Mickey thompson or Kenda klever rt?

[ourjeeps]

I went from the Patagonia MT02 35.12:50r17 (absolutely no complaints) to the Falken at4 35.11.50r17. It is a really nice tire and I’m running them on the stock rims.

Both are good tires. We typically go for best value since we have several vehicles, and need to spread out the "tire investments" further than most. Our 33x12.50R15 Patagonia MT's on the CJ5 have been great. Just mounted some 35x12.50R17 Patagonia MT02's on a 2017 JKUR Recon.

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[Trekkor2020]

Looking into 35 inch tires and want to keep my stock wheels. Have been looking at the Mickey thompson baja boss at's in 255/85r17. Also looking at the Kenda klever rt in 35x10.5r17. My rig is being built for overlanding. My jeep has the wider axles as its max tow and I bought a set of quadratec fender flares that match the rubicon flares in height and width. I don't want the tires to stick out past the flares but have also been looking at 35x11.5r17 nitto tires as well. What is everyones opinion on these tires? Right now I'm leaning toward the mickey thompsons but have read a lot of good reviews on the kenda klevers. The nittos are a little expensive for me.

I installed the Kenda Klever RT601 35/10.5-r17 back in 2021 on factory spare tire wheels. Loved them. They went rock crawling and lots of highway miles. They were very quiet and smooth. After 30K miles, they still have 6-7 32nds. I changed to BFG KO2 37/12.5-R17 to get more clearance and more aggressive look. I have Rubicon with 4.10 gears. The Kendas were great and the cost back in 2021 was unbelievably low. Less than $200 per tire. Not anymore.

 

[ourjeeps]

I installed the Kenda Klever RT601 35/10.5-r17 back in 2021 on factory spare tire wheels. Loved them. They went rock crawling and lots of highway miles. They were very quiet and smooth. After 30K miles, they still have 6-7 32nds. I changed to BFG KO2 37/12.5-R17 to get more clearance and more aggressive look. I have Rubicon with 4.10 gears. The Kendas were great and the cost back in 2021 was unbelievably low. Less than $200 per tire. Not anymore.

You're correct on the prices. I did see the Kenda Klevers at $229 each shipped last week. Reassuring to see your mileage numbers/ride assessment. Like the basic, utilitarian look, in your steelie wheel photos.

BTW we have a set of trail magnets for the wife's (steel) 2017 JKUR Recon that look like your JTR decals. With all the aluminum on the JL/JTs - can't do magnets any more. Is a quick 10 minute complete reversable appearance change.

 

[10ecHarry]

Looking into 35 inch tires and want to keep my stock wheels. Have been looking at the Mickey thompson baja boss at's in 255/85r17. Also looking at the Kenda klever rt in 35x10.5r17. My rig is being built for overlanding. My jeep has the wider axles as its max tow and I bought a set of quadratec fender flares that match the rubicon flares in height and width. I don't want the tires to stick out past the flares but have also been looking at 35x11.5r17 nitto tires as well. What is everyones opinion on these tires? Right now I'm leaning toward the mickey thompsons but have read a lot of good reviews on the kenda klevers. The nittos are a little expensive for me.

I had 17" Kenda RT 35x10.5 on for a long time. They were great. On road and off road. I now have 37" Mickey Thompson baja boss AT. They seem good. Haven't had a chance yet to run em off road.

 

[WILDHOBO]

After finding a silicone 1.25” OD .125” cross section O ring at Grainger, finished the ball joint rebuild, mounted the new knuckle, and set the preload on the ball joints.

 

[xch47cpt]

Looking into 35 inch tires and want to keep my stock wheels. Have been looking at the Mickey thompson baja boss at's in 255/85r17. Also looking at the Kenda klever rt in 35x10.5r17. My rig is being built for overlanding. My jeep has the wider axles as its max tow and I bought a set of quadratec fender flares that match the rubicon flares in height and width. I don't want the tires to stick out past the flares but have also been looking at 35x11.5r17 nitto tires as well. What is everyones opinion on these tires? Right now I'm leaning toward the mickey thompsons but have read a lot of good reviews on the kenda klevers. The nittos are a little expensive for me.

Hands down the Kenda's. I've had a set of the RTs on both my Land Rover Perentie and my Hilux. Both have over 20k of hard miles on them (as a guide in Moab, Oregon and Arizona) and no chips or tear outs and look almost brand new. Unbeatable for the Money and wear and tear. I'm now running the MTs on the Gladiator, only 5k on these, but still awesome. Save money and headaches and go with the Kenda.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Hands down the Kenda's. I've had a set of the RTs on both my Land Rover Perentie and my Hilux. Both have over 20k of hard miles on them (as a guide in Moab, Oregon and Arizona) and no chips or tear outs and look almost brand new. Unbeatable for the Money and wear and tear. I'm now running the MTs on the Gladiator, only 5k on these, but still awesome. Save money and headaches and go with the Kenda.

The only thing better about Kendra than Mickey is cost. They’re not in the same stratosphere.

