Winter is the peak season for fuel distributors. Fleet vehicles are worked hardest when conditions are most hostile, which is why tyre policy should be implemented in the autumn, rather than on a hard shoulder in January.
Get ready
While there is no legal requirement for winter tyres in the UK or Ireland, specifying year-round regional tyres alongside tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) and regular cold-pressure checks can maximise safety and tyre life and help maintain fuel economy.
Whole-life cost
Whole-life tyre cost can be separated into four components.
Fuel consumption: Tyres can account for up to a third of a truck’s fuel consumption. On a vehicle consuming £25,000–£30,000 of diesel a year, small improvements in performance can quickly outweigh any price differential between a cheaper tyre and a premium offering.
Mileage: Tyre casing impacts lifetime mileage as much as tread does: a tyre that regrooves and retreads cleanly can earn its keep twice over.
Downtime: Roadside tyre failure on a loaded tanker can mean missed rounds, a driver out of hours, failed delivery and unhappy customers.
Purchase price: The only one which appears on an invoice, attracting disproportionate attention as a result.
Regular winter checks pay dividends
Industry reference figures indicate that a tyre under-inflated by 10% increases fuel cost by 1.5%, while 20% under-inflation can reduce a tyre’s life by around 30%; In addition, an estimated 90% of blowouts can be traced back to under-inflation as a direct cause.
Cold weather exacerbates the problem. A tyre pressurised to 120psi at 20°C drops to around 111psi at 0°C – a loss of approximately 9psi, or 7%.
Add a slow leak, and the tyre is quickly into the 20%-under zone meaning costs can rise rapidly and unnecessarily. Pressures should be checked cold, regularly, with a calibrated gauge set to the manufacturer’s load and inflation table for the loaded axle weight – and re-checked as the temperature falls, not just at the start of the season.
Two truck tyre drive axle mistakes to avoid
Twin tyres should be the same size and pattern, with tread depth within a few millimetres of each other and at equal pressures. A mismatch loads the taller tyre and wears both. Drive axle alignment matters as much as steer axle alignment, because a drive axle out of square drags the steer tyres.
A problem specific to tanker fleets is that the last mile of a heating-oil delivery is often off the asphalt: farm tracks, gravel drives, single-track lanes with soft verges and tight turns at full lock in customers’ yards. Driver training on kerbing, dry steering at full lock and driving on verges can help save sidewalls and prolong tyre life.
Truck tyre selection
Fuel oil distribution is a specific duty cycle, with unique challenges.
The load profile is lopsided: out at maximum weight and back empty, so pressures must be set for the loaded axle weights. Liquid loads move and surge under braking, and cornering puts lateral load through the steer axle, so steer tyres need a stiff, stable casing. Multi-drop work at low average speed runs tyres hotter and wears them faster per kilometre than a steady 56mph, and the drive axle does far more of the work.
Eighteen-tonne 4×2 rigids, 26-tonne 6×2 rigids with a tag or lift axle and artics on tri-axle trailers all wear tyres in different places – lift axles and tri-axle trailers scrub badly on tight turns, so those positions need a pattern designed for it.
The right tyre for a tanker is usually a regional or mixed-service pattern with a reinforced sidewall, a cut-and-chip-resistant compound and stone ejectors, rather than a long-haul, fuel-optimised design. The EU label’s fuel grade is measured at steady state; on this type of work, robustness and wear rate move the pence per kilometre far more than one label class does. A casing built to be retreaded, and sizes standardised across the fleet wherever possible, complete the specification.
Tyre choice, wear rate, fuel efficiency and vehicle availability are linked. Choice sets the wear rate and the rolling resistance; pressure discipline protects both; fewer failures mean more available vehicles; and on a tanker fleet in winter, availability is capacity.
A practical checklist:
- Tread depth – a fleet policy minimum of 2.5–4mm, regrooving at that point where the tyre is marked regroovable. The legal minimum for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes is 1mm across the central three-quarters of the tread.
- Daily driver walk-round – check for cuts, bulges or exposed cord on both sidewalls (including the inside walls of twins), stones trapped between twins or drilled into the grooves. Ensure valve caps are fitted and wheel-nut indicators aligned.
- Cold pressure checks – regular, with a calibrated gauge, set to the load and inflation table for the loaded axle weight and re-set as temperatures fall.
- TPMS – check every sensor is reading and the alarm threshold is understood by drivers. Retrofit older vehicles and trailers.
- Tyre age – nothing 10 years old or more on a front axle (banned on HGVs since February 2021) with date codes legible; check tag axles, trailers and spares, where old tyres usually hide.
- Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake – confirm tyres carry the mark for winter work.
- Twin matching on drive axles – same size and pattern, tread depths within a few millimetres, equal pressures.
- Wheel alignment – checked ahead of winter and after any kerb strike.
- Post-impact inspection – any tyre that has taken a kerb strike, pothole or verge excursion inspected before the next round.
Winter can be particularly harsh on tyres. Road conditions can be increasingly demanding, and weather can change the characteristics of the tyre. Being prepared is key to keeping fleets moving.
Scott Dalziel was recently promoted to TBR Sales Manager UK & Ireland at premium tyre company Yokohama HPT. He has particular expertise in truck and bus tyres, delivering commercial tyre solutions to a growing portfolio of clients.
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