Can you guess the second leading cause of tire failure? If you said overloading, you’re right! Your tires can only handle so much, and exceeding the maximum load can cause problems such as excessive wear, reduced tire life due to structural damage, and potentially sudden failure. To avoid a scary experience caused by this issue, follow our guide on how to safely load your vehicle.  

The max load index indicates how much weight your tires can carry, so it’s extremely important that you don’t exceed this number. For most vehicles, this number is printed in the manual on the same label as the recommended tire pressure. You should find this number and remember it. If you’re using a trailer, be sure not to overlook its tongue-weight, as this weight acts directly on the vehicle’s tires as well. If you think you may already be experiencing excessive tread wear, structural tire damage, or other tire issues – you can check out our other Tires 101 pages for tips on how to handle it.