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 Big Tyres will be closed from 29th April to 1st May for the Easter bank holidays. Orders placed after 3pm on 28th April will be dispatched after the break.

Radial Truck & Bus Tyres

Our Radial Truck & Bus Tyre section covers modern commercial truck, trailer, bus & coach applications. We offer tyres for long-haul, regional-haul and urban use, as well as off-road tyres for construction & heavy duty mixed service trucks. We offer the full market of premium, mid-range and economy brands available to order as supply only or with nationwide fitting. We offer competitive pricing & further discounts for full pallet orders.

Search our truck, trailer and bus tyre range using our tyre finder below, all you need is your tyre size to start. Ensure you later filter your results to only display tyres that match or exceed your current tyres load and speed rating. Ensure you filter or select a tyre that is marked as suitable for the axle it is to be used on (steer, drive, trailer, all position). If you have an older, vintage or military truck or bus you may need to search our Crossply Truck & Bus Tyres section to find your required tyre size.

Search Radial Truck & Bus Tyres

TRUCK & BUS TYRE BRANDS

TRUCK & BUS TYRE INFORMATION

Modern commercial truck and bus tyre sizes will look like 295/80R22.5 or 315/80R22.5. These are metric sizes, with the first number being the tyre WIDTH, next after the '/' comes the tyre PROFILE, and the final number is the RIM size. These size have an "R" in them to show that they are of RADIAL construction. So a 295/80R22.5 tyre has a WIDTH of 295mm, a PROFILE of 80%, is of Radial construction and fits a 22.5 inch RIM.

Light trucks or vintage trucks or buses can sometimes have tyres with imperial size marking, such as 7.50R16 and 12.00R20. A 7.50R20 tyre has a WIDTH of 7.5 inches, is of Radial construction, and fits a RIM of 20" diameter. A lot of vintage or classic trucks/bus, and some military vehicles use Crossply tyres instead of Radial. Crossply tyres have a '-' instead of the 'R' in their size marking. This means they are CROSSPLY (OR Bias Ply) construction. If you require these then please search our Bias Truck Tyres section.

A truck tyre's Speed Index is the maximum safe speed that the truck tyre is manufactured to travel at, and is represented by a letter from A to Z. The truck tyre's Load Index is the maximum weight that the tyre can safely support, and is a usually a two or three digit number. The higher this number is the more weight the truck tyre can carry. It is imperative for the safety of the vehicle and its occupants that tyres with high enough Speed and Load Indexes are chosen. Check the Load and Speed ratings of your current truck tyres before ordering replacements. Many truck tyres have a dual load and speed index marking such as 154/150M, where the lower second 3-digit load index number applies only if your tyre is mounted in a dual wheel configuration on the axle. So the truck load and speed index of 154/150M, indicates the tyre can carry 3,750Kg at 81 Mph when on a single axle fitment, or 3,350kg at 81 Mph when part of a duel fitment. The tables below show what other common truck tyre load and speed index numbers/letters relate to in KG and MPH.

Truck tyres are usually manufactured to excel on either the Steer, Drive or Trailer axle of your truck or bus. The position the tyre is designed for is shown against our tyres in our online listings, helping you to select the ideal tyre for your application. The definitions and characteristics of each type of tyre position are explained below:

 

  • Steer Position - Steer tyres are designed to perform at their best when used on the front (steer) axle position. They take all the stresses and strains of turning your vehicle, and are possibly the most important tyres on your truck or bus. They are optimised for precise and smooth steering, handling, driving performance and driver comfort. They are the first tyres on your vehicle to hit wet roads, so they need to be able to disperse water effectively. They usually feature ribbed tread designs to help channel water away from the tyre and to give them their superior aquaplaning resistance properties. Steer tyres also have the biggest impact on driver comfort in the cabin and tend to be designed to minimise external noise and vibrations. Tyres on the front steer axle experience the most wear due to the added stress from braking and cornering, so their durability is important to maximise tread life. Steer tyres can also be used on trailer positions in some instances, and even on the drive axle when used on a bus or coach. 

