Over the years, I’ve tested and run a lot of different tires. Everything from premium brands like Falken and Toyo, to remolded tires like TreadWright. ATs, RTs, MTs. The full spectrum of price and performance.
I have my preferences, but in the spirit of research, I’m always down to try something new. For tires, that’s where Arroyo recently came in. They’re a newer company, but they have some rad options. Especially their RTs and MTs. They look great and first impressions were great, but everyone ultimately wants to know… How do they hold up long term? Are they worth the uncertainty or risk when compared to tires that are tried and true?
I’ve now run this tire in two sizes. 33×12.5×17 and I recently upgraded to the 37″ variant. With over 7500 miles on the 33s and another 3000 on the 37s, in mixed terrains and conditions, I have a good feel for these. The verdict? It’s a well rounded option that has done well on pavement and off-road, with excellent tread wear and resistance to damage.
Table Of Contents
Early Takeaways
Right off the bat, a few things caught my eye.
One, the dual color sidewall design. One side has red letters, the other has black. It’s up to you how you want to run them. I chose run the red lettering, which works really well with the Bronze Oxide color and my other red accents.
Two, the aggressive tread pattern. We don’t have to pretend like tires are ALL about performance. Sure, that’s a super important element, but style and how they look on the truck are also top of mind. The best tire deal from the best brand won’t mean much if they look bad. The Tamarock RTs have an aggressive and complex design that looks rugged and helps to complete the look we’re all after.
Three, the overall construction feels premium. They didn’t give the impression that they’re some cheap tire. Even the shops I was using all noted that they were pleasantly surprised by this category of price point. They balanced well and mounted without any issues.
And finally, they didn’t give me a harsh ride, even with the higher load rating, and they are on par for noise level for the tire type.
Daily Driving Performance
These tires come in a range of different load ratings. Both of mine were an F load, which is a bit overkill for a Tacoma, but I’ve run several of these at this point and I personally think the tire load rating makes a difference, but it’s not like the higher load ratings making your drive uncomfortable. This is definitely subjective, but I used to think it was a stretch to run D or E loads, until I actually ran a set. Not as bad as many people make it sound.
That said, even in the F load, which I’ve left feedback for Arroyo that it would be ideal to expand to lower ratings, the on-road performance is still pretty good.
These have taken a little longer to break in, but after a few thousand miles, they’ve gotten a bit more pliable and road manners have improved. Whether I’m driving around town or on the highway, they feel planted with no vibrations or annoying steering wheel feedback. It’s a firmer ride, but not an uncomfortable one. Can you commute with them? You can, and I do.
Noise levels remained stable coming up on 10k miles on my first set, and the new 37s also seem to be following that trend. They make noise, but it’s not a howling roar like you see with a lot of softer compound MTs. These RTs seem to have a firmer compound, which is great for longevity and wear but can potentially impact grip in lower PSI situations. But you can’t have it all, at least not with any one tire.
Off-Road Capability
As I’ve progressed in my wheeling hobby, we’ve consistently pushed the limits of what are trucks are capable of, and where we’re willing to take them. Adding 37s and hitting some gnarly trails immediately after installing them highlights that.
You buy off-road focused tires to use them in the conditions you expect to find off pavement. So after wheeling on some of Colorado’s tougher and more technical trails… how did they do?
In our first trail run with the new size, we hit 3-4 trails over several days that all had sections that I would rate as 7-8 (maybe 9 in optional spots) out of 10. This is on a rating system of what these trucks are capable of in the first place, with 10 being something like the Rubicon or Fordyce. We ran these with around 10-12 PSI in the tires, pushing the limits of what we could do on non-beadlocked wheels.
In the steepest and rockiest sections, with poor traction due to dry and dusty conditions, I was able to hit every obstacle with a fair amount of confidence. The tires were not the limiting factory. In fact, the lower hanging armor and general clearance was a bigger problem. These new gen Toyotas have a lot of positives, but lower hanging rocker panels and belly (in spots) made for a different experience compared to previous generations. But the tires were able to follow lines (at least closely enough) that my buddy was running in his Gladiator on premium 40″ MTs.
