Your truck plays a key role in your business, whether you’re shipping packages or hauling gear from one worksite to another—and your truck’s tires play a key role in making that happen. They work hard to make sure your work is a bit easier, and it’s only fair to repay the favor. Preventative maintenance will keep your tires going strong for longer, saving you time and money.
To help you get started, we here at White’s International Trucks have put together a few tips for keeping your commercial trucks’ tires in good shape. If you want to know more, or you need some tire replacements, contact any of our seven stores across the great state of North Carolina. Our friendly and experienced staff will help you find whatever you need at the prices you want.
Find Your Owner’s Manual
Step one in any maintenance process is finding the owner’s manual for the machine in question. Our general advice can help a lot of people with most steps in tire care, but your manual was written and designed for your truck specifically. If you can’t find your manual, you should be able to download a copy from the manufacturer’s website.
The Right Tires
The first part of keeping your truck’s tires in good shape is making sure they’re the right tires to start with. There are a lot of options out there and you’ll want ones optimized for your vehicle and its daily duties. Consider factors like the average length of your drives, the typical load capacity the tires will be bearing the weight of, and the weather conditions you expect to encounter. For instance, if you’re doing long runs on snowy roads, you’ll want tires built for durability and traction. If you’re struggling to find the right tires, our parts and service departments are ready and waiting to help you in your search.
Measure Air Pressure Regularly
Tires require specific levels of air pressure in order to work optimally and to cope with the pressures and frictions they endure on the road. Use a tire pressure gauge and your owner’s manual to determine the air pressure and adjust it to recommended levels. Measure the air pressure any day you’re using your truck, ideally before your trip, to make any adjustments before your long drives. Cold mornings will be the best time for accurate measurements.
Investing in a tire pressure monitoring system will eliminate the need to check each tire individually and by hand. Keeping your tire pressure at proper levels will increase fuel efficiency and minimize the risk of skidding or blowouts.
Visual Inspections
A visual inspection is a pretty common tool in a maintenance process, and your tires need it as much as the rest of your truck. Check your tires for cracks in the side walls, or for gouges or dents in the material. You’ll also need to check your tread levels. Treads will naturally wear down over time, and this means you’ll need to eventually replace your tires no matter how careful you are with them. Keep an eye out any time you see the tread on your tires wearing down unevenly. This can indicate a weight distribution or mechanical problem, and we recommend bringing your truck in for servicing as soon as possible.
Weight Distribution
How you load your commercial truck can have a serious impact on your tires’ health. Never overload your vehicle, and be careful where you put your cargo. Try to distribute the load evenly across the deck, both from side to side and front to back. Otherwise, your tires might wear down unevenly, which can cause other issues down the line.
Proper Storage
Any time your commercial truck is going to be sitting still for extended periods of time, your tires are at risk of wearing down on one spot over time. This can result in uneven tread and deflation. If possible, get the tires off the ground entirely while your truck is in storage. If that isn’t an option, try to rotate your tires by one-quarter every so often to relieve the pressure and avoid wearing down the tread in one area.
We hope this guide helped you take care of your tires as much as they take care of you! If you want more tips and tricks, or you’re in the market for a new commercial truck, contact us at White’s International Trucks. We proudly serve the great state of North Carolina—let us serve you today!