Daily Inspection Tips for Commercial Truck Tires
Every truck driver should be performing a daily inspection on their vehicle that includes a thorough check of their commercial truck tires to ensure they’re in good condition.
Every morning, truck drivers should be performing a vehicle inspection on critical systems to make sure everything is still operational and in good condition. Problems can spring up on you when you spend so much of your time on the road, and they can be incredibly dangerous even in the most ideal circumstances. One of the most common causes of trucking accidents is truck tire blowouts. For this reason, truckers should always spend a few extra minutes doing a thorough inspection of their commercial truck tires.
Check the Tread
The first thing to check on your commercial truck tires is the tread. Worn treads lead to less traction, which hinders the truck’s rate of deceleration and makes the vehicle more difficult to control. An easy test to get an idea of whether the tread has worn down to a point where it needs to be replaced is to stick a penny with Lincoln’s head pointing down (so the top of his head is closest to the tire) between the treads in a few different spots. If you can see the top of Lincoln’s head, your tread is worn, and the tires need to be replaced right away. If part of his head is always obscured, your tread is still okay.
Check the Alignment
While you’re checking the tread, you should look closely at how the tire is wearing down. If the wear is nice and even, then all is good. However, if you happen to notice that the wear is not in alignment with the tire, then it means you need to have your tires aligned. Aside from this, you should have your commercial truck tires aligned every 80,000 to 100,000 miles. So, even if you don’t see an immediate problem, be sure to have it done if it’s been a while since the last one. This will lengthen the life of your tires and mitigate the risks of serious problems happening later on.
Check the Pressure
Last but not least, keep an eye on your tire pressure. This is especially important when temperatures are reaching extremes. Heat will raise the pressure in your commercial truck tires, while cold will reduce the pressure. Due to this, it’s a good idea to prepare for the weather and make small adjustments to account for pressure changes caused by the external temperature. Keeping a close eye on it will allow you to catch any potential problems right away and make adjustments as needed.
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