Toyo Tires Real Owner Tire Reviews

Tire Review - Celsius: V90 Owner Bryan

The Toyo Celsius tires have continued to surprise me in a positive way on my ‘20 Volvo V90 Cross Country. I generally go through tires pretty quickly (ahem, aggressively) and can find things I don’t like about them, so yeah I’m a bit picky as I ask a lot of my car. It’s my daily driver, my commuter, kid hauler, bike hauler, and overall escape plan to the mountains. It sees a lot of pavement, but also snow, dirt, and gravel. I need tires that are great in all of these conditions, and all the temperatures that Colorado can throw my way, and thankfully these Toyo Tires check that box.

Since getting these Celsius tires over 6,000 miles ago, they are at least as quiet as the OEM tires which is a nice surprise. They also tend to mute poor conditions, both on-road and off. They are nearly as grippy on-road, but have noticeably more grip on dirt and gravel. In the snow, I was actually surprised at how good they are. In fact, my perception is these have more lateral grip than even my dedicated snow tires. I‘ve navigated a few snowy trails and roads in these so far and haven’t had any issues with traction. Although we haven’t really seen our usual heavy snowfalls here in Colorado yet, I’m confident the Celsius tires will hold up to harsher winter conditions.

I have taken a number of trips in these tires. I’ve done long (and fast) highway miles, backcountry camping, and lots of mountain bike trips. The one that stands out to me the most is when my son and I camped near Steamboat Springs and had to do a bit of exploring, pushing the limits of what this car was designed for. Not once did the Celsius tires even hint at having an issue.

It’s trips like these that made me want a more aggressive tire, and the Celsius fit the bill. I need something that is great on and off-road, plus great on snow covered roads. These are perfect for all of that. I immediately noticed two things, one was the noise (or lack of!) and the second was that these feel just a bit less precise than my previous tires. Note, the previous tires were all-season high performance, so I have zero issues. Under medium braking, I do notice a tiny amount of squeal if I start to corner. Again, not an issue, just an observation.

My main takeaways after having these Toyo Celsius tires for 3 months is that they are a fantastic replacement for the OEM tires. Celsius tires handle great on the road, are better than OEM off-road, yet maintain the confident handling and quiet ride that is needed on a luxury car. I am looking forward to another trip to the western slope of Colorado and eastern Utah to explore more bike trails.

Tire Review - Open Country M/T: Wrangler Owner Timothy

I have always been an outdoor enthusiast; I grew up in the Pacific North West and in Arizona. In my free time I was always exploring my surroundings. Hiking, Mountain Biking, Camping, and driving the backroads. Now, my family and I live in Central Texas and my daily driver is a 2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport. I bought it new and I have put almost 100k miles on it, so I drive a lot. It is our primary vehicle for our adventures.

I recently received the Toyo Open Country M/T’s LT285/70R17 tires and installed them on my Jeep Wrangler. I chose the M/T’s because I like the way they look, and I wanted a high-quality off-road tire. The first time I saw the tires on my Jeep I was in awe; it made my Jeep look so much better than it did before with my old tires. When I first left the tire shop, I immediately noticed an improvement on how my Jeep handled. The ride was smooth and a lot quieter than I had expected. As I was on my way home it started to rain. At first, I was a little cautious driving with the new tires in the rain because of my past experiences with some cheap off brand tires, but I then began to feel more confident with the tires. The stopping distance, even in the rain was impressive, this is important when putting larger tires on a vehicle.

The Toyo Maximum Traction tires handle great on the road. One of the best parts of living in Texas is that the speed limit on the highway is much higher than other parts of the Country, and I have not had any issues matching it with these tires. They are well balanced, and I do not get any vibrations at high speeds. The tires grip the road in the corners, and I am not afraid of losing control. I have had other brand tires on my vehicles in the past and I am really impressed with the noise level from these tires. With having a soft top, it was important to still have a conversation while driving down the highway. We also like to remove the top and doors and I did not want to have too much road noise from the tires.

