Bought 6 of the COOPER DISCOVERER AT3 LT235/80R-17 for our 2014 Ram DRW in April 2017 before our 13,000 mile AK trip with extensive gravel to Inuvik, etc. After that trip we were generally not too impressed by the wear on the front tires but knew our alignment might be a bit off. The worst front tire was then rotated to one of the inner duallys.
In the 10,000 miles since then we have taken our rig on many unforgiving and hairy forest gravel/rock roads, some falsely advertised as "maintained for passenger vehicles" :R. We like to get off the beaten path but obviously have a good bit of highway in between these places. The truck is driven very little without our 12' TC in the bed and we never tow.
Well, coming back from Flagstaff on I-17, we hear a clunk in front passenger wheel well and figured it was a rock that finally dislodged. Another mile and we hear a rythmic clunk clunk and pull over. A good chunk of tread had peeled off and separation in other areas all around. Thankfully the tire held pressure. Ohter front has worrisome areas. So, we have 3 1/2 years and fewer than 23,000 miles on these tires. Failure seems a bit extreme to us. We are always careful with rock and sidewalls, but maybe we are pushing these tires too hard?? We travel really light but usually have at least 1/2 to full tank of water. We contacted Cooper tires, so we'll see what they do with their warranty.
So now we are tire shopping for 6 new ones. We have narrowed it down to these 4 all in original size. Analysis paralysis has struck. Would appreciate any thoughts given our load, driving habits, etc. Don't need snow capability (live in the desert and try to stay away from that stuff). Just want something with good wear, that can handle rocks/gravel we seem to often find ourselves in. Prices are nearly the same.
1. Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
2. BF Goodrich ALL TERRAIN T/A KO2
3. General GRABBER A/TX
4. Toyo Open Country A/T III
Thanks and sorry for bringing up tires, yet again.;)
In the 10,000 miles since then we have taken our rig on many unforgiving and hairy forest gravel/rock roads, some falsely advertised as "maintained for passenger vehicles" :R. We like to get off the beaten path but obviously have a good bit of highway in between these places. The truck is driven very little without our 12' TC in the bed and we never tow.
Well, coming back from Flagstaff on I-17, we hear a clunk in front passenger wheel well and figured it was a rock that finally dislodged. Another mile and we hear a rythmic clunk clunk and pull over. A good chunk of tread had peeled off and separation in other areas all around. Thankfully the tire held pressure. Ohter front has worrisome areas. So, we have 3 1/2 years and fewer than 23,000 miles on these tires. Failure seems a bit extreme to us. We are always careful with rock and sidewalls, but maybe we are pushing these tires too hard?? We travel really light but usually have at least 1/2 to full tank of water. We contacted Cooper tires, so we'll see what they do with their warranty.
So now we are tire shopping for 6 new ones. We have narrowed it down to these 4 all in original size. Analysis paralysis has struck. Would appreciate any thoughts given our load, driving habits, etc. Don't need snow capability (live in the desert and try to stay away from that stuff). Just want something with good wear, that can handle rocks/gravel we seem to often find ourselves in. Prices are nearly the same.
1. Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
2. BF Goodrich ALL TERRAIN T/A KO2
3. General GRABBER A/TX
4. Toyo Open Country A/T III
Thanks and sorry for bringing up tires, yet again.;)
thedavidzoo wrote:
We'll try not to kill these prematurely.
That's a great goal to have. :B
These Yokohama tires were the noisiest tires I've had and they followed every single little tiny groove on the road.
I got 50,000 miles out of these BFGs. Went too buy another set and they had quit making them. They must have lasted too long.
The Cooper tires were good tires too.
Hankooks were the worst tires I'v had and a company name branded tire made by Cooper was junk too.
I paid about $850/set for the above tires and about $1150 for the Michelins. So far I like the Michelins the best.
