Patriot Tires is also known as Renegade tires. Well, the company has two different rugged-terrain tires(best ones), Patriot RT and Patriot RT Plus. These two fellows have almost the same appearance. Yet, they are slightly different regarding sizes, and labels. Let’s see which one is better for your application!
From my standpoint as a former Bridgestone engineer, the Patriot RT delivers impressive traction on loose ground, backed by decent handling and wet grip that make it more versatile than many rugged-terrain options. For a tire in this category, it rides surprisingly smooth and quiet, and with its 3PMSF rating, it proves to be a solid choice for winter conditions. The trade-off is in tread life, which runs shorter and closer to a mud-terrain tire, but its budget-friendly price more than compensates for that drawback.
Note: Patriot RT and RT+ are merged into one product, sold simply as Patriot RT, and all versions come labeled with the 3PMSF symbol.
Patriot R/T+
Tire Decision Tool
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A side note: Honestly, this tool is a game-changer → TireRack’s Decision Guide. Just enter your car and it shows the best tires in seconds (backed by real test data 🚗💨). I also explain exactly how I use it in my walkthrough here.
Tread Appearances
I have to admit that I’m pretty impressed by these tire designs. I’m not only talking about super-aggressive sidewall design. They also have a very functional contact patch. Though worth reminding, they have exactly the same contact patch.
Let’s start with the center section.
They have wide, solid, and inter-locked center sections. The wide center section provides even wear distribution. For this reason, these tires tend to wear evenly. Furthermore, solid and inter-locked lugs act like a huge rib and increase tire’s stability, so, handling.
That center section is connected to inner shoulder lugs. Staggered and angled shoulder lugs provide better traction on loose grounds. Therefore, they promise better off-road performances.
Regarding shoulders, Patriot also uses a staggered shoulder design on both of them. Moreover, the open shoulder design ensures that the tire doesn’t have any issue with self-cleaning ability. Hence, they can provide consistent traction on off-road adventures. Fellows, they’re trying to make an off-road beast!
Lastly, sidewall design. These tires have a dual sidewall design. While one side has a flaming demon design for moe aggressive appearances, the other sides have a big dual dagger that provides a better grip on mud and deep snow.
Dry Performance
The dry performance consists of 3-different dimensions. Dry traction, steering response, and cornering stability.
Regarding dry traction, this tire is a beast. As we’re all expected from rugged-terrain tires, they have a huge grip ability. Due to their relatively soft compound and disunited but solid lugs, they perform perfectly on dry grounds.
Let’s continue with the steering response. This section is generally an issue for big tires. Due to their heavy constructions and big gaps between the lugs, their contact patch is hard to optimize. Well, Patriot solves this problem with a wide and solid center section. I think they would work better with connected lugs but even this design is enough to provide a quick steering response.
Cornering stability is easy for this kind of tires. 3-ply and thick sidewalls restrict over-flexibility and promote stability while cornering.
Patriot RT and Patriot RT plus have trustworthy dry performance. You can confidently go with both of them.
Comfort and Road Noise
Due to their lugged but narrow gap center section, these tires are almost quite as legendary as Nitto Ridge Grappler. Well, I might remind you that these are rugged-terrain tires with a very aggressive pattern. Expecting a noiseless drive is a kinda dreaminess.
In comfort cases, you should decide between LT and regular sizes. If you need better durability, you should go with LT sizes and sacrifice a bit of comfort. Otherwise, Patriot RT with a soft compound provides a smooth ride. Yet, it’s slightly bumpy compared to the premium brand tires.
A side note here: Even though some tires tend to make noise because of their tread patterns, it’s still possible to keep your tire noise down.
I’m leaving a perfect explanation below from DiscountTire for those who need it;
How to Keep Tire Noise Down? –>
https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-noise
Fuel Efficiency
As you can see these tires aren’t intensely notched. As a result, they have low rolling resistance. I’m pretty sure that they won’t hurt your mpg.
Wet Performance
Wet performance is what I was questioning about this tire. Well, it surprised me.
Due to its open shoulders and wide grooves, it can evacuate the water easily and prevent hydroplaning resistance.
Regarding wet grip, I thought that it has a lack of siping. Yet, its well-optimized compound provides a very well grip on wet surfaces.
It’s a trustworthy tire regarding wet performance. Yet, you might face spinning if you rough up to the gas pedal while starting.
Note: Hydroplaning is vital for a safe ride under the pouring rain. However, it might occur even with the best tire. Maybe you can’t prevent it but if you know what it is and how to deal with it, you can easily stay on the safe side.