When driving off road, these tires are extraordinary. In the deep sand they float, no issues at all, I tried to get stuck and could not. We spent 4 days and 3 nights camping on the Texas coast this summer and I am still finding sand everywhere inside my Jeep. We love camping along the Texas Coast where we can drive for miles in the sand along the Gulf of Mexico. We have made several trips to the beach this year as it is one of our favorite places to visit. In the rocks and clay of the Texas soil, the tires are excellent. While visiting my Family’s Ranch, we tested the tires on some rock shelves, they keep traction and we were able to ascend the rocky terrain.  We like to ride mountain bikes and these tires provide us the freedom to get to out of the way trails that normally could not reach and the security that they won’t fail or have any issues getting us there and back.

In the short time I had with these Toyo M/T tires we were not able to get to the local off-road park, Hidden Falls, but we will soon try these tires out on the trails. I am confident they won’t let me down and I am excited to see where they will take me next. We have several trips planed in the future, such as a trip to the Ozarks in the next few weeks and Colorado in late spring or early summer 2022. Overall, when these tires wear out I will be buying another set!

Tire Review - Open Country M/T: Gladiator Owner Keith

When I bought my Gladiator, I was looking for a truck to haul and tow, but still have a Jeep for playing in the winter and going topless in the summer.  Having had a CJ or Wrangler in some form since I graduated high school, the newly-released Gladiator was an obvious fit to fill both roles.  The factory tires on a Max Tow, however, left much to be desired. It didn’t take long to swap them out for the KM2s I used to have on my JK.  This meant a loss of MPG, a rougher ride, the notable hum of mud tire road noise, and having less weight over the rear wheels of the Gladiator, compared to the JK, meant spinning at takeoff on wet roads, like having Goodyear Wranglers again.  (I HATED the factory tires on the JK, in ALL conditions!!!)  Ugh.

So, when Toyo Open Country M/Ts became a possibility and had good reviews, I decided to give them a try.  Aggressive tread for off-road performance and a proper Jeep “look,” claiming to have proper on-road manners.  The first thing I noticed after installation was how incredibly quiet they were.  Off-road tires are NOT quiet, it’s a choice and compromise you deliberately make as a Jeep owner.  The Toyo M/Ts broke that paradigm, to my pleasant surprise.  Wet traction has also been impressive, especially for an M/T tire. If there has been any negative, it’s fuel mileage.  Normally, tire noise and MPG decrease go hand-in-hand, but these very quiet Toyo M/Ts are about on par, if not slightly less MPG, than the KM2s.

In the time since I’ve had the Toyo M/Ts on the Gladiator, I’ve taken up off-road triathlons on top of mountain bike racing.  Long road trips to get to competitions are comfortable and QUIET.  The tires corner well and inspire confidence in all road conditions and at all speeds.  A little bit of rock and sand getting the kayak to a beach or the mountain bike to a trailhead has been handled with aplomb.  As my wife and I are now empty-nesters, we bought a small camper to tow with the Gladiator and spend entire weekends at race destinations.  The Toyo M/T tires couldn’t care less about the camper back there on the interstate, providing the same quiet and comfortable ride as unladen.

I haven’t had the Toyo Open Country M/T tires out for any hardcore wheeling yet, but everything they’ve tackled so far has made me smile.  When winter comes, as I hope it does with a vengeance, I expect them to keep impressing me.  Maybe next spring, I’ll take the Gladiator, bike, and camper out to Moab to really test the M/T’s mettle…  (Yes, dear, I meant to say I’ll take the wife, also.)

Tire Review - Open Country R/T: Ford Super Duty Owner Bret

When choosing tires for our new family adventure vehicle, a 2021 Ford F250 equipped with a Four Wheel Campers Hawk UTE, I considered several brands and models, ultimately landing on Toyo Open Country R/T’s. Previous experience with Toyo tires had been positive and their reputation for durability, traction and reliability is nearly legendary.

My wife, son and I are all avid mountain bikers, hikers and overlanders. We spend several weeks each year exploring backroads throughout the West in search of epic campsites and trailheads. Based in Moab, Utah, much of our time is spent crawling up and down slickrock ledges and through deep sand, but in our travels we’ve encountered mud, rocks, dirt and everything in between. Having a rugged vehicle equipped with reliable tires is crucial to our ability to confidently navigate through deserts and forests during our outdoor pursuits.