 

[Tim Allan]

I have both exact sets. I absolutely love the Mickeys and would push down my grandma to get to the last set on a shelf. I only like the Kendas, but I am an A/T tire guy all the way. Yes, narrower too. I would gladly sell the 6 Kendas I have for another set of the Mickeys. 2 have zero miles on them and I run the others during the warmer months. I have dedicated the Mickeys to the colder/winter months, but would gladly run them year round. Michigan. Speaking of “round,” I dislike an R/T tire, as these are just too slick on wet pavement. Hell, I slid around a roundabout the other day. Too much gas and they will slip on the white pavement intersection/crosswalk lines. Not a fan.
I know I’ve replied multiple times about these two tires, but I cannot recall some of the other things I shared about them. I sure as hell would not run the Kendas during our Michigan winter. Ef no! Michigan-like winter… forget about it.
I have 38K miles total on my self-ordered 2022 and had the Kendas arrive before the Jeep did in May of that year. The only reason I bought the Kendas, was because the Mickeys were on backorder and I did not want the wide(r)/smaller Falkens. Sold them with 88 miles on them. I got the Mickeys in November of that same year.
I will also add of all the 4x4s I have owned, the Mickeys on this Jeep is hands down, by far the best Michigan winter driving vehicle setup I have ever owned. Nothing but confidence and a lot of it too. The 255/85R17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T is the only tire I ever want. Really.

Mickeys

Kendas

Kenda left/Mickey right

Kenda left/Mickey right

do you have any lift on that Mojave?

 

[OffAxis2021]

do you have any lift on that Mojave?

Yes. 2” AEV with GCBs. Nothing else added.

 

[Wags1965]

Looking into 35 inch tires and want to keep my stock wheels. Have been looking at the Mickey thompson baja boss at's in 255/85r17. Also looking at the Kenda klever rt in 35x10.5r17. My rig is being built for overlanding. My jeep has the wider axles as its max tow and I bought a set of quadratec fender flares that match the rubicon flares in height and width. I don't want the tires to stick out past the flares but have also been looking at 35x11.5r17 nitto tires as well. What is everyones opinion on these tires? Right now I'm leaning toward the mickey thompsons but have read a lot of good reviews on the kenda klevers. The nittos are a little expensive for me.

Have the 35x10.5R17 on my JKUR and living is CO they are tire, I recommend them to everyone.

 

[2020 SCRAMBLER]

Timing on this thread is great! On a recent offroad trip another 4x4 was running Kenda Klevers M/T2s and they looked and performed well in the sand. Glad to see a few here on this thread and others have had positive experiences with Kenda.

My current Falken Wilpeak MTs size 35x12.5R17 have been on my Gladiator since day #1 (installed by the dealer at delivery). I’m at 40,000 trouble free miles and they probably have another 5,000 miles of life. But, I added an AEV 3.5” lift in the last couple months and now have the clearance for more tire.

Buying a set of 5 tires is no small cash outlay. In my experience it’s always best to wait for holiday sales. Sure enough, waiting a few weeks paid off…

Right now Walmart has the Kenda Klever M/T2s size 37x12.5R17 at $347 each including 2 business day free delivery! Next to lowest cost vendor was Priority Tire at $387 with free shipping.

The same size Kenda RTs were $351 and the Mickey Thompson AT was $410 at Walmart.

Granted, these are larger tires than what @Metalhead is looking to fit. But you
might want to check prices at Walmart and Priority Tire websites…

Won’t be using Walmart for the tire installation. And I don’t typically go here for tires but their price was hard to beat.

 

[Rusty PW]

My review of the Kenda MT 37's are in this thread.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/looking-for-new-37-tires.83479/page-4#post-1528890

 

[Stan H]

My review of the Kenda MT 37's are in this thread.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/looking-for-new-37-tires.83479/page-4#post-1528890

I have a set of Mickey Thompson 35x12.50x17's I like the way they climb, I dont like the way they clean out. I also do not think they are completely truly round they as the tire shop told me slightly egg shaped. They are wearing well but required a lot of weights to balance .. I am going with something different when these are done for.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I have a set of Mickey Thompson 35x12.50x17's I like the way they climb, I dont like the way they clean out. I also do not think they are completely truly round they as the tire shop told me slightly egg shaped. They are wearing well but required a lot of weights to balance .. I am going with something different when these are done for.

They pick up rocks for sure. But they’re designed to. I think that softer compound makes them killer on ice. According to Mickey support, the Baja legend exp doesn’t pickup rocks like the Baja boss. Better in deep snow, not as good on ice. 2ply sidewall instead of 3, but 10lbs lighter in the 37. They’re likely my next tire. And much cheaper.

 

[Rusty PW]

I have a set of Mickey Thompson 35x12.50x17's I like the way they climb, I dont like the way they clean out. I also do not think they are completely truly round they as the tire shop told me slightly egg shaped. They are wearing well but required a lot of weights to balance .. I am going with something different when these are done for.

My Kenda's didn't take much weight to balance.

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