  • Drive Position - Drive tyres are designed exclusively for drive (or torque) axles, which are usually located right behind the steering axle. Drive tyres are the workhorse for your vehicle as they are responsible for turning engine power into forward motion. They achieve this by providing maximum traction against the road surfaces, with tread patterns usually featuring lug-type and siped tread designs to give traction on asphalt, concrete, and gravel. Drive axle tyres are subject to high braking pressure and so also need to have strong grip to help minimise braking distances. Drive axle tyres also need to have good strength to cope with a high load rating, as drive tyres typically carry the highest axle load of the whole vehicle. Drive position tyres don’t experience the same amount of wear as steering axle tyres, and should mainly be selected to deliver durability, traction, and the ability to withstand high torque all on a variety of surfaces and conditions. Drive pattern tyre treads can also be selected depending on your usage, with closed shoulder drive tyres being best suited for highway use in high speed and long haul operations using tandem axle configurations, whereas more open shoulder drive tyres are best suited for regional operations with single axles experiencing higher torque.

  • Trailer Position -  Trailer tyres are designed to perform best in free-rolling, trailer axle positions (often located near the back of the trailer). Trailer tyres are responsible for supporting most of the weight of the trailer load. They must be able to carrying these heavy and often varying static and dynamic loads, and be able to withstand strong lateral and braking forces. They are also designed to deliver maximum tread life and high fuel efficiency. They often feature reinforced sidewalls to help protect their casing from curbing damage, are are designed to help protect against scrubbing, which can result in rapid and uneven tyre wear. When choosing trailer tyres, consider the maximum weight of the loads you will be moving as overloading your trailer tyres can decrease fuel efficiency, cause premature wear, and potentially a blowout. Consider the terrain you will be driving on, as rough terrain may require an on/off-road tyre that ideally has cut and chip protection. Paved on-road usage should prioritise wear and fuel efficiency.

  • All Position - All Position tyres are mostly built with the steer axle in mind, but are designed to be versatile and can perform well on trailer and drive axles in certain applications. They are built with a durable construction to handle the varying stresses they might encounter. They often have a tread pattern that will deliver traction, with wide shoulder blocks to improve stability and cornering performance. They often have reinforced sidewalls to resist damage from curbs and debris during urban driving. All Position tyres allow you to replace a tyre in any position in the event of a failure, and can be rotated between different tyre positions if needed. All Position tyres can be perfect for trucks that frequently switch tasks, as they can handle the different demands of different roles. They are commonly associated with urban transport vehicles rather than long haul trucks. National and international fleets should instead ideally use the correct steer, drive and trailer tyres for optimal performance, as All Position tyres are not as effective as the others under more extreme conditions, and you will not get as much traction from an All Positions tyre compared to a Drive tyre.

Truck, bus and coach tyres are usually designed with a certain usage or application in mind, such as Long Hall (highway), Regional, Urban, Coach/Bus and On/Off Road. Each application requires different tyre attributes and so it should be considered whenever replacing your tyres. Each application is explained in more detailed below. 

  • Long Haul - Vehicles that travel most of the life on highways and motorways, often travelling long distances over 300 miles at consistently high speeds. Tyres for long haul use are designed to handle heavier loads and withstand extended periods of use. Tread life and fuel performance are enhanced to provide the lowest total cost of ownership.

  • Regional - Vehicles that travel a lot of their life on 2 lane secondary roads, generally travelling medium distances and returning to base at night. Tyres for regional use are made to handle various road conditions, frequent starts and stops, and offer excellent traction for winding roads. 

  • Urban - Vehicles that travel most of their life on city streets and experience a lot of stop-start city traffic. Average speeds are typcially less than 50 kmh / 30 mph. Tyres for urban use are designed to perform on non aggressive surfaces and to withstand a high amount of stress from tight turns, heavy braking, curbs and road hazards.

  • Coach/Bus - Vehicles that travel long, medium or short distances carrying passengers over all road types from highway, secondary and city streets. Coach/Bus tyres are designed to give low noise, low vibration and improved comfort, whilst providing grip in all seasons. Fuel economy is also focused on. 