The Toyo Open Country R/T’s were installed by our local shop in mid-June. We immediately left Moab for a three week trip through Wyoming, Montana and Washington, returning home for two weeks and then leaving again for a two week adventure in Oregon. Fully loaded, our rig weighs just over 11,000 pounds. We’re running 37” Toyo’s, with a large, aggressive lug pattern and almost immediately I noticed how quiet they are at highway speeds. No small feat! Though they were considerably larger and more aggressive than the factory tires, they provided a smooth, quiet ride on pavement, making the long trek from Utah to Montana much more palatable. On our first night in Montana we began navigating a network of progressively deteriorating roads high into a mountain range known to be thick with grizzly bears. The darkening sky let loose and the shelf road we were on quickly turned dangerous as loose dirt transitioned to thick, sloppy mud. The Open Country R/T’s were unfazed. Not a true mud terrain tire, they still provided outstanding grip and allowed us to reach a point where we could safely turn around and re-think our plan. Of all the tires I’ve ever run, the only one that performed better in mud was the Toyo Open Country M/T, which is designed specifically for such conditions. Impressive, to say the least.

In Oregon, we aired the tires down to drive onto the beach for a couple nights and the increased flotation and contact patch kept us from getting mire in the soft, deep sand. In the mountains of Washington and at home in Moab, puncturing tires on unforgiving rocks is always a concern. Thick sidewalls on the Toyo tires provide a sense of insurance that the trip won’t devolve into a misadventure involving flat tires at 10,000’!

Using the factory all-terrain tires that were, in all reality, designed more for on-road comfort and load carrying capability, I never would have attempted the vast majority of dirt roads and 4×4 trails we’ve taken the Toyo’s on.  At nearly 10,000 miles, on road and off, the Toyo’s provided the confidence to turn down nearly any dirt road and explore to our heart’s content.

Larger, more aggressive tires are often difficult to balance, resulting in a ride quality that’s less than stellar. Since the initial install, the tires have been rotated twice and continue to provide a quiet and smooth ride. The offroad traction remains top notch and though I anticipated significant wear on such a heavy truck, they still look nearly new. Several friends have asked for advice on tires for their vehicles and without hesitation, I recommend Toyo to them.

Over the next few months we’ll explore all over the Colorado Rockies, into the southeastern Utah desert, down to Sedona and even further south into the harsh and unforgiving (but beautiful!) Sonoran Desert outside Phoenix and Tucson. Our Toyo tires will take us on some amazing adventures and I have no doubt they’ll return us safely home each time.

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: Tacoma Owner Justin

Earlier this summer I upgraded tires on my 2019 Toyota Tacoma and decided to give the Toyo Open Country A/T III tires a try.  The truck has seen multiple improvements before and after adding the tires and I can say I have been extremely happy with their performance so far.

While the Tacoma is my daily driver it also fills lots of other duties; it is both our tow vehicle and our recreational vehicle.  Since the truck has to do everything, I wanted a tire that could do it all as well, and the Open Country’s fit that mold. From daily driver to mountain crawler. Living in Seattle, a tire that excels in wet weather and slick roads is a huge bonus, and the Toyo all-terrain tires have done well with the recent rain storms we have seen.  I have yet to drive the tires in snow but am looking forward to the winter to further test them out.

This summer we had multiple family trips where we were able to get out and have fun in area’s we would have never tried in the past.  What impressed me most about the tires were how they handled the various terrain from sand to slick wet rocks.  No matter the area we seemed to have all the traction we needed, and I don’t remember a single incident where I was left without a solid grip on the road I was on. We spent a week camping in the Oregon sand dunes with family and found ourselves out playing in the dunes and never worrying about slippage.  We loaded up the bed with gear and spent a long weekend in the Idaho wilderness traveling old wagon trails.  The tires literally did everything we needed and got us home.  They have been a great do it all tire, from daily driver to mountain crawler.  They are also a quiet tire that works well both on road and off road.

Our most recent trip was the highlight of the year for my son and probably the best test we could have given the tires.  We planned an overnight camping adventure with six friends up a local off-road trail which ends at a mountain lake around 5600ft elevation.  The trail was a great test of both the truck’s ability and mine as the driver.  We encountered a few small creek crossings, some mud and plenty of loose rocks to play on, and the tires handled them all extremely well. The weekend was a huge success and I was never left wishing for a more aggressive tire.

The change from BFG to the Toyo Open Country A/T III tires has been great.  Less noise, no more mystery vibration issues, and way more traction in wet and dry conditions. I can’t wait to continue testing them out with the family over the next few months!

