to start with?

 

I had the Duratrac's on my Taco, and loved them. Never run the KO's but heard they're not that good in rain.
I'll probably be going with Wildpeak AT3's when my current tire needs replacing.
Just my opinion.

 

I did not, but I'll take a look at them. tks.

 

not sure if it'll help you exactly, but i'll give my opinion on both. i had put some Goodyear Duratracs on my 2011 and they worked fine until around the 25k mark and I noticed they slipped terribly on a wet road. They did the same think until around 30k miles on them and traded in the truck. My 2017 came new with the KO2's(i got the TSS package intentionally because it came with the BFG KO2's) and I still have them on it as of now at 53k miles and look to have another 15-20k of normal life out of them and haven't had any issues at all. I do about 99% highway/interstate driving. I like them so much I bought my new 35s in the BFG KO2's. I love them, my dad loves them on his 2013 Tundra(even with his bed camper on the back), my brother loves them on his 2012 Sequoia(has 70k miles on his), and my sister loved them on both her 4Runners she had. All of us agreed they rode well, evenly, quietly, and SAFELY. Just my $.04. Hope it helps you a bit.

 

I've always been impressed with the performance of BFG All Terrains in any weather or terrain. I've had them on a number of my vehicles, including my Tundra.

With that being said I plan on switching and trying out the Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Why would I do that if I've been so impressed with the KO2s you may ask. Well, this is my first Tundra and for whatever reason I blew through a set of KO2s in about 30k miles. I've never had a set wear out so quickly. Maybe it's the weight of the Tundra, maybe I've just beat these ones up with my adventures, I have no idea but 35s aren't cheap and I would like to get more than 30k miles out of my next set of tires LOL

Maybe I'll make the switch and hate them and go back to BFGs but I just like to share my experience and thoughts.

 

The KO2's are awful on hard, jagged rocks... they lose chunks of rubber quickly. I got 18,000 on my KO2's, but they were on a F250 with a lot of added weight. I had great luck with the Duratracs, but the sidewalls were very soft.

I would go with Duratrac load E's for the sand, plus the added weight of your camper.

 

For dry rocky conditions I would go with the BFGs due to stronger sidewalls. Duratracs are known for weaker sidewalls. Read the construction specs on both. For mud the Duratracs are superior. I ran Duratracs, BFGs and Cooper ST Maxx on my Tacomas. I have to deal with deep mud and rocky terrain and that is why I went with the ST Maxx last time.

 

I had some LT265/75/R16 Load Range D, decent in off road mud, sand and rock yet they are noisy above 35-40 in roads....

 

I would look at the Falken AT3 or the General Grabber ATX. Both excellent all terrains.

 

I’ve used KO2 on my FJ and Tundra. My favorite tire. I live in Maine and get tons of shit weather and they ride awesome.

 

E rated are really heavy for a gen 1. I tried e rated and d rated on my gen 1, d was much better. C wouldn’t bother me either, look up the load rating of the tires and the axles

 

Would E rate be too heavy even with a four wheel camper on?

 

I have KO2s 34 x 12.5.
Couldn't be happier with the performance of the tire traction in mud, dirt roads, snow, or just general highway. The only negatives I can say is they are wearing rather fast (could be a factor of my driving style tho). I expect i'll only get ~35K out of them based on how quick they are wearing, as i'm loosing just shy of 2mm each 5k miles. The other negative is the price, compared to other tires they seem to be on the high end of spectrum.

 

I have nitto exo grapplers currently. Came from a set of KO2 and exo are a world of difference better in my opinion. KO2 were a pain to balance requiring stacked weights and not good on wet pavement after about 20-30k miles on them (I havent had my EXO that long to compare. EXO also has a stronger sidewall compared to the KO2. Only negative to the EXO I've found so far is little more stiff ride currently running at 42 PSI and more road noise and yes they are heavy.
Duratracs had on my Chevy became more and more noisy as they wore and they chunked out running on more gravel roads. My dad ran KO2 and Duratracs and both chunked out. EXO are supposed to have anti-chunk compound....

 

Of the two originally listed; Duratrac

As others noted, yes they have thinner side walls than the KO2, but that is part of what helps them weigh less. I'll come back to the weight in a sec.

After months of research (1 1/2 yrs ago) I swapped to Duratracs. For an overall true A/T tire, they're one of the best IMO.
With fewer/smaller designed tread blocks, they're less likely to chunk/break that the larger treads of the likes of the RidgeGrapplers, KO2's and even the MT Deegan 38's. All of which I've ran.
For the OR'ing you plan to do, the KO2's sidewalls may be better.

I ultimately switched to The GY's primarily bc of the temp/wear ratings, but what tipped the scales was the overall weight (pun intended).
Considering the added weight of a heavier tire and the resulting increases on rotational mass (especially at normal roadway and highway speeds) it's more wear and tear to get moving, and especially on the breaks when slowing down.

Certainly there are other considerations and options to counter balance the tire weight, such as lighter/stronger rims, which if you're going to be doing serious OR'ing should be considered just as much as your tires.

That said, if you're primarily going to use the truck on the street with occasional OR, I'd stay with the Duratrac.

 

Not to throw another tire into the mix, but have you checked out the Cooper AT3 XLT's?

 

Add up the weight of everything.

I missed the bed camper, in that case i lean towards D

 

I have run both. Duratracs are my vote. I mostly deal with mud but do hit sand, rocks, etc. when traveling. Got to be 200K on Duratracs with about 80K on KO2 all Load range E I believe on 3 different trucks.