30,000 miles later we can now give our long-term report on the rubber that took us on our off-road adventure to the Arctic Ocean, Telluride, Inuvik and around town. Toyo’s Open Country M/T® are an aggressive mud traction radial. Running 295x70x17 tires on our rig provides sure footed traction and an additional inch of lift over the stock 265s. These tires fill the wheel well with massively lugged rubber just weeping testosterone.
But the Open Country M/T® does more than just butch up your rig. According to Toyo “the Open Country M/T® is a mud and snow rated mud terrain radial tire that features hook-shaped tread blocks, scalloped shoulder blocks and a high performance cap of ply construction for excellent off road traction.” With 3-ply polyester casting, two spiral wound nylon cap plies and two steel belts, this tire is designed for long life and more protection than a three pack of Trojans stuffed into the wallet of a sixteen year boy.
We found our Open County M/T® tires to be very protective as we bombed down roads where the occasional granite dagger reached out for our sidewalls. With their hook-shaped blocks they performed well on slippery hills, and gripped the rocks they were asked to climb. Feed back from others who have used the Open Country M/T® confirms, their compounds grip the obstacles, feeling “stickier” than other tires. Even with 30k miles on them, after the occasional rotation, our set still have most of their tread life left.
And while mud tires are known to be noisy on the road we found Toyo’s claim of being the “quietest mud terrain tires on the market” to be true. No they are not silent, but even with the windows down they don’t have that typical whirl as you drive down the tarmac.
All that rubber, polyester and steel adds weight… serious weight. Each one of our tires tips the scale at just under 75 lbs. Add a rear spare and second on the roof and you can use an egg timer to measure the time between fuel stops.
In addition to the weight the sheer size of the 295 tire has caused some rubbing on the upper arm controller. Without wheel offsets or after market UCAs, a 285 is probably the way to go. You can find all the sizes available in the Toyo Open Country mud tire spec sheet.
Overall the Open Country M/T® has been a good choice for our style of wheeling, overland adventures and daily driving. And although they are heavy and priced higher than most (about $300 each MSP), we would do it again. But than again we are kind of nuts about having a tire we can count on when we are hundreds of miles from no where.
Update: We’ve had two sets of these Toyo Open Country M/T tires. They are indestructible and we relied on them for our Baja off-road adventure. Our one complaint is their weight. Based on simple around town and highway testing, these heavy M/T’s cost about a mile or two per gallon of fuel when compared to all terrains such as the Falken Rocky Mountain ATS.
i just got new toyo mts in size 35x1250x20, had the 33x1250x18 toyo mts mounted got about 25,000 miles before upgrading as part of a lift kit, when i took the tires off they still had about 20,000 miles left on them at 45-50% tred left
Thanks for letting everyone know your experience with the MTs. You’ll have to check back in and let us know if the 35″ do as well.
After getting stuck in a thick clay soup twice with BFG A/T’s and no winch (which I have since rectified) I switched to Toyo M/T in a 286/75/16. I have about 4K on them now. Slightly noisier than the BFG’s but not obnoxious. I haven’t got stuck in mud again either. I do wheel on a sandy beach and when this tire is aired down to 12PSI it does feel a little too squishy and the steering gets way to heavy. My next trip to the beach I aired to 18PSI and this was a much better. All told A+ Now anyone have any experience with Dick Cepek Crushers? This was my second choice.
Good to know… thanks for taking the time to add your feed back and add to the report.
I personally absolutely love the crushers. Would take them over any other tire ever. They chew through anything and wear nicely and last long. No complaints other then ice but what do u expect with a hard mud tire.
Hey, I have an 06 dodge ram 2500 diesel. I put on 35x1250x17 MT’s.. Love the ride an feel of the tire an looks hella cool. I’ve noticed after about 10k miles there are cracks inside the tire tread. Is this normal or is the tire fatigue? Tire pressure is 45lbs in the ft an 40lbs in the rear.
Don’t know about normal… but mine did not get cracking the tread until about 60k. I run mine about about 50psi. I would running them to the place you picked them up and have them take a look.
What pressure should I run with 295 70 17s on a 17 Tacoma with 3 inch icon lift?
Daniel,
On the highway that depends. You should take into account your truck’s owner’s manual recommendation, the max PSI on the tire sidewall, weather conditions, the load you normally carry and the ride comfort you desire. A higher tire PSI will reduce the rolling resistance providing better MPG since there is less surface contact but there is less grip on the road and the ride will be harsher since the tire’s sidewalls will not flex as much to absorb the roads irregularities, potholes, bumps and expansion cracks. On my truck I usually run the tire pressure between 40 and 50 PSI for highway driving.
For off road or overland driving I suggest you watch our Overland Driving Tire Pressure video and read our Using Staun Tyre Deflator. This should give you a good idea about where to set your tire pressure when driving in different offroad and overland situations.
I’ve been running a set of Toyo MT 37 x 13.5 on 17″ Centerline wheels on my heavily modified Dodge 3500 SRW 4×4. Full KORE offroading suspension and glasswork fiberglass.
After around 30,000 rough miles on them, I have about 8,000 to 12,000 miles left of usable tread. I wasn’t nice to these tires at all. Donuts in a lava bed, thousands of miles at high speeds across sharp rocks and desert terrain, jumping the truck more times than I care to recall. I ran over a 3″ nail, and pulled it out with a claw hammer. The nail bent inside the tread and deflected from punching through. The size I bought is the toughest model they make. Heaviest load ratings. Highest number of plies (10x on the tread, 3x on the sidewalls.)
The only bad thing about them is they’re sometimes hard to find a dealer with them in stock. Their price is high too, but you truly do get what you pay for with these. They’re a hell of a lot better than the Toyo AT’s I had on another truck in a smaller size.
Thanks for the comment… how about sending us a picture of your rig for us to post. It sounds like a nice one.
I run a 11,000# dually welding rig and have 84,000 miles on them( no bullshit). They have been though some nasty row. Never touched them besides rotated them every 3,000 miles. They are hogs in the mud, glue on ice and snow , and good highway tires. Only complaint I have is it took 30,000 mile to get them set in. Best tire on the plant about to buy a new set at about $2,200 and won’t even flinch because they are worth every penny. Don’t waste money on anything else.
70,000 miles on my 275/70/17 toyo mt’s and I think I could of got 10,000 more but but a new travel trailer wanted to start off with new ones. Best off rode tire I’ve ever owned. O6 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 4×4
Great reviews, going to give them a try!!! I’m going with 37×13.50R17. I have a 2018 Ram Power Wagon, its going in to the shop for a BDS 8 inch lift and with 37’s is should look sick!!!
I have used Toyo RT tires on my other rigs but I decided to give the new Yokohama Geolandar G003 MTs a try and so far they have been very good. Take a look at them next time you are tire shopping.