General Grabber ATX - Long Term Review and BS

TL : DR - Here's my assessment of how the new(ish) General Grabber ATX will wear on our truck, work in highway and rainy conditions, tow, and how well they work in snowy road conditions. It will take me about 2 years to go through this set of tires, during which time I will update this thread periodically with my feedback and experience.



If you want my full rambling explanation, read on!



Hi Frens,

I haven't found a lot of people sharing their experience about this tire, so I thought I would start a post and share mine. The General Grabber isn't a new tire by any means, but the ATX is the latest iteration, and is a pretty recent release. As we go here I'll explain a bit about how I landed on this choice, my particular truck, my needs, and driving habits.

So we'll back up a tiny bit here. I bought my truck in April 2017, a Double Cab Short Bed TRD-Off Road, with manual transmission. It was my first new truck and I'd always wanted a Tacoma crew cab. Very exciting day! Here it is right after I bought it, with a couple obvious and pretty standard upgrades, including a set of 265/75r16 KBro2's - which are a great tire by the way, more on that shortly.


I drive a lot for work, average somewhere around 25-30k miles per year, mostly highway. Part of those miles include passing through the Oregon Coast range on a very regular basis, which is guaranteed to have snow on it at least a few times a year. I do enjoy off-roading, and have had my truck in the woods a few times since I've bought it, but the reality is I don't have much time these days for those activities right now. I also end up towing once in a while, at or near full towing capacity, and have also had a full cargo load in the bed more than once.

That covers my driving habits. Based on that, I have a few requirements for a tire:

• Raised white letters - this one is most important, and pure ridiculous vanity. But it is a requirement on this truck. White letter Mafia!
• 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rated - I want a tire that counts as a "traction device" in the snow, so during those events when I'm crossing passes there's no need for chains. Also in the off chance I can sneak away for a snow wheeling trip it's very nice to have
• E-rated - I tow and haul often enough I want the extra margin of safety from a full weight rated tire. Despite what the haters say, I can't tell a difference in the ride quality.
• Milage - ideally get at least 60k miles on a set

So that's it, all other tire features are optional for me. The requirements leave a very limited set of options. As you can see above, on the first round I went with the BFGs. They work great. They wear great. In fact, I probably could have gotten another 5k miles on these if I had wanted to. But at around 55k they started getting bouncy and would wander a bit more than I liked. So I pulled the plug on them pretty much right at 60k- again very satisfied with the mileage. I wasn't perfect with getting them rotated by the way, but did rotate them probably 5 times during their life, anywhere between say 5k and 12k miles between.
Here they are on their last day:


Good looking tire, despite what the haters say:


OK so why the Generals? You see my list of requirements above. I think I determined 4 options (might be missing one here but this is what I remember):

• BFG's
• Cooper AT3s
• Hankook ATs
• Generals

I wanted to go with something different and I just simply haven't seen these tires around, with one major except, that is honestly also another reason I wanted to go with a General Tire. If you haven't watched any Expedition Overland: https://www.youtube.com/user/ExpeditionOverland I do recommend their stuff. I like the job they did with their show. And that said, General Tire was a sponsor. So the other reason, is voting with my pocket book. Thank you General Tire for sponsoring the XO guys.


Initial reactions to the tires, walking out to my truck this morning after getting them installed:

They look great, very happy with the visual appeal (remember this actually matters to me)





Also, the tread is crazy deep!!



They drive and sound pretty much just as I remember the BFGs did when new - nice and quite, pretty well balanced but maybe not exactly perfect (especially compared to a lighter LT stocky type tire, but fine for my expectations), and pretty stable at highway speeds, for a bigger meaty tread truck tire. Overall pleased with out of the box, but there's not much there as of this moment other than 30 miles of dry pavement.

OK that's enough of my nonsense for now, I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as we progress.

Feel free to BS and discuss among yourselves.

 

i love those wheels

 

1000 miles in, not much to report.
Drove in a little rain and they did fine.

Anyone else running these have any experience to share?

 

I’ve had my Generals on for 1,000 miles and I too am very happy with them. They handle predictably and ride quietly on-road, the are grabby in dirt and snow.

I also like the white letters. They complement the look of my truck nicely. So far them letters are turning out much easier to keep clean than I remember back in the 80s.

 

Good thread. Can't wait to see how they hold up. I just mounted these tires yesterday but will only put about 5k a year on them.

Like you I needed a 3-peak rated tire and something with a solid treadwear warranty. I also needed it in a 33" and it's surprisingly difficult to a find a tire that meets all of those requirements. Typically if you had 3-peak you lost the warranty or vice versa. The ATX pretty much hit the checkbox for everything.

I also got the white letters but they are already dirty ha. White Letter Mafia!

 

Sweet truck!

 

I've been thinking of getting these. My first choice was Defenders, but I love the solid RWL and the price point.

 

Anyone running these General Grabber ATx tires on SL load range? How's the noise level on road?

 

Not that I dislike the raised white letters but I assume they can be mounted on the opposite side without the RWL? Anyone with pics of RWL on the inside?

 

Just got a set of them in the SL range. Probably put about 400 miles on them so far and I’m surprised that a tire this aggressive is this quiet. Mine are 265/70/17 in the SL. Not much different in noise from the Toyos that came on my truck.

 

Just got mine mounted yesterday by Firestone dealer. They scratched my rims a bit - my own regret. I am coming from Firestone destination factory set up with over 50k miles. My brother works for continental so I got these grabbers for Crazy low discount. I also went with e rated tire but only because it was the only option in for my size which is 245/75/16. I didn’t want to go up in size. First impressions?? It’s like riding on a bumpy cloud. I can feel the difference and they absorb bumps like nothing I have ever had. A bit heavy but I do feel like I am riding on much better quality tires! Plus they look really nice! Slight noise that cancels out that diff howl lol

Glad to see most of you are having good luck with them!

 

I got my wheels and General Grabber ATX's (265/70/17) installed on Friday. I've put about 150 miles on the tires so far and they are quiet and ride very smooth. I highly recommend them.

 

What do you guys keep your General Grabber ATX's inflated to? I did the chalk test on mine (265/70/17 SL) and 38psi looked good. Seems high to me.

 

For 285/75/16 about 42

 

Damn it, I was telling myself to run down the stock wranglers then get these...but this tread plus the 15% off at discount tire is mighty tempting...

 

I keep 40 and it’s just perfect for me.

 

Had the 265/70 R17 AT2’s for two years and have loved them. They have done great in the dirt, snow and fairly quiet on the road. Been driving them at 42psi on the road and it seems like a sweet spot, but I never got round to doing the chalk test.

Just ordered a set of 275/70 R17 E rated from Discount Tire. Always regretted not having the white letters out, so I guess I’ll join the mafia.

 

What is the SL load? I have been told a e plyin these will be fine for my 05 Tacoma 4 door sport 4wd.i have been hoping to find one in 8 ply as I pull a 6000lb camper often and I wand a stiffer sidewall than a p rated tire.any recommendations I’m all ears

 

Currently looking for tires for a 17 OR. will be following !