Commercial Truck Tire Buying Guide

The many tires on your commercial truck won’t last forever, and having good tires is crucial to optimum performance and road safety. You should always endeavor to replace bad tires promptly and to maintain your tires well as a spare set to ensure that your vehicle is safe to operate.

Not sure what to look for in a commercial truck tire? K. Neal Truck and Bus Center is your local commercial truck dealer, with locations in Maryland and Virginia. Read on to learn what you should take into account when shopping for new tires for your commercial truck.

Standard Vs. Commercial

It may be helpful to outline what makes commercial tires different from standard tires. LT (light truck) and P-metric (passenger) tires are not designed for large trucks, so avoid tires of these types. Commercial tires are designed specifically for large vehicles; as a result, they’re constructed from a harder rubber and have more tread so they are less likely to puncture.

Common Brands

There are a number of different brands that manufacture commercial truck tires and it pays to know some of the differences between them:

• BFGoodrich: A cheaper version of Michelin tires with only two retreads available to you.
• Goodyear: A major household name offering excellent warranties that include unlimited retreads for the first four years of ownership for their Kelly line of tires.
• Michelin: A classic brand with excellent seven-year warranties that include three retreads and cover 700,000 miles.
• Roadmaster: A tire brand that offers good value and balances out lifespan, comfort and fuel economy.
• Yokohama: Japanese brand that designs fuel-efficient tires and offers a similar warranty to BFGoodrich.

Tire Positions

Tires can function a bit differently on a large commercial truck, depending on where you place the tires. You may need to consider purchasing a different type of tire for certain locations: 

• Steer tires are your truck’s frontmost tires and impact handling.
• Drive tires are placed where the truck and trailer meet, helping it to turn and maintain traction.
• Trailer tires are placed at the rear of your trailer and should be stiffer to support heavy weights.

Avoid using one type of tire for the wrong positioning: for example, stiff trailer tires won’t make very good steering tires. You can also simply invest in a set of all-position tires that aren’t specialized in any way.

When To Replace

Tires need to be replaced at least every six years because this is the point at which the rubber will have broken down significantly. Many tires may need to be replaced before this, especially if you’re driving in extreme hot or cold weather often. Tires with low treads can be retreaded if they haven’t reached that six-year mark. Insert a penny into the tire tread to determine how worn your treads are: the more of the image you can see, the more worn your tires are.

Visit one of our four locations in Virginia and Maryland to take a look at our wide selection of new and used commercial trucks for sale. We can also assist you with truck parts, such as tires. K. Neal Truck and Bus Center proudly serves the cities of Hyattsville and Gaithersburg, MD, and Lorton, VA.