Tire Buying Tips For People Who Live Down Rural Gravel Roads

If you access your property via a rural gravel road, then these tips will help you choose the best tires for this type of daily driving:

Larger Tires Are Always Better for Rural Driving

When you drive your vehicle off of paved roads on a regular basis, then installing larger tires is always a good choice, and conversely, installing smaller tires is always a bad idea. Larger tires will help your vehicle handle better on bumpy surfaces, and they will also keep the undercarriage higher off the ground to protect the oil pan from rock damage. 

Consider Either All-Season or All-Terrain Tires

If you do less driving on a gravel road than you do on a paved road, then you should opt for all-season tires. However, if you put more off-road miles on your car than highway miles, then opting for all-terrain tires is best. 

When it comes to tires, all season generally means highway and city driving with an occasional camping trip or light gravel road driving. This type of tire is less expensive than all terrain, is better for fuel efficiency, and is perfectly adequate for driving in the harsh weather.

However, for vehicles often driven on gravel roads or offroad, a better choice is tires rated for all terrain. These tires have a more aggressive tread, are made with softer rubber for better gravel road handling, and will handle better on rougher roads.

Avoid Purchasing Extreme-Terrain Rated Tires for Vehicles Ever Drive on Pavement

In addition to all-season and all-terrain tires, there is another classification of tires referred to as extreme-terrain or "mud" tires. Tires rated for mud and extreme terrain are made of a softer rubber with much more aggressive and farther-spaced treads.

The larger treads on this type of tire allow mud to easily pass through them and this helps to avoid getting stuck. However, the larger treads and softer rubber will also make your vehicle's gas efficiency plummet if you drive this type of tire on paved highways. For this reason, this type of tire should be avoided except on vehicles always used for offroading.  

Spend Some Time Talking to the Salesperson at the Tire Store About Your Specific Needs

As a rural homeowner who needs to drive over a gravel road under a wide variety of different weather conditions, it's important you spend some time speaking to the salesperson at your local tire shop before selecting your vehicle's new tires. Since you have unique needs, it's important that your car's tires handle well, don't unnecessarily decrease fuel-efficiency, and yet hold up well under the additional stresses your local roads introduce.

Visit a local tire shop for more information.


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