If you are a truck driver then taking care of your tyres is key to your safety. There are a lot of tyres on a typical truck therefore maintaining all of them is important and can be a painful activity. No matter where you are driving a truck in the world, you will find that the local laws in that country will normally have laws around ensuring that your tyres are of a healthy condition to protect not only you but other road users.
Correct Inflation
Whether you are driving a truck or car there are always recommended tyre pressures that are given from the vehicle manufacturer. This may sound pretty black and white but it’s not. The tyre pressure recommendation of your truck will differ depending on several factors. One of these is the weight of your vehicle. If you are carrying a particularly heavy load then the manufacturer will recommend a very slightly different pressure in your tyres to compensate. Another factor that will affect the truck tyres pressure is the terrain or weather conditions in which you are driving in. Again it is important to check this out beforehand and get the correct guidance – the internet is a wonderful thing and you can normally find out everything you need online.
Wheels
If you have poor quality wheels then it can affect your tyres stability. Truck wheels can be a pretty expensive asset and can be purchased online or in stores. Generally when drivers buy new wheels for their vehicle it is either because the current ones are damaged or because they want to improve the look of their car. When vehicles have nice shiny alloy wheels this looks really impressive to others. When fitting new tyres to a wheel this can be a pretty unique task that may also require to be balanced afterwards. It would be recommended that this is not done by someone that is not experienced in this field.
Frequent Checks
It is important that you check your tyre quality frequently in order to predict any potential problems that may occur with them. If this is not completed then you run the risk of having unsafe tyres that could affect your safety and the safety of others. Frequently you should complete a quick visual check of them to ensure they are not damaged but also ensure that the grip looks reasonable. In respect to the pressure, it is sometimes difficult to tell visually if they are ok therefore check this regularly also. Some modern trucks will have warning lights on the dashboard for poorly inflated tyres however this cannot be relied upon 100%.
Replacement Tyres
If you do need to replace a tyre then make sure that the quality is not poor. Remember that the tyre is your only contact your vehicle has with the road surface therefore crucially this plays an important role for your safety. If a new tyre is required for whatever reason, shop around to get the balance right between cost but don’t compromise too much on quality.