We’ve also seen a fair amount of loose medium sized jagged rocks (as seen above), high elevations with rapidly changing temperatures and a lot of variable terrain. At no point did I feel like I should have went a different direction. I would say that the tire performed as I expected, without any major hiccups.
RTs blend the best of ATs and MTs to try and give you the best of both worlds. And these do just that. This section focuses on off-road performance, so relative to ATs, they have more grip and better off-road performance. And relative to MTs, they have a similar amount of grip and but better overall manners.
So will they hold up off pavement? Absolutely. And hang with the best of them.
Durability & Wear
Durability wise, I don’t have any complaints or concerns. As mentioned already a few times, they’ve been very resistant to damage. No sidewall issues, no excessive chunking or tearing, just expected wear for my use case and the abuse we’ve subjected them to.
My first set of 33s were quickly coming up on 10k miles before I swapped to the new set, and tread had barely worn 1-2 millimeters, barely wearing through the topmost layer of tread visible on the individual blocks. Honestly, that was pretty surprising at this budget. I wasn’t expecting them to wear super fast, but if the tread wear continued and I took care of alignments, rotations, PSI, etc., the first set gave me the impression they would last 30-40k miles. I usually don’t keep my tires until they are completely toast, but it’s still good to know how long you can expect certain levels of performance.
Balancing hasn’t been an issue whatsoever. And again, with proper maintenance, I see good things over the lifespan of the tire. You can usually pick up on whether or not a tire is going to work and perform within the first few thousand miles.
The truck has run the Tamarock RTs from OEM+ days of lift kit, wheels and tires, all the way to a fully loaded setup with armor, a GFC camper, and all my other mods and accessories. I’ve also towed my teardrop trailer with these. All scenarios have been good experiences. In fact, the more you load them up, the better they perform as they settle into a more heavy duty use.
Value For The Money
In the mid-tier category, price difference is one of the main drivers when someone is considering new tires. I’ll use these 37s as a reference point. Premium brand RTs in this size run around $450-500/each (approximately). The Tamarocks run ~$375/each. On a set of five, the difference is around $350-500. That’s a pretty substantial savings.
Given that you can expect a similar (close enough) level of performance, I would say the difference justifies another look and further consideration into Arroyo. Now I know the tire market has a lot of loyalists. And I know that many people are probably still skeptical, even after reading reviews like this one. At the end of the day, if budget is what’s standing between you and your build, saving money wherever you can (without sacrificing performance) something like these tires should start to move the needle.
I think they’re a valid alternative, and provide a whole lot of value. Also, everyone nowadays seems to run the same build. If you want to stand out and do something different, these RTs are right up your alley.
Final Thoughts
After putting thousands of miles on two different sizes of the Arroyo Tamarock RTs, I’m happy to say they’re a solid contender in the Rugged Terrain space. They’ve done well across everything we’ve put them through, from mild to wild. Daily driving, long highway road trips, technical trails and heavy loads.
Are they perfect? No. Nothing is. They run a bit on the firm side with higher load ratings, and while the compound used favors durability and longevity, you won’t get that grip you’d expect from a dedicated MT. That said, the typical trade-offs also mean that they will wear well, resist damage and improve your driving confidence.
Pros
- aggressive style and dual sidewall design
- solid off-road capability without extra noise
- excellent tread wear and durability
- balance easily and do well under load
- considerably (relatively) more affordable compared to premium brands
Cons
- limited load ratings (E and F load can be overkill for some)
- firm compound may give up a little traction at very low PSIs
- newer brand, needs time to develop long term reputation
If you’re a dedicated loyalist to big brands, you’ll likely just stick with what you know. But if you’re open to trying something new and saving a good amount of cash in the process, these deserve consideration. They’ve proven themselves to me, at the very least.
Would I run them again? Yes!
