4 Ply or 10 ply

finally got 17” rims, looking for a good tire to fit a 9 inch rim. it seems toyo open country at3s support 9 inch rims but it’s either 4 ply’s or 10 plys, i don’t do much off-roading mostly just gravel roads to go camping or fishing and stuff. are 4 ply’s really that thin??

 

My personal choice is 10ply, hands down. I'd only consider 4ply for a pavement princess, and even then I'd rather 6ply at least, if I plan on actually using the truck for any truck things. I personally wouldn't feel too comfortable taking a truck offroad(even just gravel roads) on only 4ply tires. Definitely have a same-sized spare with you if you do.

Pros:
-They're damn near bulletproof. Even if you don't do much "serious" offroading, even gravel roads can be hard on the tires. Depending on the type of gravel, theres lots of sharp edges to slice up rubber. I prefer having the added peace of mind.
-I've taken plenty of winter potholes and frost heaves without any worry about my tires. Even ran over a piece of split firewood at like 50 once. Tweaked my alignment a bit but tires were fine.
-Never have to be worried about heavier loads overstressing your tires. They'll carry more than the taco will.

Cons:
-They're significantly heavier and kinda finicky to balance. The weight will affect your fuel economy more in city/stop and go traffic. Once you're at speed the impact is minimal compared to just having larger tires in general.
-More expensive. But last plenty long to not really worry about it. I get a few years out of each set
-They do have a noticeably firmer ride due to the stiff sidewalls. That's the biggest tradeoff IMO. But whenever I'm offroad I'll often air down to soften the ride up a bit if i'm gonna be there a while. 25ish psi for gravel, 20ish for rough trails, and 15-20 for really rough stuff. 30-32 when I'm back on pavement and that's not a horrible ride at all.

 

Counterpoint:

I'm running Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015s, in P265/70/R16 size (a stock size for 2nd gen TRD OR Tacomas,) in an SL load rating (load range 111T.) Which is a 4-ply tire. I keep the tires at 35 PSI. Truck runs at about +600 lbs of constant extra weight (bumpers, sliders, utlity cap, etc.) plus another 400-500 lbs of cargo, driver, etc. Around 1000-ish pounds of weight above and beyond the truck's dry stock curb weight. A medium load.

I have run these tires on rocky, dry dirt roads for several hundred miles at speeds averaging 30 mph but peaking as high as 65-70 mph. Rally-car speeds on mountainous, rutty, potholed forest-road single track. Plenty of places where I wondered whether the tires were going to hold up against the many chunks of sharp shale rock strewn all over the road, ranging from pinky-sized to fist-sized.

Not only have none of them blown, none of them shows any signs of sidewall damage (slashes, etc.), nor are the treads missing any chunks.

These SL-rated 4 ply tires are more than adequate for any normal dry dirt road everyday / camping use. (They are also excellent on the highway, dry or wet.)

On a damp or even wet normal dirt road, i.e. one that is packed with gravel on the surface layer, they do fine also. Where they would NOT do well is on muddy single-track where there isn't any gravel in the road and it's just >95% pure clay/mud. Need mud-terrains to get a grip in that condition.

I mounted these tires myself & used a simple static bubble balancer. They balanced very easily with minimal weighting & I've had no issues with vibrations or weird tread-wear patterns so far.

 

I run Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 265/70R16 tires with 55k warranty also SL at 35psi (max 44).
None of the 75mph runs out to CO (over 2000) are rough and then in the Ouray and Moab areas never a cut or flat when aired down to 20 in the rocks.
In FL downpours these tires do great also. I have carried chains for 12 years got them for AK trip and still never used them.
E range 10 ply will beat you up on the highway and around town (if married and wife drives it she will hate them) but if this is a true nearly full-time rock crawler then get them.
Depends on your use.

 

4-ply will do fine.

 

Be aware that “ply counts” really isn’t a physical thing anymore. The term is borrowed from ages ago when bias ply tires still existed. These days it is just a rating number exactly equivalent to a load rating and has absolutely nothing to do with the construction or thickness of the tire materials:

https://www.lesschwab.com/article/tires/tire-ply-ratings.html

So you needn’t be worried about “4-ply” being “thin” compared to higher load ratings. That said, while load ratings don’t directly relate to tire construction they do often indirectly relate to durability. Usually the biggest difference is between P and LT rather than differences in load rating within the LT series.

 

Don't plan on plugging a 10 ply if you get a nail in it. At least not the old fashioned way.

 

Another vote for 10 ply. Been running e rated (bfg a/t's) for the last 40 years... never had a flat or sidwall damage. They're stiffer/rougher ride but track like a tank. Just upgraded to Toyo R/T Trails in 275/70/R17 e rated 10 ply... run 34 psi.

 

Do what'cha like.

Lighter passenger-rated tires are cheaper, weigh less, accelerate faster, ride more comfy -- but aren't as durable. [But they're plenty damned durable enough for ordinary dirt-road & light trail use.]

Heavier "light truck"-rated tires cost more, weigh more, accelerate slower, ride rougher -- and are more durable.

 

That's another interesting potential down-side -- is that because they're so thick it's physically impossible to jam a plug through them?

 

In that size, Toyo offers an LT C (6-ply equivalent), kind of a decent middle ground. They’re not super available but you can get them in a few weeks through TireRack and probably discount.

A lot of the tire sellers don’t seem to know
about this option (came out a year ago) so you only see the E or SL.

 

Tacoma’s don’t do great with e rated tires, it’s complete overkill for our light trucks. Only if you spend all your time rock crawling loaded down is it necessary. Mpg will suffer along with ride quality, acceleration and braking. There are a lot of options for 267/70/17 tires out there. Plenty come in c load and d load and are better suited for our rigs. I usually run c load tires, happy medium between. Durability and weight.

 

If your airing down, I think 10 ply is the way to go.

 

Depends. Are you the type of person who wears hiking boots everywhere? Or maybe some athletic shoes? Me personally, I hike in crosstrainers because of the light weight performance advantage. They’re not so great for lava fields and shale slides, but I mostly avoid those hikes. But they’re still doable I just get scratched up more.

 

I’ve had wildpeak at3w “p” rated (4 or 5 ply I forgot) I punctured two of them (separate occasions) on fire roads in SoCal. After that I switched to e rated 10ply wildpeaks and haven’t had an issue in the last 80k miles and I’ve done everything from wild to wild
Both punctures were near the sidewall so couldn’t get them repatched
If you get the 4ply I’d carry a spare and know how to use it

 

Yup.

 

Using an awl/rasp to enlarge the puncture for the repair can be very frustrating. Those who carry a power drill with them often use that instead. Once you have the appropriate size hole then the repair works just as well as with a less durable tire.

As others mentioned, going with a more durable LT tire is wise if you are going to air down.

The biggest variable besides the tire is the driver. Some patient drivers will have no issue with a P rated tire. Some drivers will blow a P rated tire with ease.