Cooper LT tires 225 75 16

[KYAirstream]

Anyone use or consider using Cooper Tires (made in the USA) on their Airstream? I have had two sets on other vehicles that have held up great.

There are a few LT options

HT3 - highway RIB tire with all season performance

A/T3 - all terrain tire

A/TW - all terrain with better winter traction

M+S - severe weather rated

These are much less expensive than Michelins, so they may be a good alternative. What do the resident tire experts think?

[KYAirstream]

Thought I'd try to get some more discussion on this topic. Another thread has some mention of another tire--the Firestone Transforce. Any comparison of these tires or the Coopers to the Michelins out there? Other LT alternatives?

[Bill M.]

I had a couple of sets of Coopers on my F150. On the truck they were a pretty slick tire in the rain and wore out fairly quickly. I liked the looks so I went through 2 sets before I called it quits on them. Might not matter on a trailer. I just bought new tires for that truck and looked at the Cooper again. They ones I looked at only had a B traction rating and B temperature rating. I ended up buying Falken with a 4 for the price of 3 deal and free mounting, nitrogen fill, balancing, and rotation. I would suggest you take a look at Falken for the trailer also. Maybe not a lot cheaper than the Michelin list porice but more likely to be on sale.
I run the 15" Michelin XL tires on my trailer.

[AtomicNo13]

I run the Firestone trans force AT on my truck. I like them so much, I'm on my fourth set. I have never worn a set out but approached a time limit. My last set saw well over 70k miles.
If I recall, they are not available in a d load or higher in 15" sizes....

[KYAirstream]

Going to get new 16" LT tires for the Airstream soon. Any good alternatives to the Michelins?

[dkottum]

Why a 16" alternative to the 16" Michelins?

[Adiredneck]

After having 4 Coopers blow on my pickup truck (one while I had a 2200 lb slide in camper in the back), I am now very leery of them and would not buy another Cooper light truck tire. I just bought 4 225/75R16 Michelin XPS Ribs for my 27FB Classic. Expensive, but bullet-proof!

[J. Morgan]

I have had good luck with Yokohama tires.

Cooper used to make a good tire, maybe not anymore?


Superat stultitia.

[PaulnGina]

Originally Posted by Adiredneck

After having 4 Coopers blow on my pickup truck (one while I had a 2200 lb slide in camper in the back), I am now very leery of them and would not buy another Cooper light truck tire. I just bought 4 225/75R16 Michelin XPS Ribs for my 27FB Classic. Expensive, but bullet-proof!

Even the vaunted Michelins will "blow up" if they are overloaded and/or under inflated. Without more information, how can you conclude it was a tire problem? If I based my experience with Michelins on the number of times I have had problems with Michelins, I would never buy them again.

My experience with all sorts of Cooper tires has been stellar.


PaulnGina
1987 Avion 34W
1995 Ford F250 7.3L PowerStroke

Blessed and highly favored

[Adiredneck]

All the tires were at required pressure, under load max weights by a good margin, with less than 25,000 miles on them and not yet 4 years old. Plus, I only ran them in the summer, because I ran Cooper snows on all four wheels in winter. I was especially anal about inflation, etc. with the slide-in on board. No margin of error with that much weight riding high on the back of a Dodge 2500 4x4. Two were catastrophic sidewall failures, and the other two I caught just as the sidewalls formed a big bubble. You can buy any tire you choose; the OP asked opinions on Coopers and I gave mine, based on my experience. Your mileage may vary...

[KYAirstream]

Just looking at alternatives to Michelins that may be just as good, but not cost so much. Personally I've had good success with the Cooper AT3's, but I've never used them on a trailer. Sounds like the Yokohamas may be an alternative as well.

[KYAirstream]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

I have had good luck with Yokohama tires.

Cooper used to make a good tire, maybe not anymore?


Superat stultitia.

Were those the Yokohama RIBS?

[crispyboy]

Flame suit on!

If you are considering an alternative LT225/75/16 E rated tire I would look at a name brand tire with more of a summer highway rib or all season such as:

- Cooper HT3
- General Grabber HTS
- Firestone Transforce
- Goodyear Wrangler HT

All of these should do a decent job as an alternative "in my opinion". I have nothing against Michelins, will use them if the price is right but I have used many other brands with success on my cars/trucks and I am still living to tell about it! No matter what tire you install, regularly inspect for pressure, condition and age.

[Tn Traveler]

On the whole I have had pretty good luck with Coopers LT tires on my 3/4 ton Suburban. I did have one tread delamination starting which I caught. It was replaced under warranty at no charge. I will not use them on my Airstream because a blowout can be catastrophic. The relatively small cost of the Michelin upgrade is well worth it to me. I still have the Coopers on my TV, but will also upgrade to Michelins as the tires age out.

[KYAirstream]

New axles and tires go on the trailer this month, so I started calling around tire shops today. One place recommended the Cooper HT3 due to its design. I didn't realize it was a RIB tire, which I suspect is a huge plus for a trailer. This is from Cooper's website...

The Discoverer HT3 was designed as a premium light truck commercial highway rib tire that provides trusted all-season performance. The tread design of the HT3 helps resist abnormal treadwear that is common with commercial vehicles where constant starting, stopping and turning are the norm.

I also found a good review here...

http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/tir...iscoverer-ht3/

Just curious if anyone has any first hand experience with this tire?

[Noggin]

Just wanted to give this thread a bump and see if anyone was using the Cooper HT3 16's. My tire guy who sells Michelins and Coopers recommended the Cooper's. My Michelins have been great but are getting to be around 6 years old this summer, so thinking about replacing.