Two things that can increase the speed with which your truck tyres deteriorate

If you drive a truck, it's important to be aware of the things that could potentially increase the speed with which your truck's tyres deteriorate. Here are two such things.

Overloading your truck's storage container

Your vehicle's manual should specify the maximum load limit for the truck's storage container. It is extremely important not to exceed this limit, as to do could result in the rapid deterioration of your truck tyres.

The reason for this is as follows; overloading the storage container will place an excessive amount of strain on the tyres. Because the tyres are not designed to withstand this amount of pressure, they will quickly begin to deflate.

Even if you were to top-up the air pressure levels in the tyres midway through your road journey, the tyres would immediately begin to deflate the moment you began to drive again.

In addition to increasing your truck's stopping distances, under-inflated tyres are also more likely to develop punctures. They are also far more susceptible to blowouts (this is where the tyre loses all of its air pressure in a matter of seconds); this could be particularly problematic, as it could result in you losing control of your truck and colliding with another vehicle on the road.

As such, regardless of how tempting it might be to overfill your storage container with heavy goods, it is important not to succumb to this impulse, as this could destroy your tyres and in doing so, put you and other road users at risk of serious injury.

Driving with a damaged suspension system

If your truck's suspension system sustains damage and you continue to drive the vehicle without repairing the broken components, your tyres could end up being damaged.

Damage to the suspension system's rubber bushes, for example, can result in uneven or asymmetrical tyre wear; this is where one side of the tyre wears out faster than the other. This type of abnormal tread pattern can affect the tyres' ability to retain traction and as such, will usually result in the affected tyres having to be replaced.

A malfunctioning suspension system can also increase the force of the impact that your truck tyres sustain when you drive over a pothole or an uneven road surface. This, in turn, can make the tyres more susceptible to punctures.

In short, if you suspect that there is a problem with your truck's suspension system, you should not drive your vehicle again until a mechanic has inspected and repaired it.