With a summer's worth of camping ahead of us - with plenty of driving on dirt/gravel roads around here - I decided it was time to replace my tires. I don't like to run them much below half tread considering the weight I'm hauling.

After much deliberation, I went with Cooper Discoverer AT3 in a 285/75/16 size and 10 ply E-rated at 3750lb per tire. Local tore shop was running a buy 3 get 1 free deal that was just too good to pass up. Plus...they are MADE IN THE USA.

To be honest, they look a lot more "beefy" than what it appeared they would be based on the 265 size they had on display in the showroom. The spacing between the lugs is wider than I expected. This will be good, obviously, when I'm in the mud and snow. My concern is that they will wear exceptionally fast. Time will tell. I'm very good about keeping the pressure set properly and rotating every 5k. And even if they do wear fast, the price I got them at probably will make up that difference.

I hauled the camper with ATV trailer in tow this past weekend and the tires did awesome. 70 miles of dirt and washboard roads. They felt very planted and not squishy at all. So far, I'm a happy camper (pun intended).

 

I came across this post as I was searching for the Starter solenoid location on a 2002 V-10

I bought these same tires and love them , i have about 5 k on them so far, nice improvement over the ATR's I had.. I generally go through a set of tires every 3-5 years, once they hit about 40% tread left i replace them..

 

longest lasting tires I have put on my 2003. 93,000 on and only tire I will buy again. I go by seasons, usually every 18 months on tires. These are over 2 years old now and going for another 6 months easy.

 

So far the longest lasting best off road tire I have had on my truck is the Toyo M/T. They wear like iron, mine are 35/12.50/20 and I run 50 psi, I have 20,000 miles on them now with a 5000 mile rotation and they still look new.

 

I have no first hand experience with the Toyo MT but I've read quite a few accounts of guys who haul heavy with them (like I do) that reported a "squishiness". For that reason, I didn't consider them.

 

I don't know how heavy he is hauling? but I pull a 12,000 lbs trailer 5 days a week with No Issues? I did a lot of research before buying these, and they have been the best so far. I have also pulled my buddies 44ft Voltage Toy Hauler a few times and again No Issues.

 

By hauling heavy, I meant other guys who also have very heavy slide-in truck campers. The king pin weight of the toy hauler you mention probably approximates the kind of rear axle weight I'm referring to, though. Thanks for your input.

 

Oh ok got ya. Well I never ran those tires yet so I hope they wear good for u

 

These are very similar to the Discoverer ATP's I put on last year, which I love for all the same reasons. The open spacing between lugs is a great place to store hardware and such, lol:

 

I think you will like them. I am on set # 4 of Cooper A/T tires on my 2000 F250 7.3...... the first set was the ATR that the AT3 replaced. They wear well if you keep on top of the rotate & balance. They have gotten me through some spots I did not expect to make it out of in a 2wd truck, and about as good as it gets on snow & ice. I have covered over 140,000 miles on Coopers on this truck, about 15,000 of that pulling my 33' 5th wheel toy hauler. I accidentally pulled the RV into a soggy pasture at my friends ranch in Wichita, I thought I would get stuck for sure...... but I stayed on the gas and slung mud & grass everywhere and got out of it. I have no doubt M/Ts are better in that situation, but I think the Coopers perform better than they look......I've read comments on other sites from people who PASSED on trying the AT3 because they didn't think it "looked" the part.

I am "experimenting" with Toyo A/TIIs on my new-to-me 2010 F250 V10....... they sound promising, we'll see how they stack up to the Coopers.

 

I put the Cooper ATP's on my 01 Excursion and they are awesome!! Quit smooth and have all the traction one can need. And they look good too!

 

They look good. They look very similar to the wild country xtx that I run on mine. Should do very well in rain,snow, and ice.

 

The widely spaced center lugs on a lot of MT tires can exhibit some odd habits, especially when loaded. My current Cooper S/Ts are squirrely but they were a lack of options.

I like the current tread designs of several of the Coopers including the ones you bought but I swore off Cooper tires. My DC FC-II developed sidewall cracks within a few months from new. They were prorated and I got the Cooper S/Ts which developed the same sidewall cracks after 6 months on all tires. I did not want to go through the trouble to get them warrentied again. They are going by bye this fall for a set of non Cooper tires. I will probably go Japanesse with the next set. Made in America has not proven much to me in the way of tires.

 

IMO I would get them warrantied again, it helps the company realize they have a issue with the tires. Cooper tire company does care about the product they sell, maybe you should get intouch with someone at the regional level and see what they have to say...

 

Thought I'd update this thread.

I'm about 5 months into my Coopers, a few thousand miles logged, mostly with my 4000# camper in the bed with a 2000# trailer in tow. Hundreds of miles of dirt roads are included in the above.

I've been VERY happy with these tires so far. They are wearing extremely well, they are reasonably quiet, and they aren't squishy at all when I'm fully loaded. I would, without a doubt, buy them again. Especially at the price I paid for them.

Winter's coming and they'll be logging many miles of icy/snowy roads in the weeks ahead, and I'll try to remember to update again. So far, I'm a happy camper (pun intended).