Les Schwab Back Country AT tires anyone?

I'm in need of new tires, as I'm still running the stock Dunlop tires that came with the truck when I bought it new (they have about 50k on them now). Stopped by at Les Schwab yesterday and talked with a guy for about 30 mins about tires.
This truck is my daily driver. I live in the PNW where it's wet and rainy 9 months of the year. I also drive up to the pass 1-2 times a week, so I want something that will work great in the snow. After going over a few options, I think I really like the Back Country AT tires, 265/70R-17. These tires seem like they will work great as a D.D. as well in the snow on my trips to the mountains. They also have the Mountain-Snowflake rating which is DOT approved as traction tires, which I really like. They want about $220/tire, which seems reasonable.
Problem is...I searched TW and didn't find much. I found a post on the Back Country MT's, and someone said they were Dean Tires which are manufactured as Cooper tires and liked the MT version. But I can't find anything about the AT version.
So can anyone provide any input on these tires? Pros or cons? I really like them, and they seem like a great tire for what I need, but I don't want them to end up being a flop.

My father-in-law has the KO2's on his Silverado, and I've heard great things about them online reviews. But the tech at Les Schwab said he has seen a lot of issues with those tires causing vibration. He said the manufacturing QC for the KO2's isn't the greatest, and the tires can be made out of shape. A buddy of mine also has the Toyo MT's on his Chevy S-10 and swears that's what I need...but I don't think I need an aggressive MT tire for my driving conditions.

Last question...should I get the tires siped? Les Schwab tech said this will provide better traction in snow & rain, and will prolong the life of the tire. Said the only con to siping is if I do a lot of gravel driving, as it can tear up the tire.

Here's a link to the Back Country AT's.

Thanks!

 

Looks like that tire has plenty of siping already.

 

Don't get them siped they have plenty of sipes as is.. these tires are made by Cooper tire if I remember correctly.. decent tires for the price...

 

Wish I could get them here

 

Is that $220 mounted and balanced? If not, that seems really steep. Even if it is, I don’t think that is a great deal.

 

It's $220/tire only, not including mounting.

 

Back country are made for Schwab and Toyota are carried by Schwab; so, naturally they would push those tires. However, my buddy has a set and it appears to perform fine for him (AT); at the end of day, I think you can't really go wrong with any tires manufactured by the major companies. All comes down to your own style and preferences. I am just a BFG and Nitto guy. I think you will be fine with them if you should decide on them.

Happy trails,

 

Toyota=Toyo, LOL!

 

I'd sooner just avoid Les Schwab all together. The only reason they're talking up the house tire is because it's what they have in stock and has a higher profit margin. I've had some pretty crappy dealings with this company.

1st time they tried to weasel out of a tire warranty
2nd time ruined all four wheels so bad they had to be refinished because even Stevie Wonder could sense the damage

 

So to follow up from my OP, I decided to go with the Toyo Open Country AT II's, 265/70R-17. The (Cooper) Back Country's seem like solid tires, and are almost identical to the Toyo's, but I decided to go with the Toyo's for 2 reasons:

1) The Toyo's have a side wall to them, which I really like. I'm upgrading to black rims too (Black Rhino Glamis), so I think the combo of rims with the moderate side wall will be the exact look I want. The Back Country's had absolutely no side wall, and looked like a commuter tire from the side.

2) I wanted name brand. Toyo is a reputable name which I've always trusted. According to my research, the Back Countrys are made by Dean's Tires, which was bought by Les Schwab and are manufactured under Cooper. These tires are basically a "Les Schwab only" tire, and while I believe they're a great tire, Toyo has always been a name I've trusted.

The Toyo's were also a +$11 difference between the Back Countrys at 231/tire, which also sold me on the Toyo's.

I also decided not to get the tires siped, even though they really tried selling me into it....better grip, better longevity of the tire, blah blah. I told them the tire looks plenty siped to me, but they said adding more will only help better. At $13/tire, I don't think it's worth it. I'm open to opinions with the Toyo's though.

Havn't made the purchase yet as they won't have the rims in stock for another 4 days, but I'm pretty sure this is the route I'm going.
17x9 Black Rhino Glamis rims with a +12 offset.
265/70R-17 Toyo Open Country AT II tires.

