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HIGH RIVER // 22 MINUTES

Tire Shop for High River Drivers

High River sits twenty-two minutes south of our door on Highway 2A, and a good share of the town already drives past us on the way to Calgary. We keep the sizes the Highwood valley actually runs: half-tons and three-quarter-tons, stock and utility trailers, and the winter sets that get people to work when Highway 2 is glass at six in the morning.

DRIVE
22 minutes
DISTANCE
22 km via Highway 2A
WE SEE MOST
Trucks, trailers, Calgary commuters
BOOKING
Same week outside the changeover rush
Price your tires Or call (403) 938-3110

The drive from High River

Twenty-two kilometres, one highway, no city traffic.

Highway 2A runs from 12 Avenue SE and Centre Street straight up through Aldersyde and into Okotoks, and it is 22 kilometres door to door. Twenty-two minutes on a normal day, a few more behind a grain truck in the fall. Aldersyde is the halfway mark, which is a useful thing to know when you are deciding whether to wait or drop the vehicle off.

The alternative is Highway 2 north to the Okotoks exit, which is quicker when the 2A is busy and slower once you are in town. Either way you end up on Highway 7 and then on South Railway Street, and we are the shop by the tracks with parking out front. There is no city driving in it and no parkade to find, which is the part High River customers usually mention.

If you are coming up for a changeover, that drive is the argument for leaving the off-season set with us. Two round trips a year with four tires in the back of the truck is 90 kilometres of hauling rubber that could be sitting on our rack instead.

What High River roads do to a set of tires

Truck route grit, county gravel, and a valley that freezes and thaws all winter.

Centre Street and 12 Avenue SE carry the highway traffic through town, and a truck route surface is hard on tires in a specific way: coarse aggregate, heavy braking at the lights, and sand through the winter that scours the tread. Add the freeze and thaw cycle the Highwood valley runs through every chinook and you get the spring pothole crop that bends wheels and knocks alignments out.

Head any direction out of town and the surface changes. Highway 23 east toward Blackie, Highway 543, and the range roads through the county are gravel or chip seal, which cuts sidewalls and rewards a light truck casing over a passenger one. West toward the mountains the roads climb and glaze, and drivers who take that route in winter are the ones who ask us about studs.

The other local factor is wind. The stretch of Highway 2 between High River and Okotoks is exposed, and a crosswind on packed snow moves a light trailer around. That is a tire pressure and load rating conversation as much as a tread one, and it is worth having before winter rather than during it.

What we fit most for High River drivers

Work trucks, trailers, and the Calgary commute.

The town runs on trucks. Half-tons and three-quarter-tons doing farm, oilfield and shift work at the Cargill plant come through here for LT all-terrains in load ranges that match what they actually tow, not what looked cheapest. We pay attention to the load index on those, because a light tire under a loaded truck on Highway 2 is how a sidewall lets go.

Trailers are the second half of it. Stock trailers, utility trailers and fifth wheels all run ST tires that age out long before they wear out, and the ones we replace most are the sets that look brand new and are nine years old. If a trailer sat all summer, check the date codes before you load it.

Then the commuters. A good share of High River works in Calgary, which means an hour a day on Highway 2 in the dark from November to March. That is the clearest case for a real winter tire there is, and the drivers who have made the switch do not go back. For the ones who will not book two changeovers a year, an all-weather set is the honest compromise.

Making one trip out of it

Book ahead, drop it off, and get the whole list done at once.

Because you are driving in, it is worth stacking the work. A changeover, a wheel alignment after pothole season and a rotation and balance in the same visit is one trip instead of three, and the alignment is the one that protects the tires you just paid for.

Book two to three weeks ahead in October and April. Those two windows are the busiest of our year, and once the first snow lands the wait goes from days to two or three weeks. Outside them we are usually same-week, and often same-day for a repair.

You are welcome to wait, and downtown Okotoks is a short walk from the bay if you would rather not. Saturdays we are open nine to one, which is an easy slot to take from High River without losing a work day.

FAQ // HIGH RIVER

Straight Answers

Do you serve High River?

Yes, and a good share of our regulars drive down the 2A. We are 22 kilometres north at 7 S Railway Street in Okotoks, about 22 minutes from Centre Street.

Is it worth driving to Okotoks for tires?

That is your call to make, and the honest answer is that it is 22 minutes for a shop that quotes you the installed total up front and does the work in one visit. Most people who make the drive once keep making it.

How long does a changeover take?

About 45 minutes for a wheel-to-wheel swap, an hour or so for a mount and balance on four. Book two to three weeks ahead in October and April, when the whole Foothills books at once.

Can I get everything done in one visit?

Yes, and you should. Tell us what you need when you book and we will schedule the changeover, alignment, rotation or repair together so the drive is worth it.

Do you store tires for out-of-town customers?

Yes, and plenty of High River customers take it. We chalk-mark the set and rack it in our climate-controlled warehouse, so you are not hauling four tires up the 2A twice a year.

SINCE 1992 34 Years Downtown Same shop, same street, by the tracks.
READERS' CHOICE Award Winner Voted by Western Wheel readers in Okotoks.
ALL-IN PRICING The Quote Holds Mounting, balancing, valves, disposal and tax in the number.
SATURDAYS Open 9 to 1 Because changeovers don't wait for a weekday.

Price your tires, live

Search by vehicle or size and see what fits, with real pricing. Order online and book the install for a day that suits the drive.

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FIND US

Located Downtown
Okotoks

7 S Railway St, Okotoks, AB T1S 1A4

By the tracks, serving Okotoks, High River, Calgary and the Foothills.

MON – THU8:00 AM – 5:30 PM
FRI8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
SAT9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
SUN + STATCLOSED
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