Sidewall puncture experiences

[mikmurphy]

I purchased a new 2012 GMC Sierra HD2500 SLE in June, it came with 20" alloy wheels and Goodyear Wrangler SRA tires (LT265-60R20), load range E.

Within one week, I had a sidewall puncture on one tire while driving on our ranch. The tire had to be replaced. Now, just yesterday, I had another sidewall puncture while driving on the ranch. I just left the local Discount Tire, where they are waiting for a new tire to arrive so they can replace the old tire.

I've been living on this ranch for 47 years now, and have owned at least 10 trucks and 2 suburbans over the years. There is a 3.5 mile loop road that runs around the ranch, and I drive it regularly. These two flats are the only two I've ever experienced in driving this loop road, which is a combination of caliche and limestone. The road is not great, but it's not terrible either; and I find it very odd to have two failures within 4 months. (Total mileage on the truck is 9250.) I'm thinking it's entirely possible that these Wranglers have a weaker than normal sidewall; the worker at Discount Tire told me that my "normal" truck tire, a Goodrich Dueler AT, did in fact have an additional sidewall layer compared to the Goodyear.

In any respect, I thought I'd see if any other forum members have experienced sidewall punctures in non-highway driving.

Additionally, over the years I have tried all major brands of tires on our trucks. While the vast bulk of our truck miles are highway miles, we have a mile-long caliche driveway with a steep hill; and it proves a challenge for most truck tires. My experience shows that the Goodrich tires hold up the best in this odd combination. Previous Wranglers, Firestone & Michelins were prone to shedding chunks of the tire once past 20,000 miles.

[Rustic Eagle]

Mike,

Just a thought, is this your first truck with 20" rims? Not familiar with the particular tire in question, but I was wondering do to the 20" rims is the sidewall height the same as on a smaller diameter standard truck rim (ie; 17", 18").

Bob

[David472]

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

Mike,

Just a thought, is this your first truck with 20" rims? Not familiar with the particular tire in question, but I was wondering do to the 20" rims is the sidewall height the same as on a smaller diameter standard truck rim (ie; 17", 18").

Bob

I was wondering the same thing. Although I typically don't travel rough roads very much, I prefer at least a 70 series sidewall height for truck applications. Certainly the number of plys will play into it as well.

[mikmurphy]

yes, this is in fact my first truck with 20" rims. It seems like each time I upgrade trucks, the rim size grows. The 1/2 ton 2011 Silverado I traded on the 2012 GMC had 17" rims, my 2000 1/2 ton Silverado had 16" rims, and my 1991 1/2 ton Silverado had 15" rims. Our 1994 Suburban has 16" rims, it currently has 174K miles on it and NO flats while driving on the ranch. I'm thinking I'll just resume using the Suburban to make the ranch rounds since there seems to be some sort of issue with the 20" rims/tires on the new truck, at least on the ranch road. I posted this issue to Goodyear through their website, it will be curious to see what, if anything, the company says.

Luckily for me, the local Discount Tire strongly urged me to get the road hazard protection on the 1st sidewall event, so at least this second event, and presumably subsequent sidewall punctures, will be fully covered. Since we're talking about a tire that runs over $200 to replace, that's worthwhile!