How to Estimate the Useful Life of Your Commercial Truck Tires

For fleet managers, few things are more important than ensuring their commercial truck tires are safe and reliable. That’s why it’s crucial for fleets to understand the life cycle of their truck tires so they know when it’s time to replace them. There are many signs that fleet managers can watch out for that will indicate the need for replacement or tire retreading, and developing a visual inspection routine with your drivers will help you catch these symptoms early and avoid unnecessary downtime.

Commercial Truck Tires & The Age Limit Debate

While there are no laws limiting the usage of old tires, general best practices stipulate that tires older than seven years should be replaced in passenger, light truck, and four wheeled vehicle applications. Many believe that regardless of appearance, condition, or remaining tread depth, tires of a certain age must be replaced due to degradation of rubber compounds and potentially dangerous dry rotting..   Similar best practices in the commercial trucking space are utilized as well, with differences between certain industries:

• High quality commercial truck tires are designed for traveling long miles, carrying heavy loads, and sustaining high speeds, but most major manufacturers will only warranty a tire for seven years.
• Fleets implement ongoing truck tire maintenance to keep tires in good working condition beyond their expected age limit
• Retreading services help commercial truck tires outlast their projected age limit, but most fleets will not retread a tire older than eight years. However, waste fleets rarely have a limit.
• Commercial truck drivers are required by law to perform daily pre-trip tire inspections

Rather than relying on a tire’s age limit, fleet managers should depend on alternative methods for identifying when their tires have reached the end of their useful life, such as mileage, and tread depth.

More Ways to Estimate Your Commercial Truck Tire Lifespan

Your commercial truck tires’ lifespan is impacted by a number of factors. The following can help you form clearer expectations for your commercial tires’ duty cycle:

• Tire Pressure: Low tire pressure can result in premature wear and tear, causing your tread depth to fall below recommended levels and increase your risk for a blowout.
• Type: New, high-quality tires may have a longer initial tread life than retread tires; however, when properly retreaded and maintained — can last for years to come, even through several additional retreads.
• Driving: Your fleet’s driving patterns can have a serious impact on your tires’ lifespan, with aggressive driving styles responsible for stripping miles of usable tread from your tires.

To get the most out of your commercial truck tires, you’ll need to implement a preventative maintenance strategy by partnering with a knowledgeable provider like STTC. Our team offers exceptional maintenance and retread tire services to help keep your tires on the road for longer.

STTC Retread Tires Services for Extended Tire Life

At STTC, our team provides fleets with the retread tires and preventative maintenance services they need to get the most out of the tires’ lifespan. Our knowledgeable tire technicians have the skills and tools you need to keep your fleet’s tires on the road for longer. Contact us today to learn more about how partnering with STTC can help your commercial fleet avoid premature blowouts and unnecessary downtime!