If you're an Aussie 4WD enthusiast towing a camper trailer across the diverse terrains of our great land, finding the right tyres is crucial. So, if you’re in the market for a new set of rubber for your 4WD — something that can handle both the daily drive and the detours down gravel backroads — you’d be mad not to take a good look at the General Grabber AT3s. These all-terrain tyres have quietly built a reputation as dependable all-rounders — well suited to those of us who live with one wheel on the bitumen and the other firmly in the red dirt (figuratively, not literally, of course!).
For my own setup — a 2016 Toyota Prado GX towing a 2015 CUB Daintree offroad camper trailer — my tyre choice isn’t just about specs on a brochure. It’s about peace of mind when I’m remote, traction when I’m towing up a loose climb and not having to wince every time I hit a corrugated patch of road. And after clocking thousands of kilometres across some of the country's most iconic touring routes and outback tracks, I reckon I’ve found my match with the Grabber AT3.
A flashback to a different kind of traction
Back in the ‘80s, as I was wrapping up my second-last year of school, a string of Australian Army recruitment ads were doing the rounds on the telly and in the papers. You might remember them — blokes hunched over a tangle of electronic circuitry with the tagline, “Not everyone who joins the Army wants to drive a Leopard tank”. Ironically, seven years on, I found myself doing exactly that — driving a Leopard AS1, earning my ‘driver’s licence’ in a Leopard AS1 (the Aussie variant of the German Leopard 1A3), being a component of my ROBC (Regimental Officer Basic Course) for the RAAC (Royal Australian Armoured Corps) to become a Tank Troop Leader in the Australian Army, in command of three Leopard tanks and their crews.
Driving a Main Battle Tank leaves a deep impression — literally and figuratively. That sort of traction and sheer offroad ability is in a class of its own. It ruined me, in a way. Once you’ve climbed shale hills with a 60% gradient, crossed trenches 3m wide, climbed 1m vertical walls or waded 2.25m through muddy creeks in a tracked machine (4m fording depth with snorkel), the bar is set high for anything else that calls itself ‘offroad capable’.
The middle ground — where most of us drive
While those tracked armoured vehicle days are behind me, the desire for reliable traction remains. But just as “not everyone who joins the Army wants to drive a Leopard tank”, so too does it hold true that, ‘not everyone who owns a four-wheel drive wants to drive the Anne Beadell Highway , Billy Goat Bluff Track or Cape York’s Old Telegraph Track’.
I certainly don’t.
These days, I’m not trying to crawl up Big Red for bragging rights or hammer down Climies Track in low range. I’ve left the hardcore 4WD tracks — such as the CREB Track, the Old Coach Road and the Madigan Line — to drivers who are way, way more experienced and capable than I.
Like many Aussie travellers, I prefer to keep things practical. I’ve explored all of Australia’s 76 official tourism regions — from Outback NSW, Tropical North Queensland and Victoria’s Wimmera to the Eyre Peninsula , the Northern Territory’s Katherine Daly region, Australia’s Coral Coast in Western Australia and the West Coast in Tasmania — and whilst I don’t shy away from gravel or corrugations, I don’t go looking for the gnarly stuff either. While focusing on medium to challenging routes, I've consciously steered clear of the most demanding tracks, preferring to enjoy the journey without pushing my vehicle to its limits. Or myself, for that matter.
What that means in tyre terms is simple: I need a true 70/30 tyre … something that’s more than just good on gravel but also behaves on bitumen and doesn’t howl like a yowie on the freeway.
Tyres I've trusted before — and why I switched
I was a big fan of the Cooper AT3 LT Discoverers I ran on my Prado prior to the Grabbers. I couldn’t fault them. Over around five years I’d run them through the wringer in the East Kimberley, Top End , Red Centre, outback South Australia, outback Queensland and the Mallee and High Country in Vic. Across nearly 90,000km, I only copped one puncture — which, considering the terrain variety, is impressive. Compare that to the Dunlop Grand Trek AT20s that came stock with the Prado, and it’s night and day. Three punctures in a year. One out in the East MacDonnell Ranges. Another in Darwin. And the worst — somewhere along the Borefield or Andamooka Road in the middle of a baking hot day. Flies everywhere, tools buried in the cargo area and two blokes (my ‘friends’) watching and laughing from the shade of their verandah in Andamooka with cold beers in hand. Safe to say, I was ready for a change.
Enter the General Grabber AT3
Before Christmas, I had the Grabber AT3s fitted, and I’ve been giving them a decent go since. From the Otways’ loamy tracks, through Tallarook State Forest’s spurs and gullies to the Box-Ironbark and mallee bushland of Greater Bendigo National Park (and even on the commute to Hema Group HQ in Braeside), these tyres have proven themselves reliable, quiet and grippy in all the right ways.
Key features of the Grabber AT3 include reinforced tread blocks, stone bumpers in the grooves and sidewall lugs to defend against gibber and road debris. A rim-protection rib shields the tyre and wheel bead from damage caused by kerbstones and offroad obstacles. I can attest that with their specially designed edges for loose surfaces, an open tread shoulder and angled sipes that clear away dirt and stones for better traction, these tyres deliver exceptional grip. Their interlocking edges enhance traction on loose surfaces in particular.
