looking for tire suggestions to replace the OEM junk tires.

Truck is 28 years old and still gets me out of bad weather. It's a great truck for snow.

 

If I could find some AT tires without the stupid sculpted sidewalls I might buy them for that reason alone.

 

I got 8 inches of snow here in Missouri and just went out in it on my new (2 week old) BFGoodrich Trail Terrains.
Surprisingly better than the KO2s they replaced, even when they were new. Smooth and quiet on the highway.
And yes, they also look good.
They get my vote.

 

But... The sculpted sidewalls make them cool!

 

When i had them they where awful on wet pavement.

 

Can't be worse than the KO2s were. I guess time will tell.
I drive like grandma when it rains though. Makes sense to do so.

 

I have 34k miles on my Cooper Discoverer Rugged Treks. They have done well through on-road wet weather, snow, and intermediate off-roading up and down steep, rocky slopes in the Ozarks. They are not overly loud and have worn evenly.

 

my rig is 90% DD and I have Falken WP AT3 in 285/70/17 and love them. Have gone on (2) 1000 trips feom PA to NC and back and have zero complaints regarding hwy ride and noise. Handles rain, snow, mud and trails just fine.

 

Toyo Open Country AT3 in SL

 

Goodyear Workhorse are a less aggressive all terrain. Quiet on the street but still have decent tread and sidewall protection.
Toyo Open Country ATIII also would fit in the less aggressive all terrain category.

 

It's funny how some people love and others hate just about every tire made.

 

Yep!

 

I ran those for 6 months prior to switching to the Cooper Evo MT. They were almost perfect. I just needed more bite for rock crawling. I have recommended those tires to the majority of people I know that want a great AT and they love them to.

 

Fine is the key word here.

I am not a fan of my Falken Wildpeak AT3W's, c load 275s though. Have had them lose traction in snow (packed and powder), on the rocks, hydroplaned in rain, and Oregon desert wet dirt just laughs at these tires.

 

Hey now, there's an entire industrial "ecosystem" built around raptor lights, ladders, sheetmetal roof racks, ditch lights, Pro grille, hood skewp...

The sidebiter patterns on sidewalls do become part of the contact patch when you air down for deep snow, so there's some relevance there at least, not for the OP, but for people who drive in snow for fun.

 

sorry should have said great.

Ive always used SL and used them on all 3 4runners Ive owned without issue in rain, mud or snow (10”+).

 

On my 2024 SR5 I solid the Dunlop and went with the Defender LTX MS2s. Michelin. 3rd set on my last 3 trucks.

 

These have worked well on big sharp rocks. I’ve witnessed a few people get their tires shredded due to inadequate side wall protection.

 

Been running Michelin Defenders on my 4Runners-and every other SUV we've had for at least 10 years. Very limited use in snow (we live in Florida with occasional trips to Tennessee & North Carolina) but always had good luck with them. gotta say I was actually impressed with the stock Dunlops though, replaced them at 72k miles and probably could have beat another 4-5k out of them but I don't like to get too close to minimums.

 

I was gonna make this point but I chose sarcasm instead

 

I agree. I had ~50 miles on the 4R and sent the stock Dunlops to Craigslist. Michelin Defenders instead, but that's just me, and every other vehicle in the extended family.

 

I really liked my Nitto RG's but man the wear fast compared to the A/T4W's.
Even with constant alignments they wore down to 30% life in two years/ 25k miles.

My 34" A/T4W's are about a year old now with 15k miles and are at about 90% tread. Mud and rock traction isn't quite as good but they are much better on wet pavement. The redesigned Falkens also have a true three ply thick sidewall. It's a very tough tire.

When I move to 35s I'll likely stick with the Falkens since they are a true 35"... but I'm very curious about the Baja Boss AT at 34.5" tall. They are pretty light and offered in a D load range...

 

Mine have hardly worn at all with 30k+ on them, but they are LT (10 ply rated) so maybe that’s the reason.

 

Good point. My Nittos were C load range but my Falkens are E rated.

 

Most need to justify their choice and therefore fail to see their own bias. Even the tubeyou vids are people who just purchased, very few long term reviews.
Personally i don't dislike any tire, just know from experience how the tires I've owned over the years worked for me. Only advice i normally give is, don't cheap out on rubber. Plenty of reviews out there from tire websites and one most likely will be fine with any of their top five.

 

Check out Pirelli Scorpion AT+.
Walmart advertises sometimes at $160.
My Sams had them on rack for $187.
My local family tire shop met the $187 price.
Weight 41 lbs compared to your AT20 at 39 lbs.
Mine are XL load. Stock size. No issues so far.

 

You need to decide what is more important-the feel and drivability on pavement or off road. Once you decide that you can choose a nice road tire or off road orientated tire. Both can drive on the others surface, but they won't do it as well.

 

What part of Missouri? I live across the river in The Peoples Republic of Illinois.

 

Is anyone using the Michelin LTX AT2 with the E load? Apparently the C load is discontinued.

I was wondering if the stiffer sidewall ruins the tire.

 

By my calculations, the only existing tire that someone hasn’t yet recommended is the Shandong New Continent, Comforer CF3000.

So, maybe we can just call this match for the KO2’s.