An MT (mud terrain or max traction depends on tire maker) will be noisy on the road. Some are worse than others but you will know what tire whine is when you drive it. They handle most weather ok but do poorly on ice. Usually made of a softer tread compound so they wear faster. They have pretty good on road manners (some better than others) but are designed to be an offroad tire really. They do tend to dig in the sand, which could leave you stuck <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
An AT (all terrain) has better handling, tends to be less noisy, more predictable on ice/snow, will use a harder tread compound that last longer and will handle most offroad situations pretty well and will last quite awhile.
I vote you go for an AT, you cant really go wrong with the major ones:
-BFG AT, overall universal AT tire. Most everyone has had it or knows someone who has. Has a nice 3ply sidewall which resist puncture. I like them but they dont handle snow/water/ice well depending on the vehicle and terrain.
-Firestone Destination AT (what I was gonna get but got a screaming deal on something else)
-Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo (what I have, so far so good but I havent beenoffroad yet, but they did do well on ice/snow
-General Grabber, these are pretty much a less expensive copy of the BFG AT. Many like them, but they dont make 265/75/16 except in load range E which is meant for a HD truck like a 3/4 ton or better, the sidewall will be very stiff
-Yokohama goelander, many like them, no personal expierance here.
-Michelin LTX AT2, geared for more on road, less offroad traction.
Here is tire racks survey btw:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORATIf it were me I would go firestone AT, bridgestones or for sidewall puncture resistance or the goodyear silent armor wrangler, which so far I heard is very good but $$$.
Be carefull, like I said some tires come in different load ranges. For our trucks C or D is ok-but C is a bit better on road b/c it has less sidewall stiffness. FWIW I have bridgestone dueler AT revos in load range C with no issues so far. If you routinely load the truck up with a good bit of weight I would seek a D range tire.
