I have Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs on our FJ Cruiser and today put BF Goodrich TA/KOs on my H3T. The Duratracs are definitely a rugged, beefy looking tire. They have the bling factor going for them. I was close to putting them on my H3T but chose not to for a variety of reasons. I can only comment on on-road manners as I haven't been off-road yet on either the Duratracs or the TA/KOs. The TA/KOs are definitely the smoother ride of the two on road. They track well, aren't too firm, and don't seem to want to wander on the road like the Duratracs do. The Duratracs seem to find the little ruts in the road and the uneven pavement and track with them unlike what I am experiencing with the TA/KOs. The TA/KOs are much more quieter than the Duratracs as well. I do notice a whirling hum with the Duratracs at highway speeds. It's easily overcome however by cranking up the tunes. I don't encounter snow in southwest Florida although the way the temperatures have been this winter, it wouldn't surprise me if we got some snow. I haven't had any issues with the Duratracs on wet roads and I haven't had an opportunity to drive the TA/KOs on wet roads yet. Longevity is an uncertainty with the Duratracs because they haven't been out long enough for people to get the mileage required to give an accurate and real life review. It's no secret that the TA/KOs are a reliable all-terrain tire with great longevity and tread life. Go browse the Tacomaworld forum or the FJ Cruiser forum and there is enough reading on the TA/KOs to last you a good week or more. I am not trying to sell you either tire here. I am speaking from personal experience with both. If I wasn't practical, I'd have thrown 315/75/16 BF Goodrich KM2s on my beast and been done with it. But since I am practical and not gonna try to fool myself into believing I needed a large aggressive tread tire, I chose the one tire that I felt met all of my needs. I selected the BFG AT/KOs in size 295/75/16 load range D for the follwoing reasons:
1. Been around long enough to know it works well on most terrains and provides the comfortable on-road ride I am looking for. Bottom line is it's a proven performer and if rotated regularly will last 40,000 miles if not more.
2. 295/75/16 is a true 33.2 inch tire whereas most 285s are 32.8 inches or so.
3. It comes in load range D and that's exactly the load range I was looking for as I believe a load range E would be a much stiffer road ride on our sized vehicles.
4. I wanted a bigger than stock tire that looked a little bit more muscular than the stock BFG Rugged Trails yet performed well on-road. The 315s or 35s just weren't a practical approach for me other than they "look badass." Any 4 wheeling I do will not need that extra inch or so of clearance and the wheeling I will do initially won't be much more than easy stuff. Down the road when my kids are older, I WILL GO TO MOAB, and if need be at that time, the 35s will go on but for now it didn't make sense to worsen the fuel economy of my vehicle just for looks. I can comment on the TA/KOs that I just put on and I didn't lose any power or acceleration. The shift points are still nice and crisp and that was a big concern of mine had I stepped up to the 315s. With my 295 AT/KOs and the torsion bar crank and the installation of the Bilstein Cognito shocks and new 1/2" bumpstops from trail duty, my truck has maintained that excellent factory ride yet has become much more appealing from an aesthetic standpoint.
5. I paid $195 per tire (negotiated price) at Tire Kingdom plus $11.95 per tire basic install. I don't think I could have found a more perfect tire for my needs for the money. During my endless hours of online research I also stumbled across some sleepers like the General Grabber AT2s (on national backorder at most places and could have had these for $40 less per tire in size 285) and the Dunlop Rover M/T Maxx Traction (discovered these are made by Goodyear and are quite similar to the Duratracs yet $34 cheaper per tire on Tirerack.com).

For those of you contemplating upgrading your ties, having just gone through the decision making process myself, I know what's going through your mind. Take your time and weigh the pros and cons and ask yourself what it is you plan on doing with the truck. I put a ton of thought in my build and I think it paid off. Best decision I've made thus far was to crawl under my truck and crank those torsion bars then call up Phil at Trail Duty dot com and order those front Bilstein shocks and 1/2" bumpstops. Once these mods were done, the new tires were mounted and the look and ride I had envisioned finally became a reality in less than 3 hours of work. I will post pics over the weekend for those that are interested.

 

FloridaFeMan can you post up some pics of those 295/75R16 on your rig? I have the TA/KOs in 265/75R16 right now and want to go to step up to the 295s, I did a level lift also and the 265s just look too small. Thanks!