Cooper Discoverer A/T LT265/70R17 121S Tires - WHAT AM I MISSING?

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HandyCruiser

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I need a new set of tires for my 2003 Dodge Ram Quadcab. I've been running BFGoodrich Rugged Trails for about 15 years. But now they are hard to find and cost a pretty penny. Today I found these Cooper tires on the Walmart website and they are DIRT CHEAP. I know Cooper is a discount brand, but they ain't bad. And these are 10-ply like the Rugged Trails. I just can't understand the low price. What am I missing? :oops:

They are $122 a piece at my local Walmart. Here's a link:


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EdGs

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I have those same tires on my '15. I think they are great.

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Have had them on the truck since late Dec. of '19. Will post mileage and tread depth. I believe my truck had approx 88k miles when I got them. I have almost 123k now.

I run them about 50 psi, but think I need to drop the rear pressure a bit as the a$$ end is light.

My '02 1500 also has the same tire, but c rated.

Definately can't beat the price either.
 
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EdGs

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I dont have a depth gage at the moment, but have approx 3/16 of tread above the wear bars.

I will buy another set if still available when I need to. In a heartbeat.

I live in SWFL, so no clue about cold weather performance. Mostly rain here, and they perform ok to me.

That price was about the same as when I bought mine. I was out the door around $600.
 

wgreggking

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I've had great tires from cooper. AT 3 XLT 2 sets. AT is a lower cost tire. Coopers are made in the USA. Findlay, Ohio; Texarkana, Arkansas; and Tulepo, Mississippi. Cooper also operates a facility for producing components of tires in Clarksdale, Mississippi
 

EdGs

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I was told that the AT was the exact same tire as the AT3, molds were changed just for WalMart. My 2002 has AT3's that are 'C' rated and came from an independent shop as well.

The AT's that are on my '15 are identical in every way except for the 3 on the sidewall, and are 'E' rated instead of C.

I read somewhere that Goodyear bought Cooper, hope they don't screw it up.
 

Smokeybear01

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I ran Coopers on my last rig and found them to be a darn good tire both for wear and traction in snow and slush in the Cascade mountains.
 

EdGs

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Actually the price has went down on those since I got mine.

In December 2019, I paid $136 each for the tires, $575 total after tax and fees. They were delivered to the store, and I paid $96 for mounting, lifetime balance/rotation, and road hazard.

So, my total was $675 otd for the set. Still an excellent price IMO.

Were installed at 86170 on my odo. Slightly more than 36k miles on them as of now.

I set a dime on one of the wear bars to show the tread depth remaining. Sorry, I don't have a depth gage at the moment.

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EdGs

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Just measured my tread depth, and I have 7/32 above the wear bars.

According to what I've found online, these tires start with 16.5/32nds of tread depth.

NOT SURE if thats total depth, or to the wear bars.

IF total depth, then my tires are only slightly more than half worn as the wear bars are 2/32nds above the bottom of the tread.

So, I'm good to go for a while either way.

VERY PLEASED with these Discoverer A/T's from WalMart.

However, whenever I get tires, I ALWAYS REQUEST:

Hand torque the lugs, please.


And, I ALWAYS watch to make sure they do.
 
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HandyCruiser

HandyCruiser

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After searching high and low, I finally decided this morning to get these tires. Nothing else even comes close to the price for these specs. The sale was off so I paid $136 per tire. Total with sale tax was a flat $595.00. I figure I will pay between $15 and $25 per tire for mounting and balancing plus tax.

The clincher for me was a trip to the new Costco in Little Rock. Arkansas has never had one before so my sweetie and I were excited to shop there for the first time. I was hoping they would have some deals on tires. It's the only brick-and-mortar or online place I hadn't tried. But their prices were not even as good as some local tire shops. Then I knew, the Walmart Coopers are the best deal out there by far. ;)
 
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EdGs

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That's what I paid for mine almost 2 years ago. I think you will be very happy with them.

Winter performance is the only thing I can't attest to since it doesn't get very cold and not for very long here in SWFL.

As far as asking to hand torque the lugs, I have never had a problem with WalMart installing tires.

Years ago, I got a set of tires installed by Sears. Had a flat after about 2 weeks, and when I tried to loosen a couple of lug nuts, they only turned about a half-turn and locked up tight. They had been zipped on so tightly with an impact wrench that the threads were stretched.

I had to use a BFH to smack the lug nuts and bust the studs off to change that tire. Took the car back to Sears and after arguing with them, I made them undo all the tires. In doing that, they broke 2 more studs off another tire, and 1 more on another.

They ended up replacing some lug studs for me that day, and I never went to them again.
 
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HandyCruiser

HandyCruiser

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@HandyCruiser, did you get your new Coopers yet?

I got the new Cooper tires installed on Friday, August 13, 2021. I was supposed to get them installed at 8:00 am at the local Walmart, but only 3 or the 4 tires I ordered had arrived and the appointment I had made to have them installed on Wallmart.com was nowhere on the schedule at the store. The manager at the store said he would work me in when they arrived if they did. So I went back home. Around 10:00, I got another email from Walmart saying my tires had arrived. I called the local Walmart, and the manager said he had received them and we scheduled the installation at noon.

QuadCab13Aug2021_01.jpg

The local Walmart store didn't just get 1 additional tire. They got 4 more tires. So there were now 7 tires with my name on them. o_O The manager asked me if I wanted 1 more tire as a spare. The spare on my truck had a date of 2002 on it. I told him I bought the truck new in November 2002 and had only used the spare 1 time, but I'm sure it's rotten. He made me a deal for the spare by taking off the cost of the mount and balance for all 5 tires.

QuadCab13Aug2021_02.jpg

So instead of paying for mount, balance and road hazard on 4 tires ($25 x 4 + $10 tax = $110), I paid for 5 road hazards plus 1 extra tire ($10 x 5 + $136 + $18 tax = $204). For the 4 tires I bought online, the cost was ($136 x 4 + $54.40 tax = $589.40). If I had bought the tires a little earlier while on sale, I could have gotten them for $122 each. But you live and you learn.

QuadCab13Aug2021_05.jpg

Some folks on the forum had wondered if these inexpensive Cooper tires were old stock. But according to the manufacture code, they were made this year. If the "2021" is actually the 20th week of 2021, that means they were made in May of this year. I know these Walmart Cooper Discoverers have been available at about this same price for several years now.

QuadCab13Aug2021_06.jpg

I'm very happy with the look and ride of these new 10-ply Cooper tires. They are definitely taller than the worn-down BF Goodrich Rugged Trails I had on the truck. It drives nice and straight and fairly firm just like the BF Goodrich 10-ply tires did. I've already bought a 1.5" leveling kit I'm planning to install next Friday before I take my old Ram for an alignment, hopefully next Saturday. ;)

QuadCab13Aug2021_04.jpg
 
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EdGs

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Looks sharp! I wish I had an extra one for my spare.

Yes, an excellent price still. And I see you went with OWL on the outside. I think they look better that way.

Even at $136 each, still a great deal, IMO.
 

Recoil

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Looks good! This is good info as I need tires on my truck soon. The only difference for me is the tires on my truck now are LT285/70R17. I'm guessing the previous owner wanted some larger tires - either that or he found a deal on what's on there now.
 

TBONE 2018

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I have a 20\ 18
2500 Power wagon , And I just bought the cooper LTX tires in a 295x70x17 and I am shocked of how while they ride on the highway and in town . Compared to the wranglers that were on it.
 
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