Driving on the road today, I heard a rythmic "thunk thunk thunk" - almost sounded like a flat tire, but not really. (I thought something was flapping against the side of my tire - like the wheelwell liner, etc.

I am not one to ignore strange noises from my truck, so as soon as I got home, I took a look and found a major bulge in my tire, right in the tread near the sidewall. It's larger than a softball.

These first three pictures are with 28psi.

http://www.anthonydimattia.com/tire/tirebulge1b.jpg

http://www.anthonydimattia.com/tire/tirebulge2b.jpg

http://www.anthonydimattia.com/tire/tirebulge3b.jpg


These 2 pictures are 0psi (valve core removed)... and it still bulges out.

http://www.anthonydimattia.com/tire/tirebulgepsi0b.jpg

http://www.anthonydimattia.com/tire/tirebulgepsi01b.jpg

That's looking a lot like a blown Ply.

I'd consider that a factory defect....you might be able to get a replacement on that one.

Good Luck!

:D

They are less than a year old, less than 8k miles on them, and they are not daily drivers.

Interco warranty is handled by the vendor you buy the tires from. So I called Desert Rat (www.desertrat.com) where I bought the tires.

They said No Way, if it was a manufacturing defect it would have happened immediately. And they will NOT by any means give me a discount on the purchase of a new tire.

Needless to say - No warranty, no help, no discount, no sympathy - NO business from me anymore. I will have to order from somewhere else. I also left a message at Interco tire.

That's not true, a bad ply can last a while, and then go on you...I had a bad ply on my son's car, he got the tire at American Tire in Hamilton, NJ (They meet/beat Tirerack btw...), and they replaced the tire with no questions asked....and it had maybe 30K on it.

They say the manufacturer refunds THEM if there's a defect.

I'd say never order from desert RAT again.

:D

Oh my, "it's a tumor!"

Seriously, that "Desert Rat" really lives up to the RAT part of his name. I would call around to other vendors of the tire and explain the situation -- including "Captain Helpful's" lack of customer service -- maybe even email them the pics if possible, and see if anybody can help. There's a chance that another vendor can get a warranty reimbursement, even if they didn't sell you THAT tire...

Good Luck, and I'm glad it didn't blow out on you on the road...

Have you contacted Interco about the apparent lack of customer service from their vendor? Interco has treated myself and my buddies really well in the past, and I've run their TSL's for years on my wheeling vehicles.

I almost bought those same exact tires then I read all the negative afftects of bias tires on the highway and went with the trus radials.

Yup, LTB's are amazing off road, but I do NOT recommend them for extended pavement use.

Glad you are safe bro