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: Rav4 Owner Jed

At the start of the summer, I installed a set of Toyo Open Country AT III on my 2019 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid AWD. I was very excited to try something new as I had worn out the BF Goodrich AT KO2’s in just over 43,000 miles and was not very happy with them. 

So far, I have put almost 7,000 miles on these Toyo Tires over the summer on just about every terrain we have in Idaho – everything except snow (so far). My fiancé and I did a 1,000-mile road trip to the Oregon coast recently, and have taken them on multiple camping trips into the mountains where we drove on rough dirt roads for hours at a time. I’m happy to report these all-terrain tires have surpassed my expectations and are so much better than my previous tires. The old tires vibrated the car, were loud at all speeds, and created a rattle in the dash. I gained back 2 mpg when I installed the Toyo A/T III’s because these are so much lighter, and no longer have a random rattle driving me insane. 

Some of the more aggressive A/T tires are known for being louder, but these Toyo Tires were dead silent for me. My fiancé and other passengers have even commented on how much quieter these are compared to the BF Goodrich tires. Now on pavement the ride is smooth, but not bouncy in the way that softer tires can be. On dirt roads the tires ate up everything I threw at them. I towed my small trailer up a very rocky technical road and the tires did not hesitate to find traction. 

Living here in Idaho, I’m an avid outdoorsman. From mountain biking, fishing, and camping in the summer, to skiing in the winter, I try and get outside whenever I can. These tires will see dirt & rocks every week of their life on my vehicle, but that hasn’t stopped them so far. Can’t wait to keep testing out the Toyo Open Country A/T III tires and pushing them to the limit!

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: Jeep Cherokee Owner Ben

I’m a college student and mountain biker from Southern New Mexico. I love exploring the expansive desert, deep arroyos, treacherous mountains and the miles of trail that cover a surprisingly diverse range of terrain. To safely get out on the trails it was important to me to have a recovery vehicle that could travel 4×4 roads in the case of an accident or snake bite. To serve this purpose, I purchased a 1997 Jeep Cherokee with a 4” lift and a few other minor modifications. My first time out at my local off-road trails, I was shocked by how capable this little vehicle is with just a few modifications. However, it became quickly apparent that the old 31” All Terrain tires the previous owner installed weren’t going to cut it, and that my lack of traction was limiting the performance of the vehicle.

As I daily drive this vehicle, I needed a set of all terrain tires that would improve both on-road and offroad handling without killing my fuel mileage. I found that the Toyo Open Country AT III tires were the best option for me. After getting these tires installed at my local tire shop, a few things were immediately apparent on my first drive. My old Jeep Cherokee is not a quiet vehicle by any standards, but these tires only made a soft hum when rolling down the road. They also look amazing. The aggressive side walls of the tire make for an all around menacing look, and I love the black on black lettering. The tread pattern is unique and has a nice depth. On my first drive back I could immediately tell that the handling seemed to be somewhat improved. The vehicle seemed to “wander” less on the road, and it held straight even at higher speeds.

As I live just five minutes away from a vast network of Jeep trails, I was able to put this tire through the ringer in the New Mexican desert. Before installing the new tires, I went and drove some of my favorite features on the old tires. I pushed them to the limits, and found several obstacles of different types that I couldn’t make it over. When going for my comparison drive, I found that my cornering on dirt as well as traction on steep loose climbs had been significantly improved. Although the tire width of the Open Country AT III’s is a bit narrower than what I previously had installed, I found a huge performance difference in sand. Even on aggressive sandy climbs the vehicle maintained traction and I was able to make it up features previously impossible. All around off road I just found that I had generally better traction. I was also surprised by the technology of the stone-ejecting blocks. Although a few rocks would get stuck in the tread after being on a dirt road, they would be quickly shot out once on pavement.

So are these tires worthwhile to install? Although they are a bit pricey at about $170 per tire, after two months of daily driving and frequent offroad adventures, I can tell that these are a quality product. I have seen very little wear on the tread over the last two months and nearly 1,000 miles. Heck, the vent spews (little hairs on the tire) haven’t even worn off yet. As I head off to college in Colorado I look forward to continuing to test these tires in new conditions, and I am excited for the many adventures these tires will take me on in the near future! I plan to explore my new home state, and to venture off the beaten path whenever possible.

