Hi there.
I am a new operator / owner driver. I passed my cpc exams back in September and was granted a operators licence early this year. I have put a deposit down on a 2008 26t Scania which will be ready for me to collect next month. I need to find a good tyre management company for dealing with blowouts. I am based in SE London. Although much of my work will be deliveries in London and the South East I also have other work that will take me all over the UK so I need to be covered for all of the UK.
Does anybody have any recommendations for a decent tyre company to use? I have googled ghv tyre companies and there is a plethora of firms all promising the best service at the best price. Any suggestions or your good or bad experiences would be greatley appreciated.
Thanks, Matt
ATS is probably the largest company, and do a reasonable call out time if needed, but, they are not the cheapest
you will find that your local commercial tyre fitter will normally be part of a network system, as in, if your fitter is based in London, and you have a blow out on the M62, they will send a local firm to your location out to you
Just carry a debit card and a mobile with internet access to be able to ring a few companies. I wonder why Michelin have not re branded ATS?
tyre work are a resnobley priced company that operate in that area they have a depot in hounslow and aylesford as for ats there ok if your stuck with no one else to use but they are way overpriced if you ask me as suggested smart phone google creditdebit card is a good one it pays to shop around
Use ATS for emergency call outs & the local fellow for non urgent stuff.
Silver_Surfer:
Use ATS for emergency call outs & the local fellow for non urgent stuff.
Ats are Getting wise to this. I asked why I had a £10 admin charge on top of a breakdown call out the other week. Got the charge credited, as I buy all my tyres from them, they said they were charging people who only using them for breakdowns more than their regular customers. Only a matter of time before the “admin” charge is up to 3 figures IMHO.
In answer to the ops question, I would recommend ats as i find they are cheaper than the local tyre people for high end tyres, ie Michelin, conti, Bridgestone. Plus they are all over the country, and it’s rare it takes more than 90 mins to get them to a breakdown. Also I pay the same price for my tyres no matter which ats depot I use. Just don’t fall behind in payments to them as they will stop your account if more than 7 days overdue.
G&S Tyres in Barking, they’ll hook you up with a national network.
Thanks for all your replys guys. ATS looks like the ones to get me out of trouble if i’m stuck. I’ve managed to find a reasonable local company who can do my regular tyre changes so I will have to see how things go.
Even a £10 charge to ATS for a breakdown is worth it as they have the largest network. Thing is they make on the breakdowns anyway especially out of hours and can pretty much dictate the tyre you have anyway so can’t see an issue. Soz mate only new Mich’s in stock at 2 in the morning, you ain’t gonna argue.
Having said my previous comment I’d still use ATS regular if they were local to an ops centre.
Don’t mind me asking like, and i know this is kinda old fashioned and i wouldn’t expect a modern paid driver to do this (i hear them fainting at the suggestion), but you are an OD after all and keeping costs down and lessening downtime is in your interests.
If you have one standard tyre size, or say 6 tyres @ size X and only 2 @ size Y, wouldn’t it be better and far cheaper to carry a spare wheel in size X plus jack wheelbrace large lever (or spade) to force the wheel up onto the studs plus a large lump hammer, then change you’re own in the event of a blowout?
Ask your local tyre man if he can organise call outs nationally, as an O/D your going to be looking after your tyres religiously (regular pressures checks/inpections for damage) and generally avoiding the crap that knackers your tyres, so call outs are not going to be a regular thing…hopefully 
The alternative is:
Juddian:
If you have one standard tyre size, or say 6 tyres @ size X and only 2 @ size Y, wouldn’t it be better and far cheaper to carry a spare wheel in size X plus jack wheelbrace large lever (or spade) to force the wheel up onto the studs plus a large lump hammer, then change you’re own in the event of a blowout?
and get one of these
ebay.co.uk/itm/1-drive-Torqu … 2a2bd11760
These will shift any siezed wheelnut an air gun won’t shift, I’ve seen sparks fly off stubborn nuts when I’ve cracked them off with mine 
As an O/D I will be looking after my tyres religiously and so hopefully blow outs will not be a regular occurrence. I would probably stick to getting somebody to do it for me rather than tackling it on my own if it is not going to happen too much. I started this thread for advice of companies I can use as I like to be prepared if something does go wrong.
Find a local dealer who is a member of the NTDA. They can organise a breakdown cover with another member.
ntda.co.uk/index.html
Wheel Nut:
Find a local dealer who is a member of the NTDA. They can organise a breakdown cover with another member.
ntda.co.uk/index.html
Don’t know how many networks there are, but my tyre dealers are part of this one
itdn.org.uk/index.html