As winter progresses and the weather gets colder, road conditions in Canada become increasingly dangerous.
For owners and drivers of heavy trucks, snow and ice on the road can quickly become enemy number one. If you own or drive a heavy truck without winter tires installed, avoid potential disaster and get heavy truck winter tires as soon as possible.
Look for properly labelled heavy truck winter tires
We must recognize the importance of heavy truck winter tires that are specially designed and indicated for winter usage. A specifically winter-ready tire has many advantages over the all-season or all-weather counterpart. If you value the safety of the driver and the cargo being hauled, there should not be much debate. According to this YouTuber video on the importance of winter tires we’re not alone.
A properly labelled winter tire positively impacts fuel economy, road safety and vehicle operating efficiency. If you use all-season tires year-round, don’t let the “all-season” label fool you.
All-season versus winter-season tire
All-season tires are not designed for the extreme winter conditions of Canadian winters, just as they are not intended for milder winter conditions. If you are a fleet owner or operator that frequently has trucks drive into Canada from areas of the US with milder temperatures, consider your options properly when sending your trucks north of the border.
It is also important to note that winter tires differ from all-weather tires. The tread compound in all-weather tires tends to harden as the air gets colder. Conversely, the tread compound in winter tires is more flexible, so less likely to harden in mild weather, assuring maximum grip on the road.
That said, neither type of tire is optimal in severe weather conditions. In such situations, specialized winter tires are always the better choice. In extreme cases, tires reinforced with chains may be the more logical option.
Winter Tire Technology
To better understand the importance of winter tires in harsh winter conditions, it is helpful to know more about the technology behind winter tire manufacturing.
Winter tires are made from soft rubber. This makes them less likely to harden in sub-zero weather conditions. As a heavy truck driver on Canadian roads, you will often encounter these weather conditions in the winter and early spring.
When it comes to treading technology, winter tire designers are always looking for better tread designs to improve tire traction in snow and ice. This usually requires the inclusion of channels that effectively drain water and expel snow, as well as a mechanism that allows the tire to cut through snow and ice easily.
The best winter tires for small trucks have these same features.
However, their treads are deeper to compensate for the fact that the truck is lighter, which affects the depth at which the tires dig into the snow and ice.
The Importance of Winter Tires: The Benefits of Winter Tires for Heavy Trucks
Investing in specially designed truck winter tires will assure you the following benefits:
Optimal road grip
As a heavy truck driver, you probably know that time is money. If your truck’s tires don’t grip the road properly, you will be forced to drive more slowly. That is not a winning formula when you have to drive a specific route within a limited time.
The winter tire technology mentioned above gives winter tires maximum grip capabilities. By quickly cutting through snow and ice, they allow you to drive safely and at higher speeds, giving you or your truck driver a better chance of arriving at their destination on time.
Another considerable advantage of a quality winter tire is that they are designed to remain flexible in temperatures below 7 degrees Celsius.
Avoiding hydroplaning
When slush, snow and ice accumulate, the tire tread will begin to collect these materials in its channels. If the tires cannot effectively remove these materials, you risk hydroplaning. As you probably know, the larger the vehicle, the more dangerous hydroplaning is.
Therefore, winter tires explicitly built for trucks are designed with large channels. As the tire’s tread penetrates through the snow and ice, the larger channels allow the tire to flush out these materials more, thus allowing the tire to adhere better to the road.
Vehicle Handling
When driving in winter conditions as adverse as those described above, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your truck is completely safe and will perform efficiently. To do this, you need to make sure you can bring it to a stop at any time and make turns with complete control.
The type of tread and grip of your tires will dictate how your vehicle will perform in the snow. Winter tire road tests show that winter tires bring a heavy truck to a stop three times faster than all-season or all-weather tires. This increased traction will allow you to corner safely and at higher speeds without losing control.
Tips for proper use of your winter tires
Winter tires can be more expensive. That’s why you need to make sure you’re making the right choices when you buy them. Here are some tips when choosing winter tires that will meet your needs.
- Always buy a set of at least four matching tires simultaneously. These four newly installed tires will give you control and balanced handling for safe driving.
- Make sure you know what tire pressure you need for optimal performance. Keep in mind, however, that cold air reduces tire pressure.
- Proper air pressure will also result in more outstanding durability.
- During winter, always replace the valve cap on your tires. Forgetting to do so can cause air to leak faster.
- The best winter tires are those with a snowflake symbol on their sidewall.
- But above all, use common sense when driving your heavy truck in bad winter conditions.
This means driving safely and maintaining adequate braking distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
If you need a referral to a heavy truck tire or commercial tire dealer in Montreal, please don’t hesitate to contact us for help. However, if you need a truck repair shop in the Greater Montreal area, call us so we can schedule an appointment for you to bring in your vehicle.
