If you’re shopping for all-terrain tires, it’s best not to mess around. There are some decent budget options and a lot of dirt-cheap value brands, but quality is almost always worth paying for. To that end we’ve put together a list of our best all-terrain tires.
Critical factors in our decision making include off-road grip, on-road driving dynamics, durability, warranty and price. Some tires set themselves apart with more or less capability in any of these areas, and some offer unique features like true winter capability.
Best All Terrain Tires for Trucks
BFGoodrich All Terrain TA KO2
The all-terrain tire we recommend most often, the BFGoodrich All Terrain TA KO2 is equal parts capability and durability. It’s unique tread design is almost more like a mud-terrain tire, with big curved tread blocks that help it scoop into loose surfaces. The tread itself is amazingly resistant to wear, even under extreme use, and we appreciate the 20 percent thicker sidewalls to protect the tire against cuts or slashes from sharp rocks out on the trails, or at the work site.
It doesn’t offer the best on-road performance, as far as all-terrain tires go, with wet on-road braking capability lacking somewhat, but it’s so fantastic in other areas, this is our absolute first choice.
Warranty: 55,000 miles
Goodyear Wrangler All Terrain Adventure with Kevlar
An original equipment tire on more than a few different trucks, there’s good reason for it. This tire has offers some of the best off-road grip out there and in order to get near the top of our list is also extremely durable. Kevlar (yes, the stuff they use in bulletproof vests) is in fact used int he tire’s construction, making the face of the tire extremely resistant to punctures.
The tire also makes use of Goodyear’s Durawall technology, adding extra reinforcement on the sidewalls.
In addition to all this, LT-fitments come rated for true winter use and feature the three peak mountain snowflake logo on the sidewall. They are also built with 30 percent more steel in their construction, allowing them to better hold up to the demands of hard use.
Warranty: 60,000 miles
Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S
Cooper Tires has really established itself as one of the best truck tire brands in the business. The AT3 4S arrived on the scene just a few years ago after Cooper saw so much success with the standard AT3. The 4S option delivers true winter capability.
In addition, it’s an impressive off-road performer and offers superior on-road grip, driving dynamics and comfort than most.
It’s warranty is also the highest offered on an all-terrain tire.
Warranty: 65,000 miles
Falken Wildpeak AT3W
We love the aggressive look of this tire, although it’s not just on this list for style.
The 3W in the tire’s name stands for wet, wear and winter and the Wildpeak AT3W delivers in all of those areas. Adapting technology from all-season tires, this tire’s tread makes use of a silica-infused compound which helps it grip in the wet offering improved performance. This also helps to offset the fact that the unique tread pattern doesn’t feature many circumferential grooves for water evacuation, so it needs an extra trick to deliver that capability.
The tread design does offer excellent off-road grip and stability. It even has a well-planed feel on snow covered roads and is certified for true winter use.
Many tread blocks feature a stepped design that helps to free up rocks or mud stuck in the tread so the tire can keep performing at its maximum potential.
An additional feature of this tire is the extra layer of protection built into the sidewall, which not only protects the tire but also works to dissipate heat, helping the tire last longer.
Warranty: 55,000 miles
Continental Terrain Contact AT
If you’re more interested in on-road performance, this is the all-terrain tire for you.
That’s not to say the Continental Terrain Contact AT can’t handle off-roading, it certainly can, but it’s noticeably less capable than its many rivals.
With fewer biting edges and larger tread blocks overall, the tire offers a more comfortable highway ride, while design elements on the shoulder tread blocks muffle sound to keep this AT tire running quietly.
Warranty: 60,000 miles
Hankook Dynapro AT2 RF11
One of the most affordable high-performing all-terrain tires out there, the Hankook Dynapro AT2 RF11 offers capable off-road grip and solid on-road driving dynamics.
Off-road the jagged tread blocks offer grip in both directions, while a healthy level of void space
Warranty: 60,000 miles
Nitto Ridge Grappler
The only all-terrain tire on our list without a tread life warranty, this tire is obviously unique. That’s pretty obvious just by looking at it.
Nitto has a long history of making some very wild looking tread patterns and the Ridge Grappler is no different with its unique angular lugs that look like offset triangles.
Calling this an all-terrain tire is somewhat debatable as even Nitto classifies it as a Hybrid Terrain tire, being a hybrid between an all-terrain and a mud-terrain option. That said, it’s easier to understand why there’s no warranty (mud-terrain tires almost never come with a warranty).
For off-road grip the larger tread lugs and plenty of void space help these tires dig in, as do the alternating shoulder tread lugs, with different lengths on the interior of the tire, as well as an alternating pattern on the outside of the tire to dig into loose surfaces with ease. The center tread lugs also feature a stepped design to add extra edges for more traction.
To help free up stones or packed in mud, ejector ribs at the base of the tire flex to force out dirt and rocks.
On top of all this, the tire is more road-ready than mud-terrain tires and Nitto even went so far as to design a tread pattern that reduces noise, meaning these are quieter than you’d expect.
Warranty: None
Michelin LTX AT2
You can’t really have a best tire list without a Michelin on it, now can you?
Nope. And we’re not about to make exceptions now. So here’s the Michelin LTX AT2 with an excellent balance of off-road grip and durability, mixed with on-road comfort and performance.
With interior tread blocks that look like a saw tooth, they easily churn through loose earth and move you forward. At the same time this tire does an excellent job of clearing water for better on-road braking performance in the wet (always a weak point of all-terrain tires).
Of note, while several other tires on this list offer different mileage guarantees for different sizes and ratings of tires, all versions of the LTX AT2 come with a 60,000 mile warranty.
And perhaps most importantly one of the best reasons to pick a Michelin is that they retain the performance level miles and mils into their tread life.
Warranty: 60,000 miles
Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3
There’s no one stand-out feature of the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3. It’s just a solid all-around tire. It’s certainly not our first pick, but it’s excellently capable, solidly refined and if the price is right (depending on current offers and discounts) we’d be convinced to pick this over some of the other options on this list.
The tread compound is durable, while there’s plenty of voice space to help this tire dig in. Plus, the stepped tread blocks allow for that void area, while also offering large enough tread blocks to improve on-road handling and highway stability.
Traction claws (a rather obvious feature of the tire) work to grip loose surfaces, giving this all-terrain tire an edge over some rivals.
Warranty: 50,000 – 60,000 miles
Nitto Terra Grappler G2
The second Nitto tire option on this list, the Terra Grappler G2 sits at the other side of the spectrum from the Ridge Grappler. Wile that tire was focused more heavily on the off-road, this all-terrain tire is designed more for on-road use. That’s not to say it’s not a true all-terrain tire. It is and can definitely handle some tough off-roading.
But with the Ridge Grappler handling the extreme, this tire adds on-road comfort and uses the latest noise canceling technology to block our unwanted frequencies. The shorter tread depth makes for better on-road handling (at the expense of some off-road grip), while the “coupling joints” you can see between the shoulder tread blocks and the interior tread gives better on-road handling overall.
Warranty: 50,000 – 65,000 miles
What is the Toughest All-Terrain Tire?
Not only is it the most capable, it’s also the most toughest; the BFGoodrich All Terrain TA KO2 is in our opinion the toughest all-terrain tire. It features a unique sidewall that’s 20 percent thicker than conventional all-terrain tires. While not as extreme as a 3-ply setup in an MT-tire, this does allow for better protection from cuts and slashes on the trail or worksite, without impacting ride quality. The tread makeup also utilizes a custom compound that’s proven to resist wear excellently.
What is an All-Terrain Tire?
Slotting in between all-season tires and maximum traction MT (or mud terrain tires), an all-terrain tire is a tire designed to offer off-road capability and durability, as well as on-road driving dynamics, civility and grip. That said, depending on the all-terrain tire you select, those attributes can vary wildly. Some are more capable off-road, but lack on-road grip. You’d think grip would be the same no matter the surface, but it’s not.
Most all-terrain tires still feature a five-row tread pattern similar to all-season tires. These generally perform better on-road and offer better braking capability and performance in wet conditions. The more extreme off-road focused all-terrain tires tend to utilize four rows of tread blocks with the interior tread lugs arranged in unique patterns, with no consistent water evacuation channels running between them.
AT tires also make use of unique tread compounds that can withstand hard use off-road.
All-terrain tires generally have a 2-ply sidewall, vs a 3-ply sidewall found on MT tires, so they aren’t as resistant to punctures.
Increasingly all-terrain tires are being offered with the three-peak mountain snowflake logo on their sidewall, indicating they meet the minimum standards for true winter driving.