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: Jeep Gladiator Owner Lyle

Alright, so I’ve had these Toyo tires a year now and they are holding up great. They’re the Open Country A/T III tires. I guess I have roughly 10k miles on them and they still look brand new.  I haven’t been able to do all the wheeling I would have liked but I’ve seen a little of everything in the way of weather this year.  It’s my daily driver so mostly highway use but I have had it off road a few times. 

In the highway they are great, the only issue I’ve had is a slight vibration around 65-70 MPH.  I thought it might have been the balancing but after having them on for 5k miles, I had them balanced and rotated and it didn’t change anything.

Here in southern Arizona, it’s great for Jeeping because you can experience all types of terrain within just a few miles of home.  In dry weather (which is most of the year) I’ve driven down several arroyos (that’s Spanish for dry wash) and they run great in the sand.  There’s a big mountain nearby (Mt. Lemmon) and I had a chance to try them out in the snow last winter.  I didn’t do much but what little snow I was able to go through, the tires handled great.  

Recently, we’ve been getting some great “monsoon” rains so the roads have been wet ant lots of mud off road.  On-road in the rain I have great traction and in the mud (I’ve only done a little) they held up well.  I plan on doing some more mudding next weekend so I’ll see how they will do but so far they’ve had great traction in everything I’ve encountered.

Probably the biggest challenge I’ve put the tires through is a local area at the base of Mt. Lemmon called “Chimney Rock”.  It is quite the Jeep playground with trails and obstacles for everyone from the novice to the expert to experience. I was able to do some pretty serious rock crawling and this is where the tires really shine.  My truck’s only a year and a half old so I didn’t want to chance it getting damaged but I didn’t baby it either.  The tires had great traction on both the dirt and rock I was climbing on and I never slipped once.

In my opinion, my previous tires, Goodyear Duratracs, were a better highway tire and were a little lighter. The Toyo’s however, are much tougher, are great around town, and seem to handle the trails better.  I plan on taking a long road trip after the first of the year and do some exploring through Arizona and New Mexico.  The only long trips I’ve taken them on so far have been a 4-hour round-trip so I’ll see how they hold up on the long drive.

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: Ford F350 Owner Brian

I have been researching new tires since reaching close to 60,000 miles on my Toyo Open Country R/T. With the coming winter months ahead in my area we can expect to see some serious snow and ice this year. What an awesome time to put on the new Toyo Open Country A/T III’s.

This new version happens to be three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) to boot! While there are other brands I could use, I have been a Toyo tire user for quite a while now. I have been more than impressed with the Toyo quality and durability over the last few trucks I have owned. The Toyo tires I have used are the Open Country M/T, A/T II, and R/T. With these new A/T III’s, I expect to be just as impressed in the upcoming miles.

After installing the A/T III’s through my local Discount Tire, I was impressed with the ride quality and road noise/sound from the aggressive tread pattern. I have used another brand’s tire of the same variety that was very noisy. While the road noise is noticeable over what would be a stock factory tire, it is not overwhelming with the Toyo tires. The Toyo team really did a great job with the tread pattern on these A/T III’s. Even while driving on the highway at speeds over 60 MPH the road noise is nothing to really worry over. With more road/highway driving I’m finding the tires to roll very well, with no real wobble or additional visits needed for balancing.

I’ve only been able to find one thing to really mention after driving on several different types of roads in and terrains. With some of the local roads covered in gravel or crushed rock, the user may find the tread pattern to throw chips/rocks into the wheel well. When shifting from the gravel roads back to the paved roads there was a bit of “cleaning” to the tire treads happening as I picked up speed. This is not unexpected with AT tires, and it’s quite common through all brands.

Overall, I’ve been very happy with the new Toyo Open Country A/T III’s for my truck. I have great expectations with the Toyo line giving me the best value for my money in tread life. I’m pretty sure I’ll get close to the 65,000 mile tread warranty Toyo offers on these tires. I’m looking forward to the winter weather this year to give the snow/ice traction a good review!

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: Toyota Tacoma Owner Garrett

I’ve never owned Toyo Tires before as far as I can remember. When I was contacted on CustomTacos.com to do a review of Toyo Tires Open Country A/T III tires, I was eager to try them. I’m always interested in trying new stuff and giving real-life user input to help better a product. Since I am definitely a consumer of these types of tires, I want them to be as good as they can be!

