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Commercial truck tires consistently take on large loads and travel over all types of surfaces and conditions. It’s no surprise that they can end up sustaining significant wear. 

However, as a truck driver or fleet owner, it is essential that you inspect and pinpoint any examples of irregular wear that could cause decreased fuel mileage and shorter tire life. Whether it’s a toe problem, a camber problem, or a drive axle misalignment problem, it’s going to show up in your tires.

 

 

Identifying Irregular Steer Tire Wear Patterns and Figuring out Your Next Steps: 

One-Sided Wear

What to Look For:

Is the wear increasing from one side to the other? This might mean you have one-sided wear on your tire.

Probable Cause:

This type of wear might mean that your tire is out of alignment (camber, toe, axle parallelism).

Corrective Action:

If caught early on, this type of wear could be prevented. Make sure to check your alignment and inspect for worn parts to slow any further irregular wear. 

Now What?:

Continue to run until minimum tread depth is reached.

 

Shoulder Step Wear

What to Look For:

Do you notice partial or full depression of the inside or outside shoulder tread rib? Then you might be looking at shoulder step wear. 

Probable Cause:

This type of wear is common on radial tires in slow-wearing operations.

Corrective Action:

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to be done to prevent this type of wear. 

Now What?:

Continue to run until minimum tread depth is reached and consider rotating your tires.

 

Erosion / River Wear

What to Look For:

Is the circumferential worn area situated on the sides of the tread ribs? This likely means you are looking at erosion/river wear.

Probable Cause:

This type of wear most commonly occurs on slow-wearing radial steer tires.

Corrective Action:

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to be done to prevent this type of wear. 

Now What?:

Continue to run until minimum tread depth is reached.

 

Diagonal Wear

What to Look For:

Diagonal wear often presents itself in the form of oblique wear patches. This could appear singularly or repeat around the circumference of your tire.

Probable Cause:

This type of wear could be caused by misalignment, radial and lateral runout, severe balance issues, or loose wheel bearings or steering parts.

Corrective Action:

If caught early on, this type of wear could be prevented. Make sure to check for misalignment, mismount, and worn parts.

Now What?:

Depending on the severity of the wear, you can reverse the direction of your tires or have your tires sent in for retreading.

 

Multiple Flat Spotting Wear

What to Look For:

Are there multiple radially worn areas around your tire? This is multiple flat spotting wear. 

Probable Cause:

This type of wear usually stems from faulty shocks, loose/worn wheel bearings, severe balance issues, mismatched pressures or tire diameters, or excessive high-speed empty operation.

Corrective Action:

If caught early on, this type of wear could be prevented. Make sure you check your tire’s air pressure and look for any mechanical issue.

Now What?:

Depending on the severity of the wear, you can continue to run until minimum tread depth is reached or have your tires sent in for retreading.

 

Feathering Wear

What to Look For:

Is your tire is feathered along the edge of the tread ribs? You can tell by rubbing your hand along the rubber. If it’s smooth in one direction and rough in the other, then this is telling of feathering wear. 

Probable Cause:

Feathering is usually the result of continued exposure to lateral force, such as excessive toe. It can also form as a result of counter-steering to compensate for drive axle misalignment.

Corrective Action:

To prevent any further wearing, make sure to check your alignment.

Now What?:

Depending on the severity of the wear, you can rotate your tires to another position or have your tires sent in for retreading.

 

Depression Wear (Intermediate)

What to Look For:

Is one or more of your tires’ interior ribs (not the center) depressed further than the adjacent ribs? This is a sign of intermediate depression wear.

Probable Cause:

This type of wear could be caused by incorrect air pressure, a worn mechanical part, or nonuniformity such as a mismount.

Corrective Action:

If caught early on, this type of wear could be prevented. Make sure you check your tire’s air pressure and look for any mechanical issues.

Now What?:

With this type of wear, you will want to rotate your tires or retread them if the tread depth has gotten too low.

 

Depression Wear (Shoulder)

What to Look For:

Do you see a localized wear patch on the shoulder rib of the tire? This patch can repeat around the circumference of the tire. This is a sign of shoulder depression wear.

Probable Cause:

This type of wear could be caused by faulty shocks, lateral runout, loose wheel bearings, mismount, or a severe balance issue.

Corrective Action:

This type of wear could be prevented with a mechanical checkup.

Now What?:

Depending on the severity of the wear, you can either continue to run until minimum tread depth is reached, rotate your tires, or have your tires sent in for retreading.

 

Depression Wear (Center)

What to Look For:

Are you finding circumferential depression wear of the center tread rib? This is a sign of center depression wear. 

Probable Cause:

This type of wear could be caused by tire overinflation/underinflation, faulty shocks, loose wheel bearings, mismount, or high-speed empty haul conditions.

Corrective Action:

You could prevent this type of wear by checking your tire’s air pressure, checking your load weight, and looking for any worn parts.

Now What?:

Depending on the severity of the wear, you can either continue to run until minimum tread depth is reached, rotate your tires, or have your tires sent in for retreading.

 

 

Put Your Trust in Wonderland Tire

In the transportation industry, the two highest operating expenses are fuel and tires. When your tires are properly maintained, they’ll help you reduce your overall fleet operation costs.

Tire maintenance protects your investment by extending the life of your tires. Checking tire pressure, rotating your tires, balancing your tires, and choosing the right set of replacement tires based on safety will all contribute to consistent performance.

And at Wonderland Tire, we want our customers to remain on top when it comes to tire performance. Let us help you with any of your fleet tire needs!

If you're near one our fleet service centers in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, or Indiana, set up an appointment today!