We're helping Australians to Drive Safer - here are some tips on tyre choice for towing
Trent Nikolic, Drive
We've talked on this episode of Drive TV about towing safety. It can be as simple as a tradie or a lawn maintenance box trailer with some gear in it, right up to a big caravan or a horse float or a race car or something like that.
Steve Di Francesco, Franchisee, Bob Jane T-Marts, Taren Point
Yes.
Trent
If you're towing and you're towing long distances, should you expect that the tyres on your tow vehicle are going to wear out a little bit quicker?
Steve
In a general sense, yes, but you need to watch your tyre presses and you need to get that right and you need to put a high applied tyre, like with the stronger sidewall which will allow the weight to hold better, and I think also the distribution of weight I think comes into play with it as well.
Trent
Yep.
Steve
You'll see them towing and the back's down and the front's down the other one, that's going to cause you problems. But I think if that part gets levelled out, it should increase your tyre wear.
Trent
One of the things that just annoys me is when people put stupid rims on the wrong car. One of the current ones you see a lot because there are so many SUVs on the road, is you buy an SUV that's got a 17, an 18-inch rim on it, someone goes and puts a 20, a 22-inch rim.
Small side wall, low profile tyre. You just cannot assume that that tyre on that wheel is going to allow that vehicle to do what it would've done with the standard wheels and tyres on it, right?
Steve
Yeah, that's a great, great question. Look, it doesn't work. Low profile when you're four-wheel driving, you're in trouble, you'll bend wheels, you'll split tyres. And it's just not right.
If you missed our special, Drive Safer on Channel Nine, you can watch it in full on 9Now here. We've linked it here for you too.
Want to make a difference? Sign our petition to implement a nationally recognised towing licence for Australian drivers.