TL;DR: For towing a van off-road, fit a light-truck (LT) construction all-terrain tyre with a load rating that comfortably exceeds your axle loads. The tougher carcass and higher load index resist staking, sidewall cuts and heat better than a passenger tyre — and matching your tow vehicle and van tyres means either can serve as a spare.

Why does towing a van off-road need a different tyre?

Towing adds weight, and off-road adds hazards. Do both at once and an ordinary passenger (P-metric) or highway tyre is working at its limit: it runs hot under load, flexes too much on dirt, and has a thin sidewall that a sharp rock or stake can open up. On a remote track that is how a trip ends. The answer is a tyre built for the job — a light-truck (LT) construction all-terrain — with enough load capacity in reserve.

LT tyres have a stronger carcass with thicker internal plies and tougher sidewalls, giving better resistance to cuts, chips and impacts, plus a higher load rating. Australian touring specialists call a quality LT all-terrain “the best compromise for your tow vehicle for both on-road driving and towing off-road”. For the full case on when LT is worth it, see do you need LT-construction tyres.

What load rating do you actually need?

This is the number that matters most, and it’s where people come unstuck. Every tyre has a load index — a number that maps to a maximum weight per tyre. Your tyres’ combined rating per axle must meet or exceed the weight on that axle, with margin for the dynamic loads of corrugations and potholes. This is general guidance, not legal advice; confirm your figures against the vehicle placard, the tyre and your state’s rules.

A worked example from Australian touring guidance: a tandem-axle van with a 2,000 kg Gross Trailer Mass spread over four tyres needs a minimum load index of 90 per tyre — which equals 600 kg each. On a sidewall reading 265/65R17 100T, the “100” is the load index and corresponds to 800 kg per tyre. The lesson: read the index, convert it to kilograms, and leave headroom. Our load index chart does the conversion, and tyre rules for towing covers the GVM and GCM side. If you’ve done a GVM upgrade, your minimum load rating changes — see load ratings after a GVM upgrade.

What to look for in an off-road towing tyre

Feature	Why it matters when towing off-road
LT construction	Stronger carcass and sidewalls resist staking and heat under load
High load index	Must exceed axle load with margin for corrugation impacts
Load range C/D/E	A clearer toughness signal than “ply count” marketing
Road-biased A/T tread	Grip on dirt without the noise, wear and wet-road penalty of a mud-terrain
Reinforced shoulders	The area most exposed to rock cuts off-road
Matched spare & van tyres	Same size/offset so vehicle and van tyres are interchangeable

A road-biased all-terrain is almost always the right tread here, not a mud-terrain. You want load capacity and toughness, not aggressive mud lugs that are loud, wear fast and lose grip in the wet — the reasons are in our guide to mud-terrains in the wet. Proven LT all-terrain families used by Australian tourers include the BFGoodrich All-Terrain, Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT, Toyo Open Country A/T and Falken Wildpeak A/T; confirm the exact size and load rating for your setup with a fitter, and check current pricing as it moves constantly.

Should your van and tow vehicle run the same tyres?

Where possible, yes. Australian touring guidance recommends matching the stud pattern, offset, size and rolling radius so the van’s and the vehicle’s wheels are interchangeable — after a couple of punctures on a remote track, any good wheel can become the spare. It also means one set of pressures to understand and one tyre to carry spares and repair gear for. It isn’t always possible (many vans run smaller rims), but it’s worth designing for. For the wider towing-tyre picture, see our guides to the best towing tyres for a dual-cab ute and towing a caravan across the Nullarbor.

What pressures should you run towing off-road?

Load and surface both change the answer, so this is a starting point, not a fixed rule — confirm against your placard and conditions. On the bitumen, towing means higher pressures than unladen, following the placard’s loaded figures. On outback dirt, tourers often drop to around 25 psi so a more flexible carcass soaks up sharp impacts and reduces puncture risk — but lower pressure builds heat, which raises blow-out risk, so keep speeds down and re-inflate before returning to sealed roads. Our dedicated guide to tyre pressures for towing a caravan has the detail for both surfaces.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need LT tyres on the van as well as the tow vehicle?

For off-road touring, LT-construction tyres on both is the safe choice — the van’s tyres cop the same corrugations and load. Many experienced tourers run matching LT all-terrains on both so the spare fits either.

Can I tow off-road on passenger (P-metric) tyres?

You can on easy formed roads if the load rating is adequate, but on rough or remote tracks a passenger tyre’s thinner sidewall is a real risk under load. LT construction is strongly preferred.

How much load capacity margin should I leave?

Enough that the tyres aren’t near their maximum when the van is fully loaded. Corrugations and potholes apply dynamic loads well above the static figure, so headroom is safety, not waste. Confirm the exact numbers with a tyre professional.

Are mud-terrains better for towing off-road?

Rarely. They’re louder, wear faster, carry less comfortably and lose wet grip. A road-biased LT all-terrain tows better for the vast majority of Australian trips.

Bottom line: The right tyre for towing a van off-road is a light-truck all-terrain with a load rating that beats your axle loads with room to spare. Match it across the van and tow vehicle where you can, run a road-biased tread rather than a mud-terrain, and set your pressures for the surface and the load.

External references: Club 4X4 — essential guide to tyres for 4x4s, caravans and camper trailers; Cooper Tires Australia — light truck (LT) vs passenger tyres.