Toyo Open Country R/T Tire Test - An R/T For Everybody
Fred Williams Technical Editor
An adventure truck is something that must be able to run down the highway, get you across town in traffic, take you down dirt roads, and deliver you to a new campground, a backwoods cabin, or a remote beachfront shack. It’s more capable than your average truck but not as extreme as your rock buggy. If you are building an adventure truck then these Toyo Open Country R/Ts are the tires you want. These Toyos are a Swiss Army knife tire, good at getting you through rough terrain and long road days. Not as extreme as Toyo’s M/T nor as tame as its A/T, but a perfect blend of both. Two treads combined to make a lovechild of sorts between that smart, nerdy, well-mannered Open Country A/T and the outrageous, rugged, handsome Open Country M/T, resulting in a well-rounded tire (excuse the pun).
The new Toyo Open Country R/T tire is available in sizes up to 37 inches for a 20-inch rim and 35 inches for a 17- or 18-inch rim. We opted for the 35s and had them mounted on factory Ram truck wheels at a Discount Tire/America’s Tire store in Paso Robles, California.
We bolted a set of 35x12.50R17 R/Ts onto our big white Ram 3500 and hit the road. We towed with them, we cruised with them, we explored with them, and we got complimented on them. People really seem to like the look of these tires, with their aggressive sidewall and large tread lugs, and we almost feel bad that people don’t realize how civilized these tires are. They are a perfect fit for a truck like ours, a truck that has to work all week just to play all weekend and that may see dirt in both activities.
Toyo’s goal with the R/T is a crossover tire. The company has done much better than most automakers who call their spruced-up mini-vans a “crossover” SUV. These tires ride great, have minimal noise, and perform well in moderate off road challenges.
The first thing you’ll notice about the R/T is the aggressive sidewall, but it really reveals itself with a coating of dust. The sidewall is made of a special compound for additional cut resistance and durability and is offered with a different design from side to side, giving you choices of appearance.
As you move from the sidewall to the tread you’ll notice a very square profile with wide shoulder groves, scalloped corner tread lugs, and recessed stone and mud ejectors at the base of the tread void. The design aids in on-road stability, off-road traction, and cleaning because it keeps the voids open with each tire
We wish our Cummins Ram 3500 was a fulltime camping, exploring, overlanding truck, but the fact is it lives half its life with a heavy red trailer behind it. And this means highway miles are more common than dirt. The R/T is aggressive enough to keep the Ram pulling in loose gravel or wet grass, but the tight center blocks give it a quieter ride than a full-blown mud tire has when running 8- to 10-hour days towing. It’s not silent, but it’s quiet enough to blend in with the diesel clatter and not drive you crazy on long trips to off road destinations. Toyo calls this Optimized Pattern Arrangement; we call it Quiet Tire Thingymahoozits.
We took the big white crew cab down to a local riverbed that was dryer than pocket lint and filled with deep gravely sand. We quickly realized we may end up walking home. This wash is softer than a mixture of marbles and baby powder. We were worried the Ram would dig in and strand us, but the Toyo’s just stayed on top. They kept clawing forward, didn’t bury themselves, and allowed us to wander and explore with ease.
We’re suffering major drought in our hometown these days, so mud, rain, and snow testing didn’t happen. We did get plenty of loose gravel, deep sandy washes, and hillclimbs. In all of those places a lack of traction can quickly stop a 1-ton truck with a heavy camper shell on it and a torque-spewing diesel under the hood, but the R/Ts didn’t disappoint.
The Open Country R/T tire is opening a whole new segment in the truck and off-road tire world. The tire will fulfill a niche that many buyers have been looking for with on-road comfort and off-road capability. We’re not saying the R/T will replace you good old-fashion mud tire for severe off-road performance, but if your vehicle is a crossover itself and lives both on and off the road, then you should consider these as your next set of adventure truck rubber.
Tire Specifications
Make/Model: Toyo Open Country R/T
Size Tested: 35x12.50R17
Type: Commercial Grade All Weather Tire
Load Range: E
Max. Load (lb): 3,195 @ 65 psi
Sidewall Construction: 3-ply polyester
Approved Rim Width (in): 8.5 to 11
Tread Depth (in): 0.57
Tread Width (in): 10.5
Section Width (in): 12.5
Diameter Overall (in): 34.8
Weight (lb): 75
Sizes Available (in): LT285/70R17, 35X12.50R17LT, LT285/65R18, 33X12.50R18LT, 35X12.50R18LT, 33X12.50R20LT, 35X12.50R20LT, 37X12.50R20LT
From:
http://www.fourwheeler.com/product-...-rt-tire-test-an-for-everybody/#ixzz3Q25WOTch
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