My tyres develop flat patches after parking for a while

Hello Paul, my Toyota Hill pickup has developed flat patches on three tyres after I parked it with scaffolding for eight weeks on a concrete floor. Is it a tyre quality issue or is there a preventive measure I could have taken? Nkwanga

Hello Nkwanga, your pickup tyres are experiencing flat spotting. Flat spots on tyres usually occur when cars are parked for days, weeks or months under vehicle load. Flat spots happen to the tyre surface in contact with the parking surface.

Flat spots on tyres are an issue because they can affect ride quality or cause vibration as you drive. Tyre flat spots occur when a section of a vehicle tyre is in contact with the surface of a parking spot. Ordinarily, a rolling tyre generates heat, which makes it flexible all round as opposed to when it is parked and tends to become flat as the temperatures change from warm during the day to cold at night.
This is made worse when the tyre stays in the same spot for days, weeks or months. Tyre pressure can cause tyre flat spotting, especially when the tyres have low pressure and the vehicle is overloaded (with heavy cargo like your scaffolding) before it is parked. Here are a few tips to prevent flat spotting:

*Maintain correct tyre pressure and avoid operating the car.
* Before parking the car for a long or extended period of time, increase tyre pressure by 3 psi to avoid flat spotting.
* Frequently start and move the car to change tyre contact points with the ground.
* Where possible Jack up the car and place it on safe purpose built workshop car stands.