One of the most popular upgrades to a light truck, SUV or CUV (crossover vehicle) is to change the tires to an all-terrain type. Typically, this move improves the appearance of the vehicle, making it look more rugged and ready to go off-road, increasing the off-road traction, and changing the tire size.
We have a vast selection of all-terrain tire options from the world’s top brands. Each brings a variety of tread designs and features, which can make choosing the right one a bit confusing. To help you make the right decision, we identified several key features you can use to compare brands and styles.
Price
When shopping for an all-terrain tire, you’ll quickly realize these types of tires will be more expensive than your typical all season tire. Why? As you can see from the look of the tire and its features, these tires are capable of doing more than an all season tire like going off-road, giving you incredible traction in challenging conditions. And with that comes the additional cost.
Reviews
We have a significant number of reviews from our customers, which is sure to give you the added assurance you’re making the right choice when purchasing an all-terrain tire.
Mileage warranty
Not so long ago, all-terrain tires didn’t offer mileage warranties. As tire compound technology has improved using silica, many A/T tires have begun offering a warranty based on mileage. These range up to 65K miles.
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rated (3PMSF)
This is a relatively new certification which tire manufacturers must meet or exceed to receive the rating. A tire with the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rating means it has certain additional traction benefits in winter conditions, but can be used year round. However, it doesn’t mean the tire will perform to the same standards of a true winter tire. A few A/T styles have the option to add studs for extra grip.
Chip & cut resistance
Most all-terrain tires today have this feature, and some add even more emphasis on it for severe duty conditions, like the BFGoodrich KO2 with select sizes that include a “DT” (different tread) designation. If you’re often traveling on rocky forest service roads or even harsher shale rock roads, you should consider this feature. You can count on the tread to be even sturdier to hold up to extra rough conditions.
Sidewalls
All-terrain tires will encounter a wide range of obstacles in which the sidewall of the tire will contact rocks, trees, tree roots, ditches, trenches, and more. These can cause sidewall punctures that can’t be fixed and could leave you standard far from service if you don’t have a spare. Most common is a 2-ply sidewall and for extra durability, a 3-ply sidewall is available on the BFGoodrich KO2 and Hankook DynaPro AT2 RF11.
Made in the USA
Tire manufacturing is a global industry, and the many of the largest manufacturers have plants here in the U.S. Since most all-terrain tires are purchased and used in North America, it makes sense. The KO2, Discoverer XLT, Grabber A/TX and others are all manufactured here. Other styles like the Wildpeak A/T3W, are made in the U.S. as well as overseas. So some of the sizes are made here, but not all.
Ply range
This is a critical component to any tire and particularly for all-terrain tires. Ply ranges from 4 to 12-ply ratings depending on the minimum rating the vehicle requires. If your vehicle came stock with an E/10-ply rated tire, than you must use an E/10-ply rated or higher tire to meet the hauling and towing capacities of the vehicle. Also, consider the tire pressure requirements, particularly for 3500/1-ton trucks. If your truck requires 80 psi, and you want a larger diameter 37-inch tire, a 12-ply tire may be needed to meet this air pressure setting and to keep the TPMS light off.
Tire diameter range
Looking for a 37X12.50-17? This specification will help you see what all-terrain tire options are available.
Rim range
Wanting to plus size the wheel diameter on your all-terrains? Here you see the ranges of wheel/rim diameters available. Check out the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 with up to a 24-inch wheel option.
Now let’s start comparing tires. Here are some of our top selling all-terrain tires.