Hi all,

After much research not only on this forum but all over the net and discussions with actual real people. I still have not come to a comfortable conclusion as to which tire size would be best for out planned trip. It's starting to become frustrating!!!

We are travelling overland in a 75 series land cruiser troopy from India to London then on to Cape Town.

So I have pretty much narrowed down the brand to a BFG MT KM2.

I'm really getting stuck on what size tire to choose. Mainly because I don't want to get caught out with lack of availability due to an odd tire size. We will be carrying two spares and a puncture repair kit, but even with this I've been caught out before.

I was thinking of going with the standard Land Cruiser 100 & 80 series tire size of 275 70 16. These cars seem to be fairly common in most parts of the world so I figure the standard tire size shouldn't be too hard to find. Problem is the more searching I do the less options there are for this size. You can't even get a BFG MT tire in this size.

I was then leaning towards a 265 75 16 which seems to have many more options between the different brands I was considering. I know this is a common size here in oz because the patrols use them standard. However the patrol is nowhere near as popular abroad as it is here in oz, leading me to believe that this tire size may be harder to find outside of oz.

Personally I would like to run a 285 75 16 (33") but even here in oz we had trouble sourcing them in some more remote locations.

If anyone out there has some advise or recommendations it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!!!

At least you have though about it!

Landcrusiers are not popular in the UK because of there width down those narrow roads they have.

Where would you be looking at replacing the tyres? If you do it in say Andora then you might get them cheaper (less taxed country)... Ideally you want somewhere where the tyres are popular (thus available and probably cheaper than if they are rare).

Once you decide on where then check on the availability and price? Possibly use a HU community for info?

I'd think South Africa would have all the tyre sizes you could want .. probably Morocco ... Spain? But I'd think you want to stay away from places where they don't have many 4WDs?

Good Luck.

I'm looking at buying the tires here in oz before we set off.

Just want to get the best idea of what's common in any given part of the world in case we need to replace a damaged tire.

Don't want to get caught out with a rare size that's hard to find.

Case Patches. 2 words.

------------------ What ever you chose ... it will probably be expensive to replace at some small place where the tyre has been damaged. That is why you carry spares. You may not get a replacement in exactly the same size/brand/tread that you have... I'd not worry about it. You cannot predict where you will brake down nor what will be required. If you could you'd carry the spare or have it sent out to you before the failure and replace it as part of regular maintenance.

Don't worry about the things you cannot change. Select something that will;
go the distance required
perform adequately
is not costly
is reasonably common

Perhaps a 'standard' toytoa tyre is good - at least you might be able to get a toytoa dealer involved?

Personally I'd go for the tyre that performs best on bitumen - longevity and low noise, the 10% of the time that you can drive off road you will just have to take extra care. Africa maybe different in parts - I dont have any experience there. Bear in mind that the vehicle manufacturers will have spent a good deal of time testing their vehicle with the standard tyre sets - have a look at the tyre placard and see what range of tyre sizes they have approved. I know that tyres are always a compromise as there are so many different conditions that you can meet espcially in the overland trip you are proposing. Look for the tallest approved tyre you can get to fit the rim as this may give you upto 5cm more ground clearance which will come in handy at times.

The other thing you can do is have a look on the 'net and see what tyre sizes Toyota offer on their vehicles in the countries you will pass through - I doubt there will be a great variance as Toyota really do build World vehicles nowadays.

General advice is stay as close as you can to 750r16 as these and their direct substitutes (ie diameter of the casing ) eg 265/75 r16 and 235/85r16 are more commonly available pretty much anywhere. , and if the exact tyre isnt available in an emergency with care you can substitute one of the other compatible sizes . Many SUV are supplied new with a very road biased tyre, as that is where 99.9% spend most of their time. The size choice is often optimised for aesthetic appeal rather than bush use. In OZ the early 100 series were a classic case and suffered at lot of punctures out bush.
I have always used the BFG MT , as it lasted well and I was prepared to put up with the noise and slightly less grip on wet roads for the extra traction where i really needed it . In the end its a personal choice on what your balance of priorities are . "overtyreing" is a easy trap to fall into , and from the point of view of extra flotation , you have to go really big to make any noticeable improvement , and be in just the right terrain to make use. HTSH