Tire Advice and airing down off-road advice

Hey everybody. I've had my 19 off-road for about 2 months now, already have put 3K miles on it, with a good portion of that on dirt roads/tracks. I don't really do serious rock-crawling or anything, but lots and lots of gravel road and 2-track desert road driving on rocky and rough roads.
This past weekend I was out in the West Desert of Utah on a solo overnight camping/photography trip (which I do alot). I got a flat on one of my stock GY Kevlars, just a small rock puncture, easily pluggable (done already), but it left me with a sour taste in my mouth for the stock tires. Originally I planned on running them for awhile before upgrading to get some use out of them, but now I am thinking about upgrading to something more robust.

I've read lots of threads and opinions about different tires, and I've narrowed it down to the Wildpeak AT3W's, Goodyear UltraTerrain AT's, and possibly Cooper AT3 4S or AT3 LT's. All in size 265/75/R16. I'm kinda leaning towards the Wildpeaks, but I was wondering if anybody knows how many ply the Wildpeak and GY UltraTerrains are in SL-load? I know the E-loads are 10 ply. I'm slightly tempted to keep the stock tires - I know how to patch/plug tires off road if I end up getting multiple flats on a trip.

Second part of my question - I've been driving on dirt roads and tracks most of my life. I grew up in rural southern UT and did lots of camping and adventuring with my parents and myself, but never have aired-down my tires when driving on 2-tracks and gravel roads. I'm wondering if thats part of the reason I got a flat this past weekend (I was running my stock GY's at about 35-36 psi). I know airing down is important for serious rock-crawling, but for what I do would it really help with punctures? I always carry a portable compressor, so I could air down easily.

Anyway, any tips/advice/recommendations would be great! I like Tacoma World and am happy to be part of this community.

 

Sounds like you get out and see a lot of great country and have some fun. That's awesome, I go out a lot in the deserts in AZ and UT as well but take my side by side. I understand taking your Tacoma so you can sleep in the back.

To give you an idea all the SL tires are 4 ply rated, C load rated tires are 6 ply rated with D being 8 ply rated and E 10 ply rated.

If venturing off-road by your self I would recommend a higher ply rating for more durability and more puncture resistance.

Please let us know if we can help.

 

Thanks - I'm kinda leaning towards the Cooper AT3 LT's, they seem like a really well-liked tire. Question - are the Cooper AT3 LT's 3 peak mountain snowfall rated like the AT3 4S's? I'm curious if they are a different compound than the 4S, and therefore not quite as good in the snow...

 

I run Cooper ATW’s. I don’t know about compounds but the 4S has more sipping than the LT’s.

Not my truck(s) (I’m in front shooting back), but the Cooper ATW’s take green/blue trails aired down to about 17 psi with no punctures.