Cooper Rugged Trek - questions

I've decided on the Rugged Treks. I'll be replacing all 4 tires.

My 2018 1794 w/ TRD off-road package is currently rolling on 4 Michelin LTX P275/65R18 114T. I presume those are the tires that Toyota put on the truck when it was brand new. I only bought the truck at about 27k miles so I assume they're original factory-shipped tires.

Those are standard 4-ply tires.

My tire sources nearby cannot get the Coopers in the 4-ply due to supply chain problems. They CAN get the Light Truck version that is 10-ply.

A couple questions before I place my order:

1. How much stiffer / bumpier of a ride should I expect with the light truck version of the tires? I already expect some rougher ride due to the more aggressive tread/ruggedness for offroading. Is the 10-ply light truck nature of these tires going to make it significantly harsher or louder of a ride?

2. Am I getting the right size tires if I match it up with the Michelin's? I don't know how to "read" tire ratings. I can say that I want the Rugged Treks for offroad use, but I also tow a moderately light load in the truck bed and/or in a small but heavy dump trailer. And a couple times a year I might tow a 7,000-ish pound camping trailer. The ride quality won't bother me too much, but my wife prefers to ride comfortably. I don't want the new tires to be jarring for her.

 

Well from the research I've done you can fit 275/70r18 on a stock height tundrawith no lift. I don't have load E coopers (yet) but I have load E Khumo AT51 tires in the stock size(what came on the truck). I still say its more comfortable of a ride than the SL tires I had on my Chevy when I traded that in for the tundra. I've heard nothing but great things on the cooper Rugged Trek tires and that's the tire and size I plan on going to when these are spent.

FWIW: Going from a SL to a load E tire you will have that greater weight so MPG will probably take a hit and the ride might change a bit, but for me it would be worth it especially that you tow with your truck.

 

I dumped the stock Michelins about 10 months ago and went to the BFG AT K/Os in 275/70. The Rugged Treks were what I really wanted, but the supply dried up before I could buy them. My BFGs are significantly heavier and I lost about 1mpg.

As for the ride, the Load E tires are better and worse depending upon how you look at it. Over bumps and potholes, you'll find them to be more jarring. Playing with PSI will help, but you'll need to fill them up for towing heavy. I keep mine at 35 in the winter but bump the front to 40 and the rear to 45 in the summer when I'm towing. The stiffer sidewall also took some of the "squishiness" out of turning and handling. Overall I prefer the Load E tire, but the difference is noticeable. You might be good with it or you might be shopping for new shocks (an excuse?!).

I never tried this, but maybe inflate your stock tires to max pressure (or a bit over) and go for a short drive. If the ride is too stiff, then you probably won't like the LTs.

 

275/70-18 fit great on stock truck with stock rim. The E loads are stiffer and heavier. Expect about a 1MPG drop due to the more aggressive tread and heavier weight. As far as stiffness- they are firmer than the stock standard load tires. But that is not a bad thing, depending. They will tighten up handling some, are stronger for off road, towing and hauling use but are firmer. Ride is subjective, if you are looking for the softest, smoothest ride then stick with standard load tires. The issue is that there are few larger than stock tires that are not E load. If you stick with 275/65 there are more tires available in standard load. Bottom line, higher load rating tires will be firmer but they are not awful and some would argue they improve the ride-again that is subjective, stock Tundras pretty much wallow around on the road and turns.

Ive run E load 275/70s when my truck was stock and run them now lifted. Maintain good air pressure based on how your truck is configured and they ride fine, just not as cushy as SL tires.

 

Thanks folks. I ordered the light truck version. They come in on Monday.

fyi I paid $314 per tire plus mount/balance fees and taxes at America’s Tires/Discount Tires. They had the best prices I could find. My local independent couldn’t do better than $364 per tire plus install, so 314 seemed quite reasonable given the supply chain and inflationary market these days.

 

That’s a good price for tires these days.. gasp… No, really, it is. I’ve run two sets of Cooper AT3’s, both in an LT rating, and some Big O AT’s in LT as well. I much prefer them over the 4 ply rated tires. Though, the 4 ply Michelins that come stock are pretty good tires, IMO.
I agree with @Green Thunder - the ride quality is subjective but they are better in some ways and worse in others. Overall, I prefer the ride and handling of the LT tires even with the small weight penalty. Don’t be afraid to play with the tire pressure; going from a p rated tire to an LT means you will need more pressure in the LT tires to maintain the same load rating as the p rating (at least until you exceed the load rating of the p rated tire, in which case you can kee adding air pressure and load capacity to the LT and the p rated simply can’t handle the pressure). Keeping the stock tire size, you would go from 33 psi to between 42 and 46 psi in the LT’s - or even higher pressures when heavily loaded or towing. I keep mine around 48 psi; I can’t stand the ride after I’ve roared the tires and the tire shop drops the pressure back down to 33 psi, though. But you might.