You may be thinking… Who is Arroyo? This might be the first time you’re seeing this particular brand.
While they are certainly a newer company, or at least one you don’t hear as much about, Arroyo Tires looks to be a pretty serious contender to major brands. And the best part? They’re roughly half the cost of the premium alternatives. Now I know what you’re thinking. How do they really stack up?Â
The simple answer is – they’re a killer contender at a bargain. Let’s take a closer look.
Table Of Contents
Specs & Design
The concept of an RT tire has been around about 15 years now, so it’s still a relatively newer tire category. Simply put, it combines all terrain and mud terrain tires into one hybrid design. The end result is a perfect middle ground between the two. Longer lasting treads that aren’t excessively loud and still have a high degree of performance off-road.
The Tamarock RT came out late 2024, the latest from Arroyo’s off-road lineup.
Overview
- aggressive (but not overly) tread pattern
- designed with good road manners in mind
- they have a “stairstep” style on several internal ledges
- lateral tread blocks help with grip
- strong sidewall design for added traction
- made for all seasons and conditions, on and off-road
- design encourages good tread wear with consistent contact patch
- available for 16″, 17″, 18″, 20″, 22″, and 24″ wheels
- they come in E and F load ranges
- tons of sizes, varying widths, 32-37″ diameters
- about half the cost of their premium alternatives
- dual color sidewall, red letters on one side, black on the other
Initial Driving Impressions
This set of tires is a 33×12.5×17. A little taller than the factory TRD Off-Road trim tires, but about 2″ wider. I mounted them on a set of Lock Off-Road Combat wheels with a machine face polish. In this size, they are an F load. A bit firm for a Tacoma, but I’ll get more into this later.
My first impressions, before driving, were very good. I went a bit more loud running them with the red letters pointing outward. I made the decision after I placed them next to the truck when they first got to my house, and loved how good the red paired with the Bronze Oxide. It makes my Tacoma look like a trophy truck, haha.
Now as for driving, the tires are definitely more firm than factory. But that is to be expected in this load range. They have gotten better as they break in. The tires did great while towing my teardrop trailer though, with the added weight. Road noise right off the bat was right in the middle of the standard AT and standard MT range. Tire noise doesn’t particularly bother me, but these were definitely less loud than the tires on my Tacoma, some Falken Wildpeak MTs.
I’ve had these tires in rain, snow, and dry conditions. They work great on the pavement. They grip good for an aggressive tread in the rain. Snow traction was good as well.
MPG took a small hit, but I added wheels, tires, and a lift kit all in one day. The tires alone probably wouldn’t have had a huge impact on a stock truck. The tire shop didn’t have any issues with mounting and balancing. The tires track nice and straight on the highway at speed as well, without any vibrations, etc. The tire material seems very durable and the tread wear (through over 1,000 miles) seems very promising.
The setup is definitely heavier than stock, but again, I haven’t seen a major impact for the tires alone.
Pros & Cons
Some of this will definitely be subjective, but here are my thoughts…
PROS
- very affordable, relatively speaking
- tread wear seems like tires will last several tens of thousands of miles
- option to run red or black sidewalls is a neat feature
- overall design looks rad and give the truck an “off-road” feel
CONS
- currently, only two load rating available – E and F, it would be good to see C and D options for smaller trucks
- louder than factory tires and all terrain tread patterns
- a little heavier and firmer with bigger sidewalls
Who Are These For?
Tires can get super expensive. If you’ve got it in the budget, no big deal. But most of us like to do things in waves. Like wheels and tires right after a lift kit, etc. So saving some money here and there can make it easier to make these bigger purchases. That where a set of Tamarock RTs can come in.
Looks are huge for tires. I get it. They have the potential to completely change the way your truck sits. And these are usually big selling points for certain people. Most mid-tier tie brands don’t always have the best designs, which can offput some owners. I think that Arroyo did a really good job on this design, getting over a big hurdle in this price point. Personally, I really like the way they make the truck look. So much so, I’ve added some more red accents to match, and I’m still looking for more to add.
Bottom line. These are great for a daily driver or weekend overlander who wants to save some cash. They provide you with enough stand out design elements, good off-road performance, but still maintain decent road manners – and it seems that they will last several tens of thousands of miles. If they cost about half of the other bigger brands you were looking at, but give you similar performance while looking good, I call that a win.
Final Thoughts
This post is mainly for my first impressions. At just over 1,000 miles, I can’t say anything very negative about them. My main wish, to make them more applicable to a wider audience, is to offer more load ratings. Otherwise, I’m stoked on them.
I’ll be hitting a ~3,000 mile road trip to Montana soon, so I’ll have a 5,000 mile longer term review post up shortly. Stick around!
