Tires are a crucial part of vehicle ownership — but they aren’t cheap. A full set of tires can cost over $1,000, especially if your work truck has a dually setup with four rear wheels. If you’re worried about looming tire expenses, these money-saving tips can help you extend the life of your commercial vehicle’s tires.
Check your tire pressure
Your truck is equipped to handle all sorts of rough conditions: unpaved roads, dirt, sand and rocks can even be the norm in some places. The result though is that over time, your tires can get punctures or slow leaks that may lead to premature tread wear. That’s why you should check your tire pressure every few months, even if you do it with a simple gauge like those available at auto parts and retail stores throughout the country.
Rotate your tires
It may sound simple, but merely rotating your tires can help to extend their life. The reason: tires can wear unevenly on different sides of the vehicle. The right side of your car might be a little heavier than the left side, for example, causing tires on the right side to wear faster. If you rotate your tires regularly, they will all wear at the same rate, meaning that you won’t have to prematurely replace some of your tires while others have thousands of miles of remaining tread life.
Check your tire wear
This one’s the easiest of all: Visually check your tires every few months to make sure they aren’t wearing improperly. In this case, “improperly” means, for instance, that the inside of the tire is wearing faster than the outside — which could be a sign of suspension issues causing the your vehicle to sit incorrectly on its tires. If that’s happening, fixing your suspension will help solve the problem with your tires.
Regrooving?
In some commercial vehicle applications, you’ll hear of something called “tire regrooving.” This is a common practice that involves sharpening the grooves in the tires to give them better tread — and it works even if a tire is worn.
Unfortunately, this practice can’t be carried out on car tires because they aren’t designed for it. Truck tires include layers of tread, which can essentially be “stripped away” in the regrooving process. Not so for car tires, which don’t have the same layers.
Unfortunately, there are no magic tricks when it comes to extending your tire life. But the steps above will help you decrease tire wear — a big deal when it comes to saving money in the long run.
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