I drive a 2019 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab Short Bed, TRD Off-Road 4wd with a 6-speed manual. My old tires were mud terrain tires, whereas these Toyo Tires are all-terrains. The first thing I noticed back when I installed the Toyo tires was how smooth they rode compared to my previous tires and other all-terrain tires that I’ve owned.

Since then, I’ve had the chance to test the Toyo Open Country Tires on-road and off-road while hauling my off-road toys to the parks. South Georgia has consistent weather, so although I haven’t had the chance to test them in inclement weather, I really do like the tires. They look good, they have good road manners, and for my off-road needs, they perform just how I’d like them to.

My main hobby is definitely off-roading, but occasionally hunting. I don’t do too much off-roading in my 2019 Tacoma, but I use it to pull all of my stuff to the off-road parks, as well as my race truck to the track. I spend my time 4-wheeling, dirt biking, and off-roading, so I need my all-terrain tires to perform for me. The off-road parks don’t tend to have pavement anywhere within the park, so it’s essential that I have traction to get in and out of the park while pulling a 20-foot steel trailer loaded down with off-road vehicles.

I’ve taken my Tacoma with the Toyo Tires to my local off-road park here in Ray City, Georgia, Possum Creek Off-Road Park. There, I’ve been able to take them through some very loose sand, including climbing over some large sand mounds. When I engage four-wheel drive, it crawls through the sand and up and over those hills no problem. I have no issues taking them through the trails which were pretty clear cut and hard-packed for the most part.

On paved roads and highways, the Toyo Open Country tires are very smooth and comfortable, and have performed better than expected. They are an aggressive all-terrain tire, which I like, but you can’t tell from riding in the truck. These Toyos are a lot lighter and seem to have less rolling resistance, so they should net better fuel efficiency than the mud terrains that I had before.

My main takeaway would have to be that the Toyo Open Country A/T III’s are better than I expected. They crawl up loose dirt mounds no problem, albeit in 4-low with the rear differential locked, but they still made it over with minimal spinning, which is impressive especially for an all-terrain tire. That kind of performance is usually reserved for something like a mud-terrain tire.

I’d encourage friends and family to at least try a set. I think Toyo has already established itself as a market leader in tire technology, so there isn’t much I could say that couldn’t already be found elsewhere on the web to justify at least trying out a set of Toyos.

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: RAM 2500 Owner Jason

I owned a set of Toyo Open Country tires almost 2 decades ago. When I jumped into the Jeep world shortly after that, I moved to a dedicated off-road tire that satisfied my use case – the Yokohama Geolanders. Now, I need a bit more aggressive tire for winter season road trips to out of state ski locations, so I’m trying the Toyo Open Country A/T III.

I drive a 2019 Ram 2500, crew cab, short bed, with the 6.7 Cummins. These Toyo Tires will help me get that much further in the back country to get us to better winter location spots. The appealing topic for me is how these tires perform in wide temperature and terrain variations. The on-road performance is just as important in my use case, as off-road and winter abilities.

In February, I traveled to Purgatory Resort in Durango, Colorado, which had the usual foot or so of snowfall, over unmelted snow from previous days. Conditions on the highway between Durango, CO and Purgatory resort were the usual white top roads with minimal icy ruts. The tires were fantastic; the feedback was instantaneous, giving real time input on road conditions.

As I wrapped up my vacation in Colorado and headed back to Texas, we had some of the craziest weather Texas has ever seen in the massive storm I’m sure everyone heard about. Sleet and snow, temperatures in the single digits…there was plenty of weather to put the Toyos through the paces. As I made my way through central west Texas, the roads continued to worsen in the midst of the storm as there is very little infrastructure to support winter precipitation. I really had to rely on what was between me and the road, and the Toyos provided the safety and performance to get me home safely. I have made this trip multiple times with a set of Yokohama Geolandars, and I have no doubt that the Toyo outperformed them in every situation.

A big difference between my previous Yokohama Geolanders and the Toyo Open Country A/T III’s would be the tread blocks and side wall construction. In both instances, the Toyos are more aggressive, with bigger tread and sidewall teeth.

I travel to the Rocky Mountains multiple times a year for winter sports activities. Deep snow, icy mud and treated roads are normal terrain. In these circumstances, the Yokohama Geolanders have performed well. However, when getting into deeper fresh snow, the Yokohamas suffer, with the tread not being robust enough to get through some areas. The Toyos, on the other hand, have surprisingly good extreme winter weather traction.

