Cooper Rugged Trek question

[Bad Moose]

2019 1500 BigHorn, 3.21 gearing, 255/55 r20 Cooper Discoverer Rugged Trek tires, trifold tonneau cover, truck is usually unloaded and not carrying extra weight to maybe 150 lbs in the bed

Here' what we are running into. The tires seem to have little traction in rain and snow. It was in Houston over the Summer and during rain my son was having issues with the truck slidinng and holding traction in the rain or wet roads down there. Talked to him about throttle control and such and he still struggled but it was better. Fast forward to last week Ames IA and snow. He stated that his Jeep TJ was better in the snow than the RAM. He drove the Jeep with General Grabbers and Falken AT3. Talked to him about throttle control and using auto 4wd. Due to the cold the auto 4wd wasn't working at the time, but the traction control was. The next day he drove it farther and warmed everything up, auto 4wd working now. He stated it was better but not as good as my 2020 F250 with Firestone Destination XT's on it. (he drove that last year up in IA)

I'm curious as to what others have found with these tires in the snow and wet. I have driven the truck in the rain and its struggles, we are hoping for some snow so I can drive it then and see if I can do better. I know the Cooper AT3's are supposed to be good and such but can not find much if anything on these Rugged Trek tires for opinions.

 

[securityguy]

Nitto, BFG KO3, several other tires that are far better.

 

[Bad Moose]

Nitto, BFG KO3, several other tires that are far better.

Was hoping that wasn't the case, and people with more experience with these tires would chime in. But in all honesty we were thinking the same thing, just hoping we didin't have to throw away tire with a decent amount of tread on them.

 

[securityguy]

Was hoping that wasn't the case, and people with more experience with these tires would chime in. But in all honesty we were thinking the same thing, just hoping we didin't have to throw away tire with a decent amount of tread on them.

The Michelin Defender LTX tires are fantastic as well.

 

[jkm312]

Those tires, Cooper Rugged Trek lean more towards performance on off road conditions rather than sketchy conditions on pavement. I have a set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S on my Ram. I do very little off road, definitely nothing extreme. They have been a great tire for my purposes. Unfortunately they don't make them like this set anymore since Goodyear bought them out. Disappointing. Closest tire I can find to them is the Toyo Open Country AT3's. Wildpeaks get some really good marks but they are too heavy of a tire for my needs, will cost some mpg's. Look at the side by side tire specs on Tire Rack or similar and you can see the differences between tires better.

Security Guy is right about the Michelin's, a great tire. I will put a set on my MDX when it's time. However here in Iowa like last weekend, I think you need a little more than they can offer. That's why I set the RAM up like I do for tougher winter conditions. When it comes to straight brass ice, nobody wins. Stay in the cave.

 

[LaxDfns15]

You have an AT/Mud Tire driving on wet roads or snow. They're going to be bad. If you want to stick with the tires, throw 300-400 pounds in the bed any time it precipitates, or get a set of dedicated snow tires for the winter.

I have Cooper AT3's on my truck now, and they've been great for over 25k miles. They're getting noisy on the highway, but with weight in the back and not stomping the gas pedal I've never had issues in rain and snow.