Light Truck (LT) vs Passenger Tyres
Have you ever looked at the markings on your set of tyres and wondered what they mean? Sure, we can figure out the size easily enough but what about the rest of the lettering?
When you fit a quality set of tyres to your vehicle and your van, you should always look for ones designated ‘LT’ for Light Truck. Don’t let the name fool you – putting a set of Light Truck tyres on won’t make your setup ride like a rough old dumptruck. However it does massively increase how tough and durable your tyres are, especially over Original Equipment car tyres.
I’ve been running Cooper Discoverer tyres on my tow vehicles and vans for years, and one of the things I love about them is their Light Truck classification. When towing caravans I always choose light truck or LT construction tyres for both the tow vehicle and the caravan.
They’re responsible for delivering the traction and strength off-road as well as importantly having a high load rating. This is paramount for those us who tow caravans which are regularly loaded up.
Your factory set of tyres are no doubt fine if you’re happy just to plug up and down the highway on the odd occasion. But if like a lot of us, you dream of wandering further afield, down our country back roads and up dirt tracks to those stunning free camps, then Light Truck-designated tyres like the Cooper Discoverers are what you want.
It all comes down to their tougher internal construction. When you hit a pot-hole or a rock, you need the confidence that your tyres can shake it off. Factory or ‘highway terrain’ type tyres aren’t made of as thick internal construction as Light Truck tyres, and something as small as a pothole can cause unrepairable tyre damage.
Light Truck construction tyres have a more aggressive pattern than highway terrain tyres with stronger side walls and better protection from side wall damage. Interestingly they also have cut and chip resistance and give substantially better traction on wet slippery surfaces. This means when you’re up that dirt track heading for a free camp, you can be confident in the traction you have available.
The technology in new A/T³ tyres has advanced dramatically over recent years and most caravanners find they are quite suitable even when not towing.
I choose A/T³ tyres for the above reasons but particularly for their higher load rating when towing.
It’s reassuring to note the testing that has been done on Australian roads to prove the suitability of Light Truck All Terrain tyres for our conditions.
Cooper have also gone to extreme lengths to ensure that their Light Truck-rated tyres are as comfortable and quiet as your factory tyres. We buy our tow vehicles because they’re comfortable, and there’s no sense ruining that.
If you’re planning the big lap around the island I’d recommend you consider Cooper’s Light Truck-rated Discoverer tyres. In the last 7 years of towing in all climates and over all road surfaces they’ve never let me down once!
