Baja Boss A/T Or Duratracs I really like

I may go RT, but only in C load since E is too heavy for my liking.

I wanted to go BaJa Boss, but if i have to go XL for the weight its not going to be good off road.

Guess it will be the more aggressive AT tire for me again, and I wanted to try the BaJa's.

 

@Ripper238 I get it, I too am looking for a good replacement for when these Nittos run out. I do want a tire that I do not have to worry about when traversing the rocky deserts out here. The C load RT’s look good in person, they are more aggressive in person than in photos. I have a friend who has them on his Pro Tacoma…if it makes any difference…they were made in Mexico. I know some people have an issue with that kind of thing. It is a C load with 3 ply sidewall tho. I think I’m gonna wait for the 265/70r17 in C load KO3, next August is the anticipated release. Looks to be tough, improved road manners and new compounds and tread. Supposedly 3 ply sidewalls as well…I believe coming in at 46lbs.

 

Well shit. Neither the Duratracs or BaJa come in C load....

The Duratrac RT's are 3lb lighter and i do love my reguler Duratracs for snow, rain and mud. They seem to be readily available too, so now i just have to accept the heavier tire...

 

After spending hours watching videos on YT, I am still basically tied on the Duratrac RT or the Baja Boss A/T - both in XL load. I am not putting E load tires on my 4R - even my Raptor came with C load tires, and my Silverado had "old" Duratracs in D load. The video explanations of the tread on the new Duratrac seem to be very positive, they fix the old issues (for the most part) and seem to be built to wear better. The old style Duratrac used to go through inner lugs pretty quickly, even with consistent rotations and a good alignment. I don't do a ton of offroading, but I do spend a lot of time on dirt roads, fire roads, forestry roads, and I do a lot of winter driving up in Northern Maine. The Baja Boss looks like a great tire, but every time I look at the tread pattern, I can't imagine it holding a candle to the Duratrac in snow/ice/sleet/slush covered roads.

 

So much research, so many videos and opinions.... I feel ya and agree with your point about the Duratracs tread pattern being better for snow/ice/sleet/slush.

I too am torn, but with the added stress of E load vs XL without the medium of C load.

My old Duratracs have almost 50k and were awesome so i am definitely leaning towards the Duratrac RT since the tread pattern should be better and they are a little narrower which will help in snow/rain.

Just wish they had something between the XL and E load. Im feeling forced to go E load due to my off road use and the added durability, but like you im now thinking of going Xl Duratracs and they do have Kevlar over the BaJa...

 

If it makes you feel any better, I ran D load Duratracs on my Silverado and JLUR and never had an issue. The road to my Maine house is 1mi of dirt/large rocks, and I never had a worry about a puncture. I loaded both vehicles heavy and they were fine as well, and the RT has Kevlar that my D loads didn't. I think I've talked myself out of the Baja and back into the Duratrac. The Baja is lighter though, and almost .3" larger at 31.9" in 265/70/17. I am sticking with stock size on my PRO - been there done that with the larger tires and I don't want to deal with it this time around.

 

Yeah, in the XL the BaJa is lighter which is odd since its the opposite on the respective E load versions.

I think we both talked ourselves into the Duratrac in XL.

 

From what I’ve gathered online and reaching out to both companies, the Duratracs being an XL load rating still has a 3 ply sidewall…previous generation only had 2 ply in non E rated models. They seem to have beefed it up with the RT which is great for those worrying about side punctures when airing down or pinch flats in the rocky stuff. The Baja on the other hand, did have one thing over the Duratracs from what I’ve gathered…is full depth sipes. Seems as the Duratracs wear down..so do the siping, thus decreasing the wet weather traction as it ages. Just some info to share, either to be honest would be a great AT tire for our 4Runners.

 

That explains the minor additional weight of the XL Duratracs, must be the Kevlar layer that the BaJa's don't have.

Yeah, they are very close and 2 great choices and are both made by Goodyear.

 

Just ordered Duratrac RT''s, will have them Thursday. Super excited, they should be awesome!

 

Report back if you can! Still interested in the RT’s as well.

 

Will do!

It really seems they did a great job at making the Duratracs in XL to be a better and more appropriate choice over the old C load with the extra layer and Kevlar. Can't wait to get them and will do a full review, should be getting some snow here at some point too.

 

Baja’s have been the best all around AT tire I have owned! Hands down! Ran Wildpeaks, Toyo At3’s and BFG KO2’s

 

Yeah, i really wanted to try the BaJa's but they are not really an ideal tire for my off roading and daily driving with rain and snow needs. The E load is too heavy and the size is odd. But if the RT's are as good as my C load duratracs i'll be happy because they have been the best AT tire i have ever used and are now even better with more siping and some kevlar with thicker side walls.

 

Boss’s are amazing in wet and snow… living in Chicago it was a MUST to have a good wet and snow performing tire

 

Got them on yesterday! Ill need to play with tire pressure (At 32, think 35 will be better) but such a huge difference not only in the obvious noise difference because they are new, but they feel more planted and feel great over rough terrain. Even got some snow today! Did great!

Tire guys did a good job, even aligned the markers to the stems. lol

 

Dang! Such a stout looking AT, especially being our stock size. Thanks for posting a pic.

 

Yeah, pictures online don't do them justice. Definitely didn't lose all the Mud level tread ether. These tires definitely fit the definition "Rugged Terrain" tire even for an XL load.

39psi

 

The SL (and XL )is interesting, because while people talk about it as if it's a light duty tire, if you look at the specs, most SLS are actually rated at a higher load capacity than Cs.

 

Goodyear certainly did the perfect thing by making the XT with the better side walls so people like myself that don't want to go super heavy E load can go with a very capable XL load.

That was my dilemma last time, i could go with an SL with higher load but weaker side walls, or go with C load with thicker sidewalls and lower load. Speed ratings also seem lower with C & E loads.

Odd thing is the RT's don't come in SL load?

 

To be honest, I find tire sizes for these to be really frustrating. A lot of the tires I'm looking at only come in E or others come in SL or E. I probably would go with a C as a middle ground, but not a lot of choices in that. Or, one brand's C load is the same weight as another brand's E-load. (Looking at you, Falken and BFG)

I really want to run a 255-80, and looking at specs, realistically the only one that I can run is the Toyo AT3. It's snow rated and weighs 50 lb for the E-load. It's the lightest one I can find in that size that still has the snow rating. That tire wouldn't be my first choice, but the specs make it so.

As a side note, I'm currently running SL General Grabber ATX. Sidewall strength was a concern, however, this tire has a good amount of rubber on the shoulder, which I figured would help with some protection from rocks and sticks. I don't off-road a ton, but I have done numerous trips on the Vermont class 4 roads, which do have a lot of rocks, and have not had an issue.

As of now, it's a daily driver, and I just don't want to take the hit in mileage and performance by running a heavy tire. Even if there was a time where this was a dedicated off-road rig, I still have a 4 hours of pavement to get to the trails, so I still wouldn't be too keen on losing pavement performance.

 

I feel you. I thought i had it all down with my car tires but switching to a truck with so many variables its a real headache. Though not anymore for me with the RT's.

 

Different sizes in different ratings. I think OE is XL but the 255/75R17 I bought are SL.

 

Did a review, will add to it as i put on more milage: https://www.4runners.com/threads/new-goodyear-duratrac-rt-review.42415/