How to Choose the Right Medium-Duty Commercial Truck Tires

Finding the right medium-duty tires can be tricky, since “medium-duty” is such a broad category.  There are a lot of potential applications for trucking operations and to get the best performance from your tires you must select a tire designed for your needs.

There is certainly no all-purpose answer here, but we can offer some guidance on how to narrow down your options and find the right commercial truck tires for your needs.

Four Ways to Pick the Right Medium-Duty Tires

1 – Know the jobs you’re going to perform

While “all purpose” medium-duty tires exist, they’re going to have the same drawbacks as any jack-of-all-trades product.  You will have much better results and see better efficiency, by picking tires specifically for the jobs you run.  For example, tires created for long interstate hauls won’t perform well with stop-and-go urban deliveries.

Pick based on your specialization.

2 – Know the weights of your loads intimately

So much of tire performance boils down to weight.  Exceeding the weight limits of a tire, or allowing it to roll while under-inflated, will quickly wreck the tire – and potentially cause hazardous situations!  Always know your typical weight scenarios before looking to buy medium-duty tires.

3 – Choose the right tires for each position

Even within a specific brand or usage category, tires are often specialized based on their exact position on a truck.  Tires intended for a steering axle will perform worse if installed on a drive axle.  If you’re doing your own shopping, read descriptions carefully and pay attention to the axle position they’re intended for.

4 – Don’t forget the weather and road condition

Are you ever going to go off-road?  Are you expecting rain or snow?  Are the roads you’ll travel on well-maintained?  These will all affect the performance of your medium-duty tires, often more than heavy-duty tires.  Always be sure to match tires to the expected road condition for best results and long-term lifespans.

Need More Help?  Consult STTC

STTC has decades of experience working with fleets across the Northeast in every form of driving, from supporting heavy off-road work to finding the best tires for local delivery runs.  If you ever wonder if you have the right tires for the job you need to do, just visit any of our convenient locations for a consultation!