Workwear for tyre fitters

Many tyre businesses also run mobile vans and roadside call-outs, which bring traffic and weather into the picture alongside the workshop. Kit has to work in both places, and look the same in each.

Knees and backs

A fitter can kneel hundreds of times a day removing wheel nuts and checking tread. Knee pad trousers with proper pads inside, not just reinforced patches, make the biggest single difference to comfort over a career.

Trousers with a bit of stretch and a higher back rise stop the waistband dropping when bending to lift a wheel. Some fitters prefer a bib and brace for the same reason.

Dropped wheels and feet

A van or 4x4 wheel dropped on a foot does real damage. Safety boots with a toe cap are standard, and a sole that grips on smooth, sometimes wet workshop floors matters. An S3 or S1P boot under EN ISO 20345 also protects against the screws and nails pulled out of punctured tyres. Truck and agricultural tyre fitters handle far heavier wheels, so check the boot's toe cap and sole suit that work too.

Roadside and mobile fitting

Mobile fitters work on driveways, car parks and sometimes the hard shoulder. Hi-vis is essential near traffic, and Class 3 is often specified for motorway and high-speed roadside work. Check your risk assessment and any fleet customer's requirements.

A waterproof hi-vis jacket and a hi-vis fleece let fitters stay visible whatever the weather. Fleet customers often ask to see that mobile technicians are equipped correctly before they work on site.

Rubber and grime on hands

Tyre lubricant, brake dust and rubber blacken hands quickly. Coated work gloves keep grip on wet rubber while protecting against wheel rim edges and wire strands from worn tyres. Keep a stock of disposable gloves for fitting alloy wheels on customer cars, so nothing gets marked. A barrier cream before the shift and a proper hand cleaner in the van make a real difference to cracked, sore hands over a winter.

Where to put your logo

Embroider polos and softshells on the left chest; stitching copes with the dirt and hot washes better than small prints. Mobile fitters benefit from a large printed logo and phone number on the back of hi-vis, which roadside customers and passing drivers see. On hi-vis, keep branding on the fluorescent fabric only, never over reflective tape, and keep it sized so the garment still meets its class.

Ordering for tyre fitters

Most tyre fitters start with holster and kneepad trousers, workwear polo shirts and safety boots. You can order from one garment and add more as you take people on. The logo price drops at 9 and again at 25 garments, and every garment with a small logo counts towards it, so mixing styles and colours still gets the better price. Before anything is made, we embroider an actual sample of your logo and email you a photo to approve, or you can pop in to our Hull workshop to see it.