How to Get the Most Out of Your Truck Tires
Searching for a way to minimize expenses to maintain tires in your fleet? Well you’re in luck-we’ve laid out 10 tips to help you get the most out of your tires!
1. Check Your Tires After You Inflate Them
This may seem like a no-brainer but making sure your tires contain the correct air pressure is crucial for optimizing the performance and life of your tires. It is important that your tires have enough air in them to carry the load at hand. However, too much as well as too little air can cause damage. Inflating a tire too much will cause premature wear while underinflation can incur higher fuel costs to carry the load.
2. Ensure You Are Using Quality Valve Caps
Valve caps act as a sealant to keep air from exiting the tire. It is important to make sure you are using a cap that is metal to ensure the air inside is secure.
3. Use Clean Air
Just as it’s important to make sure you have the correct amount of air in your tires, it’s also crucial that the air inside is clean and dry. If tires contain air that is moist, the inner lining and other pieces of the tire begin to break down. Air compressors are commonly used to inflate tires with clean, dry air.
4. Keep Wheels and Tires Clean
Not only is it important to keep the inside of the tire clean, the outside must be held to the same standard as well. However, this isn’t just for cosmetic purposes. Letting materials such as rain, snow, and ice sit on your tires can cause premature damage. Additionally, chemicals such as salt can cause wear and tear to the steel itself. To avoid this, try using warm, soapy water.
5. Purchase the Right Tires for Your Vehicle
No matter how much time and money you put into taking care of your tires, it all comes down to choosing the right ones for the job. Make your selection based on the goals you have for your fleet.
6. Be Mindful of Habits
Driving habits have a great impact on the amount of wear and tear on your tires. It is important to drive responsibly for the performance and life of the tire to remain strong.
7. Analyze, Analyze, Analyze
Fleets can learn why tires have been removed from service by performing a scrap tire analysis. You can learn a lot about why tires fail if you examine old tires. Learning why the failure occurred can prevent similar problems from happening.
8. Record Everything
Have you ever heard the saying that if you write it down, you’re more likely to remember it? Whether your fleet uses paper or a software system, recording the number of miles traveled, previous maintenance performed, and other data is important in making future tire purchasing decisions.
9. Line It Up
Just as keeping your tires inflated at the correct air pressure is important, making sure your wheel is aligned is even more crucial. Failure to properly align your wheel will result in premature tire wear as well as riding issues.
10. Think about Telematics
How cool would it be if you knew which trucks in your fleet required tire maintenance before even the driver did? With telematics, now you can. Investing in tire monitoring systems allows the fleet manager to receive an alert informing them of any wear and tear that occurs to each tire. This revolutionary technology can inform fleet managers on which tire model and repair is best suited for each truck.