Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cooper ST Maxx or Goodyear Duratrac???

Thought I'd draw on the collective thoughts of the Fire to see if anyone has had experience and or opinions regarding these two tires?

Vehicle is a Ford F350 SRW Diesel 4x4 that is about finished with the OEM Goodyear Kevlar tires. I am replacing them just before Fall hunting season as I need better traction in the Badlands where I've drawn tags.

This truck is my only regular vehicle, so it has to cover highway and offroad duty. I also tow a 26' Toyhauler or a utility trailer while hunting as well.

I'm looking hard at these two tires, and as a USAA member, I can get a 25% discount on the Duratracs, so there's some temptation to go that route as these tires in LT270/70R18E are not inexpensive.

Thanks!

Frog

I've had to sets of durable tracks. I had good luck with them

I'd go witth the Coopers. I have had TERRIBLE luck with Goodyears.

Two data points: I had good luck with Cooper tires on a 2005 Dodge W2500 diesel when I quit off of Michelin M/S LTX tires. Lost ~1/2 mpg. But price difference was worth it. Old acquaintance put a set of aggressive tread Goodyear Wranglers on a SRW Ford diesel that he used to pull cattle trailers and haul bagged ag lime. After a few months, he took them off. Said the tires seemed to "squirm" or "walk" on the roadway when he had a good load on. He may have been loading heavier than your toy hauler. But, FWIW...

Duratracs were great on my last 1/2 ton. They suck donkey-balls on a HD diesel. Squishy/squirmy sidewalls.

Between my ‘06 F250 diesel and current ‘11 f250 diesel I’ve driven ~300K Mi. I’ve had BF Goodrich Long-trail, BF Goodrich AT KO and AT KO II, Goodyear Duratrac (for about 2K Mi and I gave them away), Nitto Trail Grappler, Terra Grappler, and Exo Grappler.

Hands down my favorite is the Nitto Exo Grappler. They’ve got a 3rd sidewall belt so are much stiffer and more stable with a load than everything else I listed above. They’re also the best AT tires I’ve used on hard-packed snow/ice which we have 3-5Mo out of the year here in ND. The couple of times I’ve had to use them in mud they got me where I was going, that said, I avoid mud like the plague and can’t say that I’m a good judge of mud performance. I’ve never had a flat due to gravel or scoria. The only flat I can recall was caused by an old implement buried in some deep grass where I turned around. The current set will be replaced this fall with 45-48K Mi on them.

Currently running Cooper Discoverer S/T MAXX LT265/70R17 on my Jeep Wrangler MOAB Two Door with Stock MOAB Suspension and factory MOAB Wheels. Same Suspension and Wheels as a stock A10 (2013) Rubicon. I will replace them with a second set this Winter. Not sure how they would wear on the heavier truck. I am doing a 5 tire rotation and rotating the tires every other oil change (6000 Miles). My tire shop has been extremely impressed with the miles I have on them. I am probably the only customer getting regular tire rotations that they have using these tires. I also have a Log Book that I have logged when I bought the tires and at what Mileage they were installed. No Guessing I know how long they last, and I am impressed. At the moment each tire has 51,520 miles on them. All Five Tires have went 64,400 so far. Installed 85,600 currently at 150,000.

I have Cooper Evolution M/T LT265/70R17 on my 2005 RAM 2500 Quad Cab 4x4 (5.7 Hemi). I have 18,500 miles on them at this time. They should make 30K - 35K with luck.

We have Falken Wildpeak AT3W 275/70R18 on the 2017 RAM Quad Cab 2500 (6.4 Hemi). Not sure about the miles on them. They have been on probably three years with over 50% of the miles with a Horse Trailer behind the truck. They have done very well also. I would buy again.

Hope my experience is of some help.

Bob R

I've had the ST Maxx but not the DuraTrac. ST Maxx is a good tire, but didn't wear as well as I'd hoped. DuraTrac has a good reputation in snow - I believe a softer rubber compound than ST Maxx. Only negative I've heard on the DuraTrac is sidewall flex cornering and towing can make them feel squirrely.

I'm currently running the Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT and was extremely impressed last hunting season in the snow. I don't see myself using anything else going forward. The ST Maxx may be better than the AT3 in the mud, but that's not a priority for me. I have the Nitto Exo Grappler on another truck and like them, however the AT3 XLT does much better in snow for me.

TOYO

I have run the st maxx exclusively on all my trucks, even the 1/2 tons. Can’t go wrong with them, imho but Fück they ain’t cheap.

I no longer trust Goodyear personally... so not an option for me.

Cooper was bought by Goodyear in 2021... so again probably no.

Toyo, Nitto, Nokian are brands I trust...


I suspect that is maybe a typo?

275/70/18r is my guess?

I like my Cooper Descoverer AT3 LTX's I have on my Ford Super Duty. They are mountain snowflake rated and run fairly smooth and quietly for 35" load range E tires.

I would expect the S/T Maxx to make more noise on the road.

Yep, typo...LT 275/70/R18E

I appreciate the feedback from everyone. The Cooper tires were suggested by a friend, but like BGG said....damn they are expensive!

Hankook before Goodyear. We have 20 trucks or so at work and they all end up with Coopers or Toyo’s.

Toyo, Nitto, Cooper, Hankook, not Goodyear. Goodyear did buy Cooper a while back but we haven’t noticed a negative impact. BFG are not all that on Heavy Vehicles. If you go that way you need to run them at higher pressures end of the scale as they squirm a lot.

I endured a set on my 1996 7.3 CC. That truck has had OEM Firestones (worst traction in wet of anything ever but stayed balanced and rode well). Two sets of Michelin LTX after that with no issues at all. BFG AT as stated squirmy and inferior to the Michelin’s in every way aside from price. When one developed a bad vibration from a broken internal belt or something (still had good rubber left), I replaced them with Cooper AT3s.

That’s been a couple of years ago and no complaints.

I also have a 2019 F-250 6.7 with factory Michelin’s. When they wear out it will be hard not to put Toyo or Coopers on there unless I find some Michelin take offs cheap. It doesn’t pull much aside from an open car trailer these days and even that less so.

Gas V-8’s weigh ~500#. Diesels in HD pickups from the big 3 are 900-1100#. Diesels also have at least 2X the torque as gas motors available in HD pickups.

The weight and TQ make diesel pickups their own animal regarding tire performance and longevity.

FWIW to the OP, I’ve got 219K on my ‘11 F250, all by me and use the same size/rating tires as you’re shopping for. 275/70R18.

Buy once, cry once.

I’m in almost the same boat as you. My Ram 2500 CTD is my daily driver from construction sites, to city, to backwoods and tows a 8500 RV regularly. I’ve tried both tires and currently have the Goodyears on my truck. The Goodyears are definitely better in snow than the Coopers, otherwise no difference to me. No matter what tire I use I’m lucky to get 25,000 miles out them. The HD diesels just chew them up. I agree the OEM Firestones sucked. Had to use 4 wheel drive on wet grass.

The truck originally came with the Goodyear Kevlar AT tires that are still on it with just a tad over 50,000 miles. However, as noted, during some early preseason scouting trips to the badlands, it's more than apparent that I need replacements before going back, and it MUST have a more aggressive tread, without being a full-blown Off-Road tire.

This.

I don't think you can beat BF Goodrich A/Ts.

Have Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S's on my Escape.

Acts like a 4WD.

Really good tire, on or off road - just a little heavy.




GR

I have had both. I like the Goodyear best.