two torn Discoverer AT3 sidewalls in a year

[Regcabguy]

I've never read where the Toyo MT's have a soft sidewall. I've felt them un-inflated and they are thick sidewalls.
I ran them for 19K until I tired of the rumble replacing them with my current AT2's. Sold them to a friend who's still running them two yrs later on another heavy CTD.
The sidewall on my AT's are thinner than my MT's but sidewall bulge is barely noticeable with my ever present camper load.
That being said thick sidewall or not I lost an MT at 65 mph due to some shrapnel on I-5 southbound here. By the time I could reach the shoulder,the tire was flattened. Subsequent dismounting showed the inside populated with rubber granules. So much for that tire.

 

[XJLI]

Toyo Mts are an insanely tough tire.

 

[XJLI]

Here's a pic of both tires

Picked up a new AT3 today, as well as road hazard for all 4 tires. The chain store I bought them new at told me $100/tire, and I declined. This store said $25/tire. Still no response from Cooper, but I think I'm ok with the outcome, but this will probably be my first and only set of Coopers.

 

[RubiconGeoff]

From what I can see, just about EVERY tire out there has "weak sidewalls" according to one forum post or another...

Exactly. We often see that when someone punctures a tire, they and/or others immediately start claiming the tire has "weak sidewalls" or other problems, and Alternate Brand X wouldn't have had a problem.

The AT3 is a medium-duty tire. Part of what makes it perform so well on-road is the fact that it does not have as stiff a casing as some other options. If you frequent terrain in which tire punctures are likely, you need a heavy-duty tire. This was posted in another thread, but it's worth sharing here since this explains exactly this issue:

 

[MYT1]

Well said.

 

[Davev1954]

Agree. And I really like the ride of our AT3's

 

[XJLI]

I never said the sidewall was weak, I was looking to see if anyone else had issues. I'm happy now with the road hazard on the tires, I'm most disappointed with my communication with Cooper... But I guess that what I get when going with a tire with much less of an enthusiast following.

I'm very happy with the way these tires perform on road and off, and only recently found their Achilles heel- sharp rocks and thick mud, the latter which would stop almost any AT.

 

[PirateMcGee]

I have the ATP's (similar to the AT3) in SL instead of E and haven't had any issues with the sidewall. I have driven vehicles with passenger car tires in nasty conditions for field work in really remote areas and have never had a flat or sidewall puncture. However, I am pretty careful with tire placement, keep tire spinning to a minimum (especially around rocks/wood) and am hesitant to drop tire pressure unless absolutely need be. I think most sidewall flats offroad are due to low tire pressure and too much throttle.

 

[1stDeuce]

Here's a pic of both tires

Wow. Thanks for posting pictures!

The tire on the left doesn't show much damage around the slit, so it would seem something pretty sharp likely did the deed...

The damage to the tire on the left is fairly impressive though! I see a triangle where some sort of fairly blunt object penetrated, and between that and the rim, another (pinch?) split. Doesn't look like something sharp slit it, but rather something blunt was pushed through with a LOT of force... IMO, whatever did that tire in probably would have done in any tire short of a Bias Swamper, or perhaps the beloved Toyo MT. My advice to you is to stay away from the white clay ruts!!! Particularly if they're in areas where people with little sense, little experience, or little to lose go "wheeling"... There's often a lot of "debris" littering those seemingly innocent trenches...

It's all moot anyway since you paid for road hazard. You'll likely not have any more issues.

 

[XJLI]

Wow. Thanks for posting pictures!

The tire on the left doesn't show much damage around the slit, so it would seem something pretty sharp likely did the deed...

The damage to the tire on the left is fairly impressive though! I see a triangle where some sort of fairly blunt object penetrated, and between that and the rim, another (pinch?) split. Doesn't look like something sharp slit it, but rather something blunt was pushed through with a LOT of force... IMO, whatever did that tire in probably would have done in any tire short of a Bias Swamper, or perhaps the beloved Toyo MT. My advice to you is to stay away from the white clay ruts!!! Particularly if they're in areas where people with little sense, little experience, or little to lose go "wheeling"... There's often a lot of "debris" littering those seemingly innocent trenches...

It's all moot anyway since you paid for road hazard. You'll likely not have any more issues.

One on the left was probably just enough to go through. Ran the whole trail, stopped for a break, drove 15 minutes, stopped at the store for food, and didn't lose the tire until probably 1.5 hours after running the trail. It probably got hot on the highway and just let go. The one on the right I attacked a mud hole pretty hard and definitely pinched the the tire between the wheel and a rock. It hit it hard enough to trigger the inertia switch on my truck.

And you got that right... I'll definitely have no more issues after buying the road hazard. That's just how things go.