3 Signs That Your Semi Tire Might Blow

16 June 2015

Isaiah Chambers

As a truck driver, you know how dangerous a blowout can be. A blown tire can cause major damage to your truck or could cause serious injury or death for you or other people on the road, not to mention the need for semi truck repair. Therefore, it is very important to know the signs that something could happen to your tires. Luckily, if you look out for these signs and do something about it if you notice them, then you can help protect yourself, your truck, and other drivers.

1. Your Tread is Poor

One of the main things that you should look for when checking your tires is the tread. Your tread depth on each tread groove should be 4/32 of an inch, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. If you have less tread than that, then you could be at risk of being ticketed if you get caught. However, an even more serious thing that you should be worried about is a blow out, which could occur if your tires are over worn. Luckily, instead of purchasing new tires, you may be able to have them retreaded.

2. You've Hit a Piece of Debris

As a trucker, you know how important every minute is when you're on the road. This means that you could be tempted to continue driving after hitting debris to prevent from losing time. However, even minor debris can cause holes or other damage to your tires. Therefore, if you hit something and don't stop to check out your tire, you could be at risk. It only takes a few minutes to do, so it's well worth it to prevent a blow out.

3. Your Tire is Pulling Away from the Rim

Inspect your tires before every big trip, and check to ensure that your tires aren't pulling away from their rims. This is a sign that there is major damage to your tire and could cause a blow out to occur at any moment.

A semi truck blow out is a very serious thing, so tire damage is not something that you should ignore. Luckily, tires will generally give you signs that there is a problem before they blow out, so you have to look out for these things. If you do, you can help prevent your tires from blowing out while you're on the road, which will help protect you and everyone else who is out there on the highway, along with preventing damage to your rig.

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