When it comes to winter tires, all vehicles regardless of size require to have winter tires if they are to drive on public roads during the winter in winter conditions. When you try to stop a large and heavy vehicle on winter roads you will need the best grip possible and you can’t rely on tires that aren’t approved for winter use. For the safety of you and other drivers on the roads, you will need to make sure that your heavy vehicle can stop effectively even on snow and ice, without skidding out of control.
For some reason heavy vehicles are often forgotten when it comes to winter tires, as they already feel safer when you drive them. They can however quickly turn into deadly projectiles on icy roads when you try to get them to stop. Even though SUV tires can look rugged enough to handle any terrain and conditions, the problem is that when the temperature drops the rubber will turn hard and will glide like an ice hockey puck on ice. So don’t rely on the ruggedness or look to judge if they will be good at low temperatures. You will need to check if the tires are approved for winter use. If they don’t have the severe service emblem on the sidewall of the tires, then they are not approved and shouldn’t be used. It is as simple as that.
For SUV you will have SUV winter tires that can be divided into studded tires and non-studded tires. The studded tires are not legal for use in all areas, so you will need to check if they are allowed where you live and if you plan to cross state or provincial borders. In addition to the dedicated tires for winters, you also have the all-year round tires that are approved for winter use. They are the all-weather tires and have properties that allow them to be used safely both during summer and winter conditions, so that you always have correct tires on your vehicle. This is a very convenient tire option especially for areas that have a more limited winter period, where it might not make sense to change to winter tires. In addition to that it is also great for areas where you often travel between areas that have significant differences in weather.
When it comes to the larger vehicles you will need to make sure that you know what dimension of the tires you need. This can be found on the sidewall of your current tires or then in the owner’s manual. You will need to make sure that you also get the weight rating correct in case you have a heavy vehicle and carry heavy loads. Heavier vehicles tend to have larger and wider tires to better disperse the weight over a larger area. Make sure that you always check the tire pressure so that you don’t wear out the tires prematurely.
For more information regarding winter tires for larger vehicles, visit: www.nokiantires.com