I need a new tyre for my mid-lift axle, in the past I’ve been able to get hold of “runners” but it seems that these have dried up of late so I’ll have to bit the bullet and put a new one on. I don’t want to spend a fortune on it as it will go out of shape before it wears out, any recommendations for a cheap but good quality mid-lift tyre?
I only ever bought 1 mid lift tyre as it was cheap, now I fit new to the front every time and wear the part worn out off the front on the mid lift, not that this helps you in any way as I just thought yours is on super singles up front 
Yes, that’s part of the problem, I have got super singles on the steer axle so I can’t rotate tyres. I would never personally run super singles on the steer axle but they were there when I bought the thing and the stars have never been right to replace wheels and tyres.
I wouldn’t normally recommend Goodyears, but the smalley mid lifts on my company issue (i’m not an od) MAN have just been recut @ 4/5mm approx @ 280k, thats full weight mixed road use when loaded but i do raise the lifter when tight turning in yards and obviously when empty which is around half the vehicle mileage.
Have you punched in your size on Tyreleader (German site that also sell lorry tyres), good place for guide price and you might just find a bargain.
I got some cheapies from ats called antyre I think (will have a look when the sun comes up) price wa sub 200, again I will look up the bill and get back in the morningish 
On our midlifts i ether use our own Michelin caseings that have been encored by Michelin or a part worn from the drive axle never recut it not worth the money as the tread lifts.
I’ve had new Zeta D909’s on for the last 12 months, worn out now but the cost £140 each so half the price of a Bridgestone etc.
Try Newtown Tyres, you pay delivery if you don’t order more than four though.
i use Primewell , about 250 quid from ATS but last forever
Re-cut steer tyres are our first choice for a mid-lift. If we have to buy something to put on, Taurus ‘U’ pattern (from ATS) are cheap and do very well on tag axles, so should last forever on a mid-lift.
The pattern is the same as the old-skool Michy zig-zag type.
There’s a good tyre and rim sitting on the A14 West bound at the St Ives junction. its against the central reservation and it’s in good nick. looks like a new tyre and it’s rolled off a wagon and is upright. been there for weeks. Help yourself if you can get to it.
Buy a cheap but not Chinese trailer tyre for a mid lift. Trailer tyres are designed to be scrubbed, so they last longer in a mid lift position. An added advantage is that trailer tyres generally also have a lower rolling resistance than an all position or drive position tyre.
If your plans are on track and you don’t intend on having the truck at the end of the summer then cheap and cheerful has to be the way to go.
I ended up buying a Toledo, it was £185+VAT. It is Chinese, but it’s been on there three days and it hasn’t burst yet. 
It’s the first time I’ve bought a budget tyre, I figure it’s a waste of money buying a premium tyre for the mid-lift because it will go out of shape long before it wears out. It is eu stamped so I’m assuming it should be of reasonable quality but I’ll let you know how I get on with it.
When you say out of shape, what do you mean by that?
A little extra shoulder wear? Or strange wear patterns on the shoulders and treads?
If it’s the first then that’s to be expected as the tyre is dragged through turns due to its position.
If it’s the second then that points to either an alignment problem or loose wheel bearings.
The simple way to check is to examine the tyre you just took off and if you run your hand across the tread and it is feathered, I.E. smooth in one direction, rough in the other, then you need an alignment, if the wear is smooth in both directions then it’s loose wheel bearings.
Over or under inflation can also cause strange wear patterns and combined with miss alignment or loose bearings it can do some really odd things to a tyre. Especially on a mid lift as they carry a lower weight than a front tyre so don’t need as much air in them, so they’re often over inflated.
A couple of minutes with a pressure gauge and a quick rub over the tread with your hand once a week can save a fortune over the life of a tyre.
Some of the tyres on our mid lift DAF cf’s have started to look like 50 pence pieces on the outer edge. They get little use and we are often not carrying much weight.
As Mick says, they tend to go a bit 50p piece shaped at the edges over time. I find my mid-lift axle takes about the same weight as my steer axle, current weights are
Axle 1 5820kg
Axle 2 5950kg
Axle 3 9550kg
Axle 4 6260kg
Axle 5 6210kg
Axle 6 6250kg
Gross 40060kg
I’ll keep an eye on this one and see how it behaves, I’d still prefer a budget new tyre to a good quality remould on the mid-lift.
Oh the remould is definitely best avoided. Ideally you’d have the weight biased more to the drive axle, but then your steering will be light, bit of a no win situation.
I’d have the wheel bearings checked for tightness, but wouldn’t bother with an alignment unless your steer tyres are showing abnormal wear.
Also try different pressures, do that rubbing your hand across the tread thing to check wear patterns as you’ll feel it long before you can see it.
bazstan009:
I got some cheapies from ats called antyre I think (will have a look when the sun comes up) price wa sub 200, again I will look up the bill and get back in the morningish
Sorry Harry forgot all about this. [emoji20]
bazstan009:
bazstan009:
I got some cheapies from ats called antyre I think (will have a look when the sun comes up) price wa sub 200, again I will look up the bill and get back in the morningishSorry Harry forgot all about this. [emoji20]
No problems, but how long have they been on, and how do they seem to be wearing?
Harry Monk:
bazstan009:
bazstan009:
I got some cheapies from ats called antyre I think (will have a look when the sun comes up) price wa sub 200, again I will look up the bill and get back in the morningishSorry Harry forgot all about this. [emoji20]
No problems, but how long have they been on, and how do they seem to be wearing?
Fitted last may and done 80000k now at 12m and even wear, I run at an average of 30 t.