Departure check
Tyre and wheel check
Pressure, tread depth, damage and wheel bolts
The tyres are your only point of contact with the road, and a damaged or overloaded tyre can cost stopping distance or cause skidding. Here is the thorough tyre and wheel check you can add on top of the daily inspection.
Check the tyre pressure cold
Measure the pressure with a tyre pressure gauge while the tyres are cold, and compare with the vehicle's data plate/owner's manual. The pressure varies by axle and load — always use the manufacturer's figures, not an estimate. Pressure that is too low causes overheating and increased rolling resistance.
Look up the correct pressure in the vehicle data — it is not one fixed figure for all axles.
Measure the tread depth
Measure in the wide main tread pattern (the central grooves covering approx. ¾ of the tread). For vehicles over 3,500 kg that can travel faster than 40 km/h, the legal requirement has been at least 1.6 mm since 1 July 2025 (previously 1.0 mm). New tyres typically have 7–8 mm.
Legal requirementmin. 1.6 mm (from 1 July 2025)New tyreapprox. 7–8 mmCheck for damage and wear patterns
Inspect for visible cords, bulges, cracks, cuts and foreign objects. Uneven wear across the tyre may indicate incorrect wheel alignment, imbalance or a brake problem — not just ordinary wear.
Check wheel nuts and re-torquing
Check that all wheel-nut indicators are aligned. A rotated indicator means the nut has worked loose — stop immediately and retighten with a torque wrench to the vehicle's specified tightening torque. After a wheel change, the nuts must be retightened after the first few kilometres.
The tightening torque is in the vehicle data — use a torque wrench, not guesswork.
Check valves and nuts
Check that valve caps are fitted, that no air is leaking, and that wheel nuts and tyre beads are intact. On twin wheels: check that no stones or objects are trapped between the tyres.
Compare the tyre's load capacity with the axle load
The tyre's permitted load is read from the load index (LI) on the sidewall (the ECE R 54 table converts LI into kg per tyre). Divided by the number of wheels, the axle load must stay below the tyres' combined load capacity — use the calculator «Tyre load capacity vs. axle load» to check the margin.
Use the Discebo «Tyre load capacity» calculator and read the LI from the tyre sidewall — never hard-code a load capacity.
Inspect the spare wheel and tools
If there is a spare wheel, it must be correctly secured and in roadworthy condition. Check that the jack and wheel brace/torque wrench are present and in working order.
Record findings
Write down pressure values, tread depths and any damage. A tyre close to the limit should be scheduled for replacement before it reaches the legal limit — so you are not stopped with an illegal tyre on a trip.
Source
Based on Færdselsstyrelsen's guidance on tyres (tread depth) and the lorry calculator «Tyre load capacity» (ECE R 54) here on Discebo.