Road Trip Ready: A Quick Maritime Tire Safety Checklist

You can pack the cooler and still forget the one thing that touches the road. Before a Maritime road trip, give the tires ten honest minutes. It is boring. It also prevents most of the roadside calls we hear about in July and August.

1. Pressure — including the spare

Use the door sticker, not the max PSI moulded on the tire. Check all four when cold, then the spare. A dead spare turns a simple puncture into a wrecked weekend.

Heading out in a heat wave? Read how heat damages tires so you know why soft tires fail on hot pavement.

2. Tread depth (toonie test)

Stick a toonie in the main groove.

• Silver outer band still covered? You have usable depth left
• Only the gold centre showing? Start shopping — wet roads and highway speeds are a poor mix with bald tires

Heavy rain on coastal highways is normal here. You want tread that can still move water.

3. Quick visual once-over

Look for nails, cuts, uneven shoulder wear, and cracked sidewalls. Uneven wear often means you need an alignment more than a new set — though sometimes you need both.

4. Torque if you recently swapped wheels

After a seasonal swap, re-torque lug nuts after the first 50–100 km. Any ATK shop can do that quickly — find a location.

Towing a trailer this trip?

Trailer tires play by different rules. Read trailer tire maintenance before you hitch up.

Ready for a pre-trip check or a new set? Book an appointment or shop tires online.

Common questions

How long does a pre-trip check take?

Pressure, tread, and a walk-around: about ten minutes at home. In the shop we can go deeper if something looks off.

Do I need winter tires for a September Cabot Trail run?

Usually not in early September. Watch overnight lows — once daily highs sit near 7°C, start planning the winter swap (7°C rule).

Can you check my spare if I stop in?

Yes. Bring the vehicle in and ask. Spares get ignored until the worst possible moment.