Safety Tips For Off Road Mud Tires

Driving off road is an unforgettable experience for most drivers. This experience can be cut short if the tires on your truck are not properly maintained. To ensure the off road mud tires on your truck are performing as expected, there are safety tips that will need to be observed at all times.

Jeep mudding with huge American and Rebel flags

Keep the Tire Pressure in Check

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the leading cause of tire failure is under inflation. To ensure your truck (and off road mud tires) do not join this statistic, make sure inflation is maintained at recommended levels. Driving off road can be extremely dangerous and having under inflated tires increases the risk of an accident.

Under inflation has immediate effects to the vehicle as it affects handling, fuel consumption, leads to uneven and premature wearing of the tires outer edges. To protect your vehicle and tires from the effects of under inflation, check the tire pressure at least once every month or before any of your off road adventures.

Look Out For Abnormal Damage and Wear

To ensure the tires are reliable and last longer, inspect them at least once every month checking out for abnormal wear and damages. To save yourself some time, do this at the same time you are checking for tire pressure. Off road mud tires are prone to a lot of damages and you need to check out for Excessive or uneven tread wear, bulges or Cracks, Signs of puncture among other damages.

If you detect any damages or uneven wear, take the tires for further diagnosis. If the damages are not that severe, repairs can be done from the inside of the tires when they are off the wheels. For those who may think of using sealing compounds, these should only be used as a way to make the tires useful to enable them move over to a safe location for repair. The compounds should never be used as permanent solutions.

Rotate the Tires according To the Manufacturer’s Manual

Off road terrains are uneven and they result to uneven tread wear. Unlike most street tires, off road tires tend to have uneven wear because the terrains they are driven on are unbalanced. Rotating the tires after every 6,000 miles or according to the manufacturer’s instructions helps achieve maximum tread life and even tread wear.

Since most off road vehicles are four wheel-drives, lateral rotation is the most recommended and involves moving the front right tires to the front left axle and the front left tires to the front right axles. The same should be repeated to the rear tires.

Maintain Proper Tire Balance

If you want the wear to be even, keeping the tires in balance is the best way to go. Out of balance tires can be detected by extreme thumping when driving through rough terrains. Balancing the tires involves placing weights on the inner circumference and bead of the wheel.

By: James Langston

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