The following factors are areas of concern which can be addressed to help extend tire life and maximize service
and value obtained.
1. Maintain proper tire inflation Low tire inflation is the major cause of many tire problems.It can cause excess heat build-up, casing durability
problems,irregular treadwear, poor handling, and increasing fuel consumption. 2. Avoid overloading tires
Overloading can cause all the same problems as underinflation and faster treadwear, tread cutting, chipping,
bead area durability problems, sidewall impacts & durability problems on duals etc. 3. Avoid mis-matching tire OD’s and inflations on duals Mis-matched OD’s will cause fast and irregular wear on the“smaller”tire. Tires must be within 1/4“on
diameter. Low inflation on one tire will cause the same problems. 4. Rotate tires
Besides maintaining inflation, nothing will do more to improve tire life than rotating them on the vehicle once
or twice.The left front steer almost always wears faster than the right front. And, the rear drive axle almost always
wears faster than the front drive axle. Rotating the tires minimizes this effect and maximizes potential tire wear. 5 .Maintain correct vehicle alignment
Toe-in or Tor-out has the strongest effect on tire wear. Followed by camber, and caster has the least effect.
Aligning your trucks to the minimum values of Tor-in &camber recommended by the vehicle manufacture will
maximize the wear-resistance. 6. Train your drivers
Drive habits have been shown to effect tire wear by as much as 20%-30%. Drivers who learn to operate a
vehicle smoothly,accelerating and decelerating slowly, will get much longer life out of the tires than drivers who
speed, break & turn sharply. 7. Repair tires quickly
When it is noticed that a tire is needed, get it done as soon as possible. Putting it off will only more damage. 8. Timely removal from service
Truck tires should be removed from service while the casing is still in good shape for retreading. His usually
means removing them when they still have 4 to 6/32“ tread depth remaining. Running tires longer than this
means you will increase the risk of damage which will make retreading difficult or impossible. It has been
shown that it is financially advantageous to saceifice the last 2 to 3/30”of original tread to make sure the
casing is retreadable. 9. Keep your equipment clean
Maintaining clean trucks, wheels &tires will help them last longer. Eliminating the building up of grease and
dirt on z tire will keep it from degrading due to exposure to contaminants. With aluminum wheels, it helps
prevent the build-up of aluminumoxide between the tire and the rim. This aluminum oxide will abrade the rim
flange of the wheel and can damage the tire. 10. Choose the right tire for your application
Work with your dealer to make sure you are using the tire best suited for your service. Sometimes, this may
require trying a few different designs or tread depths to find out what works best for you. But in the long run,
this knowledge will be of great benefit.