Beyond winter weather, I’m impressed at how compliant and quiet these aggressive Toyo tires really are, during city and highway driving. Living in Texas, we see lots of dry weather with the usual thunderstorms and tropical waves that come through. The old set of tires were fine in this type of driving, but I did notice right away that there is less tire hum on the A/T III’s than the Yokohamas, which was surprising. This makes it appealing to the on-road and light trail drivers, but also for folks that use their trucks for towing.

After driving over 6000 miles on these Toyos, I can say these have been great to drive with. I am pleasantly surprised and happy at how well they performed for me during the crazy Texas storm in February.

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: GMC Canyon Owner Justin

My name is Justin Wages and I love the outdoors. As a stage 4 colorectal cancer survivor and former land manager for nature preserves I absolutely require time spent in nature. That time may be spent fishing, off-road exploring, overlanding, mountain biking or simply sitting quietly in a natural setting devoid of people. I’m a firm believer in the healing qualities of being in the outdoors. For these reasons I need a capable rig to get me as far out as I can possibly go.

I recently installed a set of the newly redesigned Open Country A/T III by Toyo Tires on my 2018 GMC Canyon. I use this truck for normal daily driving duties but it also serves as my transport of choice for much wilder places like slickrock of Moab, the snowy trails of the Sierra Nevada, the shelf-cut shale trails of Colorado and the fast, cactus-lined, whoop filled trails of the desert. As such, I need a tire that can get me and my family to these destinations comfortably and safely regardless of what weather conditions we encounter. Then, the tire needs to offer great off-road traction, predictability, and durability in challenging trail conditions. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so.

I opted for a C Load Rating this time around instead of my usual choice of E Load Light Truck (LT) tire. Mid-sized trucks are somewhat of a “tweener”. They are not light enough to get away with the typical P-metric or passenger style tire but they are not heavy enough to warrant the use of a super heady duty E Load LT tire. Unfortunately, very few manufactures offer an LT285/70/17 in a C Load rating that I would want to run on my truck. In the past, if I wanted the durability and deeper tread depth of an LT tire, I was stuck with an E Load which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but those higher load ratings bring unwanted weight, price and generally feel rougher on road. They also deform less when aired down for off-road traction and comfort.

Toyo knocked it out of the park with the appearance of this tire. I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of tire snob and I will not mount a weak-looking tire on my rig, regardless of its trail cred. We all love looking at our trucks and some of us take way too many pictures of them. We want a tire that looks legit. With an aggressive (and functional) sidewall design coupled with moderately spaced traction blocks, the Open Country A/T III looks more like a modern hybrid between all-terrain and mud terrain than the average all-season focused all-terrain tire of the past.

I installed these tires in the dead of Northern California winter and as luck would have it, I experienced a rain storm on my way home from the tire center. Yay! I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range and the route from the tire center to my house consists of typical city traffic, then highway and finally very winding and hilly streets through my extensive woodland neighborhood. The hilly, steep twisting roads through my neighborhood were slick with rain but the tires showed no evidence of slippage or oversteer which is quite common for trucks with empty beds on slicky twisty roads. As winter wore on and I accumulated more miles, I can confirm my original opinion that these tires perform excellently in wet conditions.

In the past I’ve ran a number of the top 5 all-terrain tires on this truck including one mud terrain, and I find the Open Country A/T III to be the perfect balance between comfort and off-road grit. They are a fairly quiet tire for such an aggressive tread pattern.

Most of my favorite trails are covered in snow at the moment. The rocks I could find were promptly climbed on to check out the ability of the tire. One of the benefits of a C Load tire over an E Load tire on lighter off-road vehicles is the increase in tire deformation when driving over obstacles. This deformation helps the tire to conform the around and into an object which aids in traction. This form of mechanical keying can also help reduce the likelihood of punctures as the tire bends around a sharp object instead of being pierced by it.

I’ve almost spent as much time on snow as I have on pavement with these tires. Tis the season for snow-wheeling and snow camping around here so what better way to test the snow and cold weather performance of the Open Country A/T III than to hit the snow-covered trails and see if you can get stuck once or twice?

