BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A tires - crap?

You're buying a 2WD truck with an off road package and you're worrying about the tires?

Seriously, I have those tires on my '05 Tacoma 4x4 and have no complaints serious enough to not use them up. I've had my truck through two New England winters, and driven it off road in mud and deep sand. I like my BFG All Terrain KO's on my Jeep, and I'll probably get those when the Rugged Trails are done. My stock tires have ~ 15k on them (I don't use the truck every day), and are still fine in rain.

Due to the shallower tread, I actually think the RT's are better on the beach, but the KO's are definitely better in snow and mud. Either tire is far better than the Goodyear Wranglers that came stock on my Jeep and the Firestone Wildnerness A/T's that Subaru shipped my Outback with. I really can't compare rain performance, as the wet road performance sucks on the Jeep, as it's got solid axles at both ends.

What are the specific complaints you've seen? Keep in mind I've seen the same tire rated from poor to great on Tire Rack. Sometimes you'll see a trend with a tire doing good or bad on a specific vehicle, so watch for that.

In closing, remember that most OE tires on new cars won't draw much return sold as used. Unless you can get a better tire at the time of vehicle purchase for a very good deal, you're probably better off driving the stock tire for 20k , or so, then getting a high performance tire that suits the general use of the specific vehicle.

My experience was the opposite of Barry's. In snow, the tires absolutely sucked. I removed them at 15k miles and sold them. I have a 2002 Taco double cab, 4WD TRD model. On dry roads, the tires were fine. They were especially good with cornering. I detected no sidewall funny business as with some other tires. I may be picky with regard to snow handling, having spent lots of time driving other cars equipped with Blizzaks, which are amazing. I guess it depends on your expectations.

Not only are they crap, but the OEM versions are even cheaper crap.

If you're serious about off-roading replace them. If you need to do a lot of snow, mud or ice, replace them. Otherwise just wear them out then get something else. Michelin rules. IMHO, all the BFG tires, except the mudders, have retarded tread design. For mixed use, the Michelin mud-snow (M-S) tires are great. For a more off-road type tire, with shorter life-span, the Michelin AT is great. I've got a set of the M-S Michelins on my 4x4 Taco with about 50k miles on them and still about 1/3 of the serviceable tread left. They do great in snow, mud and dirt. Before that I had the AT tires, and didn't think they really did much better off-road.

I couldn't do it. I got my '06 Tundra stuck twice in my own woods with the stock tires. I think they gave me $25 each for the OEM tire, but I was still happy to put my favorite tire on it, BFG AT's, and life is so much better now! Great tires.

I was getting the next year's firewood in, from my woods, when I got stuck. Had to have my wife pull me out with our '95 Land Cruiser (which has BFG AT's). That was embarrassing! If I'm recalling right, my mother in law was here to visit at the time too.

-jeff

And very possibly the vehicle.

True. And, if Toyota asked for feedback, they'd get it. Maybe they'd even provide better OEM tires on subsequent models. Who would care if the truck cost $211 more, if you got tires that worked. I'd also like to see them ask customers what kind of use the trucks will get. Not all of us go off-road. We'd be better served by tires made for our driving habits.

I love the AT's in a 31/10.50 x 15 on my unlifted Wrangler, except on the beach.

Did you stay with the stock Tundra size or go bigger? I'd love to go to a 33 (from the stock 32) on my '05 Tacoma, but haven't looked at the clearances yet.

"Matt" didst type:

Yes, they are crap. I immediately replaced them with Bridgestone Revos and sold the brand new crappy ones for $15 each on Craig's list so they paid for the mount and balance.

Blah

By the way, BFGoodrich IS a Michelin brand, as is Uniroyal. Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo would be an excellent replacement among all-terrain tires. Firestone Destination AT is a very good lower cost replacement.

might try the yokahama geolander.

I have the A/T. 50k with still half tread remaining. Love these tires.

next time I'll probably try the version that is slighly more highway oriented, don't recall the model (H/T or whatever, but not the "strictly" road tire).

blah wrote:

Just replaced my original Rugged Trails with All Terraim T/As on my '03 Tacoma 4wd. What a difference!! Now I can drive in the snow & mud!

Tappett

The BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A tires blow!! I had them on my Tundra and they wore fast, and went flat frequently (they are not a tough tire). I usually run BFG AT/TKO and this is what I replaced the RTs with. Don't even drive the truck get them taken off and traded as new tires this way you wont be left on the roadside in the rain changing a puncture.

My Tundra came with the 17" rim package, so the BFG AT's I got were the only thing that came close to fitting and are at least an inch taller than the stock tires. I can go look at the sidewall if you need me to. No clearance issues, and having it sit a little taller looks cool if nothing else!

-jeff

Follow-up: Got my Tacoma on Saturday and found a tire dealer who is giving me $75 each for the BFG's. I'm going with Michelin Cross Terrains because they have a good warranty and are rated high on Tirerack.com.