Here is an extremely efficient guide about ‘How to Deal with Hydroplaning?‘ –> https://www.discounttire.com/learn/hydroplaning
Winter Performance
Winter performance is where Patriot RT and Patriot RT Plus are separating.
Patriot RT Plus with a 3PMSF is a reliable pick for severe winter conditions. Yet, worth reminding, both are beasts on deep snow due to their deep tread grooves. Patriot RT Plus is slightly better due to its superior grip ability on icy grounds.
If you wanna stay on the safe side go with Patriot RT Plus. However, Patriot RT will provide everything you need except ice performance.
You can also check the best tires for severe winter conditions right here!
Off-Road Peformance
Off-road performance is where these two are shining. They’ve been released as a rugged-terrain tires. Yet, their primary intention is off-road. Let’s evaluate them by surfaces.
Rock and Gravel
Due to their stone ejectors, they can throw the stones out easily and provide consistent traction on gravel. Moreover, their staggered shoulder and inner shoulder design enhance their traction ability significantly.
Due to their 3-ply sidewalls and sidewall protector, they prevent sidewall impacts with ease. However, these tires have a relatively fluffy compounds. So, you might get flat tire while rock crawling.
I recommend this tire for gravel driving. Yet, I don’t think that they’re suitable for rock crawling.
Mud
Mud driving is where these two are shown up. Due to their self-cleaning and water evacuation capabilities, they can perform almost as well as mud-terrain tires. Moreover, their aggressive sidewall biters help them to grip loose and deep mud. Thus, they provide consistent traction even under the toughest muddy grounds.
Sand
Their tread pattern is way much aggressive for sand driving. You might get digged and stuck on soft sand. Yet, on 4wd, sidewall biters can save you from trouble.
Tread Life and Durabilty
This section is the answer to the ‘Why they are so cheap?’ question. Even though they’re rugged-terrain tires, they still have mud-terrain tire tread life. Due to increasing grip ability, Patriot uses a fluffy cap compound. Well, tread life decreases.
If you can agree with a mud-terrain tread life, they’re a perfect choice.
Getting maximum wear life from a tire is related to you as well as your tire,
If you’d like to learn how to get maximum tread life:
Warranty
Patriot doesn’t offer any tread life warranty for these products.
Sizes
You can find the available sizes in the below tables.
Most tire sizes begin with modifier letters(P, LT, etc.) that identify the type of vehicle or type of service for which they were designed. Here is a perfect guide for reading tire size –> https://tireterrain.com/how-to-read-tire-size/
| 17” | 18” | 20” | 22” | 24” |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LT285/70R17 | LT275/65R18 | 275/55R20 – XL | 285/45R22 – XL | 33×12.50R24LT |
| LT295/70R17 | LT275/70R18 | 285/50R20 – XL | LT285/50R22 | 35×12.50R24LT |
| 33×12.50R17LT – E Load | LT285/65R18 | LT265/50R20 | LT285/55R22 | 35×13.50R24LT |
| 33×12.50R17LT – F Load | 33×12.50R18LT – E Load | LT265/60R20 | 33×12.50R22LT E&F Load | 37×13.50R24LT |
| 35×12.50R17LT – E Load | 33×12.50R18LT – F Load | LT275/55R20 | 35×12.50R22LT E&F Load | |
| 35×12.50R17LT – F Load | 35×12.50R18LT – E Load | LT275/60R20 | 35×13.50R22LT E&F Load | |
| 35×12.50R18LT – F Load | LT275/65R20 | 37×13.50R22LT E&F Load | ||
| 37×13.50R18LT | LT285/50R20 | |||
| LT285/55R20 | ||||
| LT285/60R20 | ||||
| LT295/55R20 | ||||
| LT295/65R20 | ||||
| LT305/55R20 | ||||
| LT325/60R20 | ||||
| 33×11.50R20LT | ||||
| 33×12.50R20LT E&F Load | ||||
| 35×11.50R20LT | ||||
| 35×12.50R20LT | ||||
| 35×12.50R20LT | ||||
| 35×13.50R20LT E&F Load | ||||
| 37×12.50R20LT E&F Load | ||||
| 37×13.50R20LT E&F Load |
A side note here: If you are planning to upsize or downsize from your original equipment size (changing tire size with a smaller or bigger size), or if you have already done, it’s crucial to remember that changing tire size will decrease the accuracy of your speedometer. If this is the case, I strongly recommend checking DiscountTire Speedometer Guide.
Price
The tire market has a dynamic price policy. Hence, in my point of view, sharing tire price is pointless.
Though, I’ve analyzed the top 10 brands of most popular tire brands.