Really excited about this setup. I've never been a fan of the aluminium alloy look with the stock Sport wheels. I prefer everything to be blacked out, especially with the MGM paint.

Thanks everyone for their input. If anyone has mounted the Back Country's, I'd still like to hear how you like them.

 

Yeah, I hear ya. Les Schwab really screwed over my car-illiterate dad on his Honda Accord. The car was only 2 years old, he bought it brand new, and they told him he needs a completely new rear set of brakes. Calipers, pads, and rotors. Because he didn't know any better and took their word for it, he said OK and it cost him almost an arm and leg. When he later told me about it, I politely told him that was a mistake, and he verified it with the dealership he bought it from. Even the dealership wouldn't have fucked him that hard.

However, Les Schwab is 2 mins away from my house, and I don't live by a Discount Tire. I take everything they say with a grain of salt and research on my own before making a decision. In my updated post, I decided to go with the Toyo Open Country's. Even after telling them that's what I've decided, they still were trying to sell me on the Back Country's, and that makes sense now after reading you post about higher profit margin. I think I'll be happy with the Toyo's though.

 

Completely agree, I'm sure any of the tires I was looking at would have been great. I updated above, but decided to go with the Toyo Open Countrys AT II. I wanted to look at the KO2's, but turns out Les Schwab doesn't even carry BFG brand line.

 

I have those on my Grand Cherokee.. I had about 20k on some bigger than stock Toyo A/T's and had a sidewall blow out on the freeway couple hours from home...limped in to the closest tire shop on the spare, which happened to be LS. The Jeep is AWD and really didn't want to screw with finding a tire the same size, or deal with one that was larger than the rest to screw with my differentials. Ended up with a new set of Back Country A/Ts. Like them MUCH better than the Toyo tires. I never really have the Grand Cherokee in any situations where I need a tough/aggresive tire, and it's the wife's daily driver now that I have the Tacoma. I considered the Back Country A/Ts for the Tacoma, but decided on being a guinea pig with the new (to USA) Pirelli M/T tires. We'll see if I end up with regretting that.

No regrets on the Back Country tires. They've seen a little bit of mud, solid rock, gravel, and are one of the quietest A/T tires i've owned.

 

DUDE! Why you gotta screw with me like that?! lol I just posted an update and said I decided to go with the Toyo A/T's! After heavily debating between the two, I was sure I wanted the Toyo's....until I see you post. Now you got me re-thinking everything! Thanks a lot! Honestly though, thanks for posting, it's good to hear someone with a positive review on the Back Country A/T's, I haven't really been able to find any reviews on them online.

 

I have 10ply Toyo A/Ts on my old GMC pickup, and the A/Ts on my Jeep were 10ply. The new tires are Passenger (not LT), so like 4ply, or 6ply? There's that, so the ride will inherently be better with the P tire, as well as quieter. Fuel mileage increased when switching to the Back Country tires as well, likely due to weight. The Toyo tires were great, I had no regrets with them, and would likely still be happily running them if I never had a blow out. They were also ~$500 more for the set than the Back Country..Same size tire.

Good luck on your decision. I'm sure you'll be happy with either tire.

 

You might also consider the Deegan 38 AT from 4WP... I was considering 17s and priced that size, want to say you're under $600 shipped for the set of 4. Not very many reviews on those either, and the sidewall looks pretty pansy. If i'm not happy with the tires I bought, i'll probably try those in the near future.

 

Have you considered ordering and just having them mounted locally? There are many good options for that tire size on Amazon that are much cheaper.

Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 Off-Road Tire - P265/70R17” 113T

https://www.amazon.com/Hankook-Dyna...id=1515223071&sr=1-1&keywords=265+70+17+tires

https://www.amazon.com/Falken-Wildp...id=1515223071&sr=1-2&keywords=265+70+17+tires

Cooper Discoverer A/T3 Traction Radial Tire - 265/70R17 115T

https://www.amazon.com/Cooper-Disco...id=1515223071&sr=1-3&keywords=265+70+17+tires

General Grabber AT2 Radial Tire - 265/70R17 115S

https://www.amazon.com/General-Grab...d=1515223071&sr=1-13&keywords=265+70+17+tires

 

I'm with this guy^^. No way would I pay that much $.

 

Price tires thru Discount Tires Direct= Save money.