Finding a tire that fits your lifestyle tends to be a struggle when you want to use your daily driver for weekend off-road and overlanding adventures. Deciding between a mud-terrain tire’s ruggedness and an all-terrain tire’s quiet ride can be tricky. To bridge this gap, Toyo has announced a new tire that might be just what you need to keep your adventure-ready Tacoma running smoothly both on- and off-road.
The new Open Country R/T Trail is not a replacement in Toyo’s current roster but an addition. R/T stands for “rugged terrain,” and if you are familiar with the Open Country lineup, the R/T Trail falls between the beloved A/T III and the R/T, designed for SUVs and light trucks. With an especially capable design, the tire is an excellent fit for the off-roading weekend warrior, as it has more aggressive traction than an all-terrain tire but still carries a smooth ride for the drive to work.
The tire was revealed in conjunction with Toyo Tire’s Trailpass, an overlanding enthusiast event at the beautiful Holcomb Valley Ranch. Before the event, I was able to put the rubber to the rocks with a day of off-roading in the San Bernardino National Forest around the Southern California treasure, Big Bear Lake.
The Open Country R/T Trail tires performed well on and off-road
In testing, I drove a Jeep Wrangler and was immediately impressed with how quiet the ride on the pavement was before hitting the winding trails. For reference, I am used to a loud set of mud terrains on my Jeep Gladiator. Because of this smooth drive, I was a bit skeptical about going for a spin on the more rugged course. Once on the dirt, we aired down for increased traction and general puncture protection. While Toyo won’t tell you how far you can air down, as they recommend inflating to your vehicle’s recommended pressure measurements, we were wheeling at around 14 psi.
The tires had decent flex when going over rocks and other obstacles, but they were on the stiffer side with such a thick sidewall. This sidewall traction is one of the more notable upgrades when looking at the rest of the Open Country lineup. The tread design is symmetrical, allowing optimum performance on either side of the tire. With that, I found that the tire gripped the rocky landscape easily. Toyo claims the tires will perform well in wet conditions and soft sand, though I did not get to test that around Big Bear Lake.
Mary Singler
