Hercules Tires review: 2yr old tires dry rotting and leaking 1

When I graduated from High School I got some money from friends and family, I decided to use this money to buy a new set of tires for my truck before I started college. The tires that were on it would need to be replaced soon anyway. After shopping around town for a few weeks I settled on the LT285/75R16 Hercules Terra Trac M/T due to the price and the off-road capability (I use the truck on the farm). I purchased the tires from the Ford dealers "Quick Lane" Service center, and waited Overnight for the tire to be shipped from a Hercules warehouse (or Factory as there is a Hercules factory in my town). After the Tires were installed I was pleased with the way the truck handled and rode on and off road in the summer and winter. Several thousand miles down the road they were wearing nicely and I had never had to put more air in them(I check tire pressure a lot, about once a week when I put gas in it) I also Rotate the tires about every 5k miles. However about 1yr and 10k mi I noticed some cracks forming between the tread, every tire will crack some so I just passed it off. A Couple months ago I started having trouble with one not holding air. I was at a buddy’s house and noticed I had a low tire, Checked the pressure with the gauge I keep in my glove box, 12psi so my buddy let me use his air compressor to fill it back up to 35psi where it belongs and when went about our tasks. I checked the tire again 20 min later and it was down to 30psi. Aggravated I went to the Ford dealer the next time I was home. The dealer agreed that all 4 tires were wearing nicely for 17k miles but were checking (cracking) badly for only 2 years old. The Ford dealer was no longer a Hercules tire dealer (hmm) but the called the Hercules office in Chicago, IL and were told the only thing that we could do is Replace the tires out of pocket, ship the tires to Chicago, they would deem how much money to give me under the warranty. I took it to another Hercules Tire dealer in town, they said the same thing. The problem is as a college student I don't have the $700-900 to put new tires on the truck out of pocket, I can't be without my truck to leave it on blocks until they respond with a check, and Nobody can even tell me an approx amount I will get (I would hate to put $900 in tires on the truck then get a check for $50 and not be able to pay rent!) I thought it was a good idea to support a local Factory but boy was I wrong. Stay away from Hercules tire!