AutoSocks for trucks

After two particularly cold winters, there has been a noticeable increase in the attention of tyre manufacturers on distributing their cold-weather lines in the UK. This of course includes tyre products for commercial vehicles, without which the logistics business would always run the risk of getting stuck. One surprise exhibit at the CV Show addressed this problem is a more surprising way.

You may have heard about AutoSock before, Tyres & Accessories first reported on this interest crossbreed of tyre chains and winter tyre in around 2005. More recently the firm began distributing AutoSock for trucks and vans. And as you can imagine it was this commercial vehicle-orientated footwear that took centre stage at the NEC in April.

Like their passenger car counterparts, Autosock for trucks and vans are reusable textile “socks” which are pulled over the drive wheels of vehicles that need extra grip on snow or ice. According to the company that produces them, AutoSock for trucks can be fitted in “two minutes flat” and retail between £125 and £145 RSP. Currently the truck product is available in 17 sizes ranging from 215/75R15.5 to 315/80R22.5.

The socks are supplied in pairs, packing down to roughly the size of a folded shirt, which makes them easy to store in the cab all year round. And what’s more there’s only one possible way to fit them, so no practice is needed.

Autosock for trucks was launched in 2006 after what the company describes as a “long period of testing, evaluation and improvement” however they are still relatively new to the market over here. The car version has been available since 2002 and debuted in the UK roughly three years later has reportedly sold over 1 million pairs.