  • Mixed Service (Mild On/Off Road) - Vehicles that typically spend 80% on-road and 20% off-road, such as construction and civil enginerring transportation vehicles travelling short to medium haul distances often carrying heavier loads at slower speeds. Tyres for mixed service & mild on/off road use are designed with more aggressive treads to deliver traction off road, but still have a focus on delivering high milage, durability and a level of comfort when on-road. 

  • Severe Service (Severe On/Off Road) - Typically work vehicles (dump trucks and service vehicles) travelling short distances and operating mainly off-road on construction sites, mines or quarries. Tyres for severe service on/off road use are often heavy-duty tyres that feature aggressive tread designs. Many severe service on/off truck tyres will be marked as Mud & Snow (M+S) or (3PMSF) and will deliver superior traction in unpaved conditions, and will feature cut and chip resistance to help minimise damage from rocks and worksite hazards.

Big Tyres work with dedicated fitters across the entire nation to enable us to provide you with fast truck tyre fitting at a great price. We have carefully chosen experienced mobile fitters to cover the whole country, ensuring that your new tyres can be fitted soon after delivery. All of our fitters carry CSCS cards, are fully insured and have extensive truck and bus tyre fitting experience. You can add fitting online when you purchase your tyres. See our Tyre Fitting Information Page for more details.

Tyre labelling is an EU requirement and scores tyres in 3 main areas as follows:

  • Rolling Resistance - The grades range from A to E, informing you about the relative fuel efficiency performance level. 'A' is the highest performance tyre in its category; 'E' is currently the least performing.
  • Wet Grip - The grades range from A to E, informing you about the relative wet grip performance level. 'A' is the highest performance tyre in its category; 'E' is currently used to represent the least performing.
  • External Noise - The tyre's exterior noise is expressed in decibels (dB) and will show one, two or three sounds waves. These sounds waves highlight the performance of the test against the current law. Three bars indicate that the tyre meets current limits, two bars indicates that the tyre meets limits that are to come into effect in the future and one bar shows that the tyre is a further 3dB below future limits.


Tyre labelling that was introduced in 2012 and requires every new passenger tyre sold within Europe to be labelled. There are some exceptions which include retread tyres, professional off road tyres (POR), racing tyres, spare tyres and tyres with a speed rating less than 50 mph. The EU's aim being to significantly improve the efficiency and safety of road transport, and give consumers the ability to make more informed decisions when buying new tyres.

To ensure safe winter weather driving some EU countries require tyres to be stamped with either the M&S (Mud and Snow) or 3PMSF (3 Peaks Mountain Snow Flake) markings. It is often only required on Drive position tyres, but some countries such as Norway do require it on Steer and Trailer tyres also. The M&S marking is simply a manufacturers own declaration that their truck tyre is suitable for use in Mud and Snow. It is a non-regulated standard. The 3PMSF marking however is a regulated and comparable measure that declares a tyre has passed a traction test in winter conditions in accordance with UNECE Regulation 117. The symbol for the 3PMSF certification is a snowflake inside a mountain with 3 peaks as the below image illustrates.

Truck tyre brands tend to get categorised into premium, mid-range and budget/value. Brands like Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear lead the way in the premium sector. Mid-range brands like Firestone, BFGoodrich & Yokohama are respected. Value brands include manufacturers like Double Coin, Tegrys & Black Lion and offer cost savings whilst providing a level of dependable quality. Budget brands can often come and go in the truck market, and often originate from Asia. We prefer to offer budget brands that have a long standing history and reputation such as our Double Coin range of 'premium' budget tyre.

The difference between the categories (besides price) is often the quality of compounds and raw materials used in manufacture, along with the accuracy of the quality and assurance checking stages which could be visual for budget truck tyres, or include x-ray scanning for more premium products. Generally, as with most things, you get what you pay for, and a premium tyre will outlast a mid-range option and usually reduce your fuel consumption and give better handling and breaking performance for example. Premium tyres will also often come with a more comprehensive warranty, sometimes including accidental tyre damage cover. Many consumers in todays truck market do however place their trust in the budget/value tyre brands and find they get the level of tyre life and performance that suits their needs for the budget they are working too. The only true way to compare them for yourself is to try them and try to keep a record of each truck tyres lifespan by vehicle mileage.