They’re loaded with smart features:
TracGen Technology — open shoulders and traction ridges that bite into soft stuff and clear debris quickly.
DuraGen Technology — built tough for chip resistance and long life on rocky tracks.
Comfort Balance Technology — tuned for quiet highway cruising without compromising offroad control.
Four years ago, Ford chose the General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyre as the factory-standard fitment for its Ranger Raptor models sold in South Africa. Engineered for high-speed offroad use, the Ranger Raptor pairs effectively with the AT3, which complements the vehicle’s sophisticated suspension and dynamic systems.
After rigorous evaluation, the tyre’s proven ability to meet Ford’s demanding standards for grip, noise reduction and durability made it the clear choice. The tyres’ TracGen technology enhances traction on loose surfaces, while DuraGen reinforces the rubber compound for toughness and longevity. These attributes convinced Ford engineers that the Grabber AT3 was ideally suited for the diverse and challenging landscapes found throughout South Africa, Namibia and Botswana — offering the right mix of resilience, quiet operation and dependable grip on everything from paved roads to rocky tracks and remote wilderness routes.
General Tire, established in 1915 in Akron, Ohio, has a long history of producing quality tyres. Now part of Continental AG — a global leader in automotive manufacturing — General Tire continues to innovate, ensuring their products meet the diverse needs of drivers worldwide. The Grabber AT3 tyres are a testament to this commitment, offering a reliable option for 4WD owners across Australia.
How they handle with a camper trailer in tow
A lot of tyre reviews overlook how a tyre behaves when it’s not just carrying the car but also lugging a trailer. My CUB Daintree isn’t exactly a behemoth caravan, but it’s no featherweight either. Loaded up with gear, diesel jerries and water, it adds serious weight to the rear axle — and the Grabbers haven’t flinched. Gravel, sand, wet clay — they hold their line, brake predictably and don’t get squirrelly when towing.
Winter ready with the snowflake stamp
For those heading to the high country in winter, here’s a bonus: the AT3s wear the 3PMSF (Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake) badge. That’s not just a logo — it means they meet strict European Union regulations (European ECE regulation 117.02) for performance in demanding snowy and slushy conditions, making them legal and effective for Alpine roads in NSW, Victoria and Tassie.
While they aren’t a substitute for dedicated winter tyres in harsh conditions, they offer enhanced traction on snow, slush and wet roads, providing added confidence for occasional winter drives. To be clear, they’re not a replacement for a full-blown winter mud tyre. If you live or work above the snowline in Australia, perhaps Grabber AT3 tyres aren’t for you. There are better Rugged Terrain (RT) and Mud Terrain (MT) options out there, if you spend more time in the snow, ice, mud and slush than you do in warmer, drier climes.
But if you live or work anywhere else in Australia, and you spend more of your driving time on bitumen, dirt, gravel or sand and less of it on snow and ice, the Grabbers are for you. And if you do head up to the snow occasionally, the AT3 Grabbers’ 3PMSF rating should give you the confidence to do so.
Where they shine — and where they may not
If your weekend routine includes bashing through deep ruts or crossing creeks every trip, you might want something chunkier — maybe a mud-terrain or rugged-terrain tyre. But for the vast majority of Aussie touring — say, 70% bitumen, 30% offroad — these tyres absolutely hit the sweet spot.
On dry grass, dirt and Mallee country sand, they have shone. They also have excellent gravel performance (both wet and dry), with traction being not only really good, but also really constant and really consistent. My assessment is that they are protean tyres that would be able to tackle almost any driving surface.
No, I won’t be gunning it up Big Red anytime soon — not because the tyres couldn’t handle it (I have no doubt that with the right pressures they could handle Big Red with aplomb), but because I’d rather be camped up quietly by a bird hide with my DSLR camera, tripod and ‘big bertha’ 500mm lens at the ready, than jostling for a photo op at the top of a sand dune with 20 other rigs.
Final verdict: ideal for the touring Aussie
If you’re planning to hit the Birdsville Track, cruise along the Oodnadatta Track or explore Queensland’s remote Gulf country or Cape York Peninsula , the Grabber AT3s are a top-tier touring tyre. With solid offroad grip, reliable handling when towing and real-world comfort on the bitumen, they offer bang for buck without compromise.
They’re available in plenty of sizes — from LT225/75R16 up to LT265/65R18 — and stocked by many Aussie tyre shops. Whether you’re chasing birds in the mallee scrub, hauling a camper along outback tracks or commuting in Melbourne’s rain one day and heading for the High Country the next, these tyres deliver in spades. I’d venture that it’s the perfect tyre for ‘Big Lappers’, too.
Quiet, capable, dependable. And they punch out of dirt and gravel corners like they mean it.
For my part, I can’t imagine ever wanting to run any tyre other than the General Grabber AT3.
Related articles
How to drive on dirt and gravel roads | Top tips
New 4x4 tyres from General Tire: GRABBER A/TX and AT3
Safety tips | Offroad driving with your camper trailer
