Tires for my Tacoma

This post was going to be a few weeks down the road, however having recieved a comment from a reader suggesting tires, I felt I should go ahead with this one. So if any of you are like me at all, you get into ruts where all you can think about is the next cool thing you want to buy or in this case need to buy. For the last several months I have done tons of research on the right tire for my tacoma. I have a pretty good base knowledge of tires but my situation is a bit unique. I have a 2004 Toyota Tacoma extra cab with a the 2.7 liter 4 cylinder engine. It is also a five speed manual transmission and 4WD. The truck has 1.75 inches of lift in the front and around 2.5 in the rear along with a camper shell.My dilema is that while I want to continue to run a larger then stock tire, I also have to be gas conscious and make an effort not to wear out my clutch before its time. Currently I run a 265/75/16 Bridgestone Dueler Revo in the Passenger rated (4 ply) version. This is one size larger and 3.5 lbs heavier(42lbs) then my stock tire. These tires have been outstanding, and I have gotten right at 62k out of them. If I had rotated them more and kept better tabs on the air pressure I probably could have made them last longer. Any who, I also get 22 mpg on the highway if I keep it just under 70mph.
I want to move to a different size tire 235/85/16, I really like the tall skinny look of these tires. Not to mention the added benefits of less wear and tear on your drive train/steering components,and being a little less likely to hydroplane. The problem is that this size only comes in the LT (light truck)E rating (10 ply rated). This makes for a much heavier tire, which defeats the purpose of a skinny tire in my specific case. One other variable to throw into the mix is the fact that whichever tire I buy has to last as long as possible(not always a priority). So here is a list of criteria for my perfect tire.

- at least 31.7 inches tall
- fairly aggressive tread
- at least 50k warranty on tread
- no more then 45 lbs per tire, less is better
- in the ball park of $150 per tire
- good online reviews

Of course I would love to run the old stand by BFG AT but in the size I want to run that tire weighs 49 lbs, which equals less clutch life and worse gas mileage. As far as tires go, that one is my absolute favorite no doubt about it. After researching many different all terrain tires and judging them against my picky criteria one has emerged a clear winner. The Cooper Discoverer ATR. In 235/85/16 It is 31.78 inches tall, has a tread depth of 16.5/32, a 50k treadlife warranty, fits my budget and weighs in at a light 42 lbs per tire according to www.gripston.com. I think it will be a great fit for my backwoods adventures while still providing a good tire for all of my daily driving. Other tires I seriously considered where the Hankook Dynapro ATM, the Bridgestone Dueler Revo, Toyo Open Country AT, and the Kumho Road Venture AT. All of these tires came very close but had one strike against them. I havent purchased my new tires yet but it wont be long. Well I have to go for now, This was a brief overview of my findings, but hopefully it will be helpful to someone else.