How to Choose Tires for a Class 8 Truck

Choosing tires for your class 8 commercial truck is one of the most important decisions you will have to make. Of course there are many things that you'll need to keep in mind. If you are not sure where to begin when choosing tires for your class 8 commercial truck, here are a few steps that will help you make the best possible choice.

Instructions

1. Know the type of equipment you need to equip with tires. There are many different types of class 8 trucks out there, all designed to perform a specific kind of task. Your class 8 truck may be designed to haul general, refrigerated, flatbed, double, and even triple trailers over the road, which is what most class 8 trucks are built for. Your truck may be designed to haul things like rock, sand, and logs, which is an on road/off road application. You might be carrying over dimensional freight which can be anything from very tall to very wide, to very low in relation to the surfaces your traveling on. Whatever the situation, there are tires specifically designed to fit your needs. The performance of your equipment is important to your profit potential and tires are a key to the best performance you can get out of your truck.

2. Consider the cost of tires for your class 8 truck. Cost is also very important to you in your business. If you own only one class 8 truck you will likely pay retail prices for your truck tires because you will pay as you go. This will most likely be true if you are a small business owner with up to five trucks. If you are a fleet owner, you can get much better deals from manufacturers and dealers. Since you will be maintaining many trucks you will have to purchase a larger quantity of tires all at once and this will give your suppliers an incentive to give you a lower price to keep your business.

3. Know which tires will keep your class 8 truck operating safely. If you put off road tires on an over the road truck you will not be able to maintain safe highway speeds and they won't stand up to the high rpm's that tires such as speed tread tires are designed for. By the same token you wouldn't put speed or lug treads on an on road/off road class 8 truck because the terrain you would be driving on would be to harsh on the tread surface and could result in numerous blow outs and cause accidents where other vehicles and their operators might be harmed.

Resources

• Michelin
• Goodyear Truck Tires Dealers
• Continental Truck
• Kelly Tires