“I’ve given them all a shot,” Kit explains. “I’ve tried a few of the major brands and even a set of the cheaper ones, but there’s no other brand I trust more to get me out and back again safely than Toyos”.
Kit has set up his 40 Series Toyota LandCruiser as a ‘tough tourer’ - built to tackle any terrain and explore some of the most beautiful, remote locations our sunburnt country has to offer.
“Choosing tyres for your rig is actually one of the most important aspects of setting up any 4x4 to go touring and adventuring,” Kit goes on to say. “You need a tyre you can trust no matter what comes up, and my Toyo Open Country R/Ts are the perfect choice for how I use my rig”.
“I need a tyre that can handle my daily driving, long runs on the highway, cruising beautiful beaches, escaping the occasional bog hole, and tackling tough rutted-out rocky country like you find on the Old Coach Road.”
Kit has covered more than 50,000km over the past three years with his Open Country Rugged Terrains (R/Ts) and has really put the tyres to the test.
“I’m really impressed with the quality of the R/Ts. We did the Old Coach Road on New Year's Day last year (2022), and if you’ve ever done the Old Coach Road, you know how rough it is on your gear. I had clutch issues half-way through - master cylinder dramas after replacing the clutch and slave cylinder a couple of weeks earlier, which meant I basically couldn’t stop… the whole track!” Kit said.
“I basically just gave it to poor Frank the entire track without stopping… It was pretty full on having to quickly analyse each climb and picking the best line without getting stuck or being able to feather the clutch, but we eventually made it through…Oh yeah, and in the meantime, I wasn’t able to stop to lower my pressures, so I did the whole track at 36psi without any dramas at all, which is a huge testament to the tyres! I reckon a lot of lesser quality brands would have definitely suffered damage.”
“We did Cape Flattery in 2021 and went over to explore Connie’s Beach. Again, even in the soft white silica sands, the Open Country R/Ts bagged out perfectly at about 16 psi providing plenty of traction. They aren’t the most aggressive tread pattern, nor are they the softest compound like a dedicated M/T, but that’s what makes them a great tyre for us. I need something that is going to stand up to the test offroad, but also behave well on the road. Let's face it, the vast majority of our driving is on the black top, so that’s a pretty important consideration.”
“I’ve never had any issues in the wet, and the stability and responsiveness of the tyre when turning is excellent. In terms of noise levels, vibration and smoothness of ride, they are second to none in my opinion. I’ve had other brands that have a real drone as you drive on the highway, but nothing like that with the Toyos”, explained Kit.
“Just to be clear too, I’m not the kind of person who just reviews products willy nilly - I prefer to put them through their paces before I pass judgement. The durability of the Toyos is excellent, and I reckon I’ll easily get another 20-30,000kms out of this set before I replace them. That’s really getting up there in terms of durability as it will see me reaching around 80,000kms from this set.”
“But above everything else, I am confident driving with my Toyos on Frank. Tyres are a pretty critical component of any vehicle, and considering the precious cargo I am carrying, it makes sense to use a product that I can trust. For me, the Toyo Open Country R/Ts are the perfect match for a tough tourer and daily driver.”
You can find out about Kit’s custom LandCruiser and other ones that he features by checking out his Instagram page @Frankencruisers.