Here are the dealers with a reasonable price range,
SimpleTire
- Free shipping
- Delivered in 2 days
- Verified shops near you(for mount and balance)
- Mobile installation option
- 7 million customers since 2021
- 4.7/5 points on Google rate
- Top-notch customer service, you may even request a price match
Patriot R/T: https://simpletire.com/brands/patriot-tires/r-t
PriorityTire
- Local installer and mobile installer options
- Huge product range(you may find any tire you want)
- 4.8 overall satisfaction rate
- Always have a good deal to find
- 90 days money-back guarantee
- Free FedEx shipping
Patriot R/T: https://www.prioritytire.com/by-brand/patriot/r-t-tires/
Amazon
- Fast and free shipping (mostly in a day)
- Get your tires shipped to a selected service center or get them installed at home or work (how does it work?)
- Installation on Mavis Discount Tire (15$ per tire)
- Installing new stem valves supplied by pro
- Balancing your tires
- Road/safety test
- Since Amazon provides wholesale and affordable prices, they don’t offer a road hazard warranty
Patriot R/T: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=patriot+rt&ref=nb_sb_noss
While choosing dealers, I especially pay attention to reliability. All of the dealers on this list have 15-20 years of experience in the online tire business. Therefore, I can guarantee a smooth and fast tire buying process.
Conclusion
Patriot RT and RT Plus are decent rugged-terrain tires. Their only weak point is tread life. Well, they perform like mud-terrain tires and have a similar tread life to mud-terrain tires.
I recommend Patriot RT for above 3/4 pickups and loaded applications(best ones) due to its high load range options. On the other hand, Patriot RT Plus (discontinued) was a good choice if you’re living in severe winter conditions. It can handle hauling and towing. The good news, both tires are combined on New Patriot RT. Now you can get winter traction and durability at the same time.
A Quick Check List:
- LT sizes have stronger sidewalls. That feature makes them more durable. Yet, these tires offer a rougher ride. (LT vs P-Metric tires)
- XL sizes tend to carry more load and offer better handling. Hence, if you’ll go with p-metric sizes, they might be a better pick for hauling and towing( XL vs SL tires)
- Please pay attention to the load index & load range and speed index. These metrics are essential if you expect decent tread life
- There isn’t a bad tire in the market right now, you should just know what to expect from tires
If you have any further questions, please leave them below. Have a safe ride folks!
For those who prefer to see whole market analyze:
- https://tireterrain.com/best-all-terrain-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-all-terrain-tires-for-snow/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-1-2-ton-truck-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-3-4-ton-truck-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-rt-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-tires-for-snow-plowing/
- https://tireterrain.com/on-road-all-terrain-tires-highway/
A couple of popular size analyses:
- https://tireterrain.com/best-35x12-50r20-all-terrain-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-285-70r17-all-terrain-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-275-55r20-all-terrain-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/best-275-65r18-all-terrain-tires/
Want to learn more about all-terrain tires:
- https://tireterrain.com/highway-tires-vs-all-terrain-vs-mud-terrain/
- https://tireterrain.com/all-season-vs-all-terrain-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/tire-load-index-and-load-range/
- https://tireterrain.com/lt-tires-vs-passenger-tires/
- https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-good-for-daily-driving/
- https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-good-in-snow/
- https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-loud/
- https://tireterrain.com/how-long-do-all-terrain-tires-last/
- https://tireterrain.com/are-all-terrain-tires-good-in-rain/
- https://tireterrain.com/off-road-tire-pressure-load-range-for-every-rig/
Have you done a review on the Radar Renegade AT Pro? What do you think of those? I think it’s best looking tread pattern since bfg TKO came out. I am thinking of putting them on a 1999 wrangler lmk or share link if you have reviewed them. I think your reviews are some of if not the best online. Keep it up.
Thello there,
I haven’t made deep research but made a quick one for you. Here are my outputs,
1) It looks great for mostly highway usage
2) It has a fluffy compound and siped pattern, which means its wet performance gonna be okay on the pavement
3) I don’t think that this tire is a good option for rocky terrains. The traction isn’t the issue but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna wear quickly on gravel etc.
4) Compact center section is gonna offer a quiet and smooth ride
5) If you don’t make too many miles in a year, this can be a good tire for you. I don’t think that it’s gonna last long anyway because of its B-rated heat resistance
6) this kind of pattern generally doesn’t have that much sipe because these sipes increase the rolling resistance and generally destroy your MPG
So, in my point of view, this is a good tire for a mall crawler. It probably doesn’t last long as you want but looks like a good option for this price level.