Fleet & Commercial Tyres Buying Guide

Choosing tyres for a business fleet is a very different task than simply choosing them for a personal car.

For fleet and commercial vehicles, there’s numerous key points to consider.

This includes duty cycle, downtime cost, and total cost per mile, to name a few. There’s a lot to weigh up, rather than just going with the lowest upfront price alone. After all, these factors can all have a much greater impact on your business than saving some money on the initial cost of a set of tyres.

In this article, our experts have shared a handy guide for van, truck, agricultural and light commercial fleet owners and operators, looking to decide who to trust with your tyre supply.

Match your tyres to the job

First up, you’ll need to match the tyre specification with the actual job that the vehicle is being used for.

Naturally, different commercial vehicles will have very different demands. So, the specification of your chosen tyres will need to reflect this.

The tyres you select for your fleet will need to be suitable for the frequency of your journeys, the average distance of a journey, and the typical surfaces or driving conditions the vehicles will be used in (e.g. road, or fields and rural terrain for agricultural vehicles).

In terms of the tyre specs, the key considerations here include:

– Load index
– Speed rating
– Axle position

A professional fleet tyre supplier will be able to understand these differences, and help you select the best fit tyres for your specific applications and context.

Weigh upfront cost against the cost of downtime

Although it’s tempting to focus on the unit price, this shouldn’t be a determining factor.

A tyre that’s cheaper in the short term can soon lead to far higher long term costs, if issues occur.

Cheaper tyres typically wear down at a faster rate, and are more prone to issues.

For a business, this vehicle downtime can result in missed deliveries, delayed jobs, or expensive short-term replacement vehicle hire, leading to significant extra costs.

So, you should weigh up tyre options in a way that considers overall value – both upfront cost plus dependability, quality and predicted lifespan.

Finding a versatile supplier

It’s not uncommon for businesses to operate mixed fleets. For example, businesses may have both vans and trucks, or operate both delivery vehicles and agricultural equipment.

So, there’s a lot of value in finding a supplier that can service a mixed fleet (rather than having to work with several different suppliers that can each only cater to a single vehicle type).

This is a great way to simplify ordering, servicing and ongoing fleet management, with a single point of contact, plus giving you the opportunity to utilise discounts for bulk orders or repeat purchases.

The importance of consistency

As your fleet – and business – grows, it becomes increasingly valuable to have a strong relationship with a trusted tyre supplier.

A reputable, trusted local supplier will get to know your business and specific requirements, including operating conditions and priorities. This means they’ll be able to advise on suitable replacement tyres, recommend best fit solutions for your context, and be a dependable point of contact should an unexpected issue occur.

In comparison, if you’re constantly looking for the cheapest one-off quote, not only does it become harder to maintain consistency across your fleet, but you can’t build up that supportive long term relationship.

At Watling Tyres, we are a trusted, certified and accredited tyre supplier, with extensive experience and industry knowledge. We offer versatile and flexible commercial and mobile tyre fitting services, supplying a wide variety of van, fleet, truck, agricultural and light commercial tyres. We also offer emergency call-outs for our customers, providing you with a dependable one-stop solution for your business.

To find out more about our tyre range, or to enlist our team to support your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch.