Tire maintenance is important for the safety of your drivers, as well as your fleet. Though you should be keeping an eye on them regularly, at the very least, you should complete monthly inspections to ensure that your tires are safe.
This is especially true for fleets that are used in the bitter cold, as well as ones that travel over rough roads. So, what tire maintenance should you be doing?
Over and underinflated tires can cause a lot of problems. It is also the easiest prevention that you can do to make sure that your tires continue to work well.
Regular tire rotation is important to make sure that the tread on your tires wears evenly. Since all tires wear differently, you need to rotate them regularly to get the most miles out of them. If not, you may lose thousands of miles on each pair of tires that you have. This can add up quickly.
Vehicles that are misaligned can really affect driving. It can change how the vehicle brakes, as well as how it handles when the driver steers it. Accidents can occur when a misaligned vehicle is driven at high speeds.
Misalignment is not only unsafe but it is not good for the vehicle. It can be stressful on the suspension and hard on tires. You may end up spending a lot more money fixing your vehicle and replacing tires than just fixing the problem in the first place.
Though you may have a fleet full of vehicles with many different people driving them, you may want to educate your drivers before letting them behind the wheel.
You should talk to them about speeding, as well as aggressive driving. Doing a lot of speeding and braking can really affect the overall vehicle (not just the tires). By talking to your drivers about what you expect, you should be able to get more life out of each pair of tires that you buy.
Though tires are expensive, you shouldn't skimp on quality. Buying cheap tires that need to replaced more often may end up costing you more in the long run. Because of this, you should buy good tires so that they do the job that you need them to do.
Though you may try to save money by buying older tires that have never been used, that is never a wise idea. Even if they are stored correctly, tires weaken with age. By using a pair that have been sitting around for a long time, you are more likely to have cracks in the sidewall and even bulges.
Unused tires should be kept in a clean and dry environment. They should be kept indoors in a warm place so that they will work well when you need them to.
By maintaining your fleet's tires, you are helping your bottom line. Not only are your drivers safer, you will notice better fuel mileage, as well as less time lost due to breakdowns from bad tires. Your tires may also last longer so be sure to give them the care that they need.
Contact us to help you manage your fleet. We would be happy to discuss your maintenance program and see how we can make your life a little easier.