After a half-dozen trips snow-wheeling I am thoroughly impressed with the traction these tires exhibit on and especially off-road. There are a lot of tires than can drive well in snowy on-road conditions but often fail when driven on deeper snow-covered trails. The Open Country A/T III excels in all of the snowy conditions I experienced.

The Sierra Nevada region I live in generally receives copious amounts of what we call “Sierra Cement”. It’s a wet, heavy snow that offers little traction and is very difficult to “plow” through. It’s not the light fluffy stuff you see in car commercials where cute little CUVs go blowing through waist deep drifts of snow. As such, the key to traveling trails in “Sierra Cement” is floatation and careful throttle application. Upon leaving pavement I usually drop tire pressure down to between 15psi and 18psi to increase the tire’s footprint on the snow and hopefully enhance the truck’s ability to float on top of the snow instead of breaking through crust and sinking to the chassis. In the really difficult conditions, I even went as low as 10psi and the traction was incredible for an all-terrain tire in these challenging conditions.

I even managed to tow fellow drivers up slick slopes after their tires stopped providing traction. Of course, I managed to get stuck a time or ten as well but if you’re not pushing the limits, you’re not doing it right in my opinion. We always travel with at least one other capable and well-equipped rig and as such I was able to push these tires to the very limits in snowy trail conditions and they passed with flying colors.

Testing and review criteria aside, I’ve really come to enjoy these tires. They make my truck feel much more civil and pleasurable to drive on all surfaces but especially the highway. The quiet smooth ride has me planning long-distance trips for the near future. Trips where I won’t have to worry about how my tires will perform in extreme conditions on and off-road. Best of all, my family won’t have to endure the rough ride and noise of a mud-terrain tire and I won’t have to worry about the lack of off-road traction and durability of a highway tire. I mean isn’t that the reason why we buy all-terrain tires in the first place? The new Open Country A/T III checks all of the boxes for me and my family. Now, how can I talk my wife into upgrading to a set of 35” Open Country A/T IIIs?

Tire Review - Open Country A/T III: Chevy Silverado Owner Taylor

A few months ago, I had a set of Toyo Open Country A/T III tires installed on my 2016 Chevy Silverado 2500hd equipped with the Duramax engine. I was very excited to try the new Toyo tires and to replace my original, practically highway terrain, tires with something much more capable off-road and more useful for the farm. After putting a few thousand miles on them, I am quite impressed with my first set of Toyo tires.

The first thing I noticed about these tires is how wide the tread patch is. They look a lot wider than other 12.5 wide tires I’ve used in the past from other tire manufacturers. I really like the look of these tires; they are aggressive without being too aggressive like a mud tire. The tread pattern incorporates some pretty well-sized voids for an all-terrain. This has allowed them to work quite well in the soft fields and hay ground so far, while still having fairly good highway manners. They do make some road noise on the highway, but it has only been noticeable in the cab at speeds over 70 mph and even then, they are not that loud and cannot be heard with the radio on.

In the short time that I have the Toyos on my truck, North Dakota has made it possible for me to test them in multiple conditions. From nice sunny days with good road conditions to rainy days with muddy, sloppy roads, and even snow covered roads. Of course, the Toyo Open Country A/T III tires handled it all well.

On the nice days, there’s nothing much to report other than the surprising lack of rock slinging. Living on a gravel road with the nearest pavement eight miles away, this is an important factor for me.

After a couple of days of rain, I was excited to try them out in the thick muddy roads near me. I am happy to say that they handled it perfectly, with little drama. With my old tires, it was necessary to go into four wheel drive or slow down to a crawl to get through mud pits without sliding. With the Toyos, I am now able to drive down the road without concern for these tricky spots.

We received a few inches of snow mid-October which gave me the opportunity to try these bad boys out in the fresh powder. It was the heavy, wet kind of snow that packs down into a slick surface and sticks to the tires. We were caught in some field work and had to pull some anhydrous tanks out of the field. In the sloppy snow, we had no problem pulling out the nearly 18,000-pound tanks.

I am excited to try the Toyos out on my snowmobile trips out to the mountains this winter. Last season, I ended up stuck in the deep snow with my trailer behind me and needed to be towed out. This season, I am confident that I will be the one pulling someone else out.

All in all, I am very happy with the new Toyo Open Country A/T III tires and would recommend them to any of my friends in the market for all-terrain tires. I look forward to testing these out in the future and hope to be considered for future Toyo Tires initiatives.