I am finding it difficult getting details and costs for a (if there are such things) tyre maintenance and replacement contract. Am I right in thinking that its possible to pay a set monthly price to have emergency cover for this? Also, would anyone know the approximate cost of regular tyres on say a Actros trac unit. cheers
Budget between £200-300 per tyre. I’m not so hot on life span, anyone care to put me right on expected km?
Mattwoodtransport:
Budget between £200-300 per tyre. I’m not so hot on life span, anyone care to put me right on expected km?
Varies wildly depending on weight and terrain, as a very rough rule of thumb I’d expect to get about 200,000km from a mid range tyre on mostly maximum weight work.
I would’ve been out n that then, I’d got it in my head that only the driver with the most vehicle sympathy would get that sort of km’s.
Eg, no screwing it round in the yard, easy on the breaks, easy on the loud pedal.
How much variation is there from employed driver to an informed owner driver in km’s.
And same question for difference between front steers? Non steer lifts, steered lifts, drive, and trailer? Obviously there’s various factors, but anyone who shares there experiences, thanks in advance.
Matt
I usually get a year (120,000kms) out of the fronts and then move them onto the midlift, drives can be anywhere from a year to 2 years depending on what work i.m doing, 4 or 5 years back i went through 3 drive tyres in a month ! I wont buy premium in my line of work, in fact i only ever run Taurus on the steer and usually Primewell on the drives as these tend to be a good compromise for what i do
Thanks for that chaversdad, I did wonder how the tyres would work, I was guessing I’d get 100k on the front steers and then move them to my steered midlift. I’m rediculously easy on whatever I drive, never had to change brake pads or tyres on anything I’ve ever owned so did wonder whether they’d die through heat cycles rather than lack of tread.
Ta
Just had all 4 drive axle tyres on a 3 axle W&D replced at 250000k. Third axle rear steer and all three trailer axles are still the original tyres, though the trailer ones have been re cut, as were the drive axle ones. Both fronts were replaced about 6 months ago following a front wheel blow out. All our work is building site and farm deliveries, so they get a reasonably hard life!
kitozz1:
I am finding it difficult getting details and costs for a (if there are such things) tyre maintenance and replacement contract. Am I right in thinking that its possible to pay a set monthly price to have emergency cover for this? Also, would anyone know the approximate cost of regular tyres on say a Actros trac unit. cheers
Tyre contracts do exist though they are not very common in the haulage industry. It is however the normal way of doing things in the bus world, however since the bus companies’ fleets are so massive the deal is normally direct with the manufacturer. Effectively you rent the use of the tyres.
@kitozz, look mate im not having a go at you here but could please acknoweledge the replys people are giving you on one question before you start off with another thread,
Im sure your not doing it delibaretly and i can see your keen but it just comes across as a bit ignorant
Yes I agree I am a little ignorant in that I lack a full understanding and am unsure on many things,I won’t apologise for that because all I am doing is trying to improve that knowledge. If though I have done something out of turn on your forum then sorry although I am ignorant to just what that is but sorry again caversdad.
chaversdad:
I usually get a year (120,000kms) out of the fronts and then move them onto the midlift, drives can be anywhere from a year to 2 years depending on what work i.m doing, 4 or 5 years back i went through 3 drive tyres in a month ! I wont buy premium in my line of work, in fact i only ever run Taurus on the steer and usually Primewell on the drives as these tend to be a good compromise for what i do
For a more premium tyre such as a Michelin or continental that I use on my steers I get approx 200,000km out of them assuming it’s been steer tracked. That’s on 44t regional work, 6x2 t/unit.
Drives approx 250,000km for a premium remould such as a Michelin remix, more like 280,000km for a new Michelin. 200,000 for a new continental on the drive.
These tyres are expensive but get good mileage. If there is a risk of getting them damaged on the job then a cheaper tyre makes more sense.
Thats why mine are only good for a year, after 12 months in the steelworks the fronts are full of nicks and cuts so i move them along to the middle or keep them as spares for the midlift
I always run Michelin on Scania 6x2 (midlift) fitted with a retarder -
Mixed work, very often (80%) 44t - This vehicle is 2 years old and has just had four new drive tyres at 180,000 miles (290,000 km). The steer tyres are half worn, so I’ve swapped the 2nd steer on to the front.
So I hope to be looking at: 4 years from the steer tyres and close to 600,000 km or 360,000 miles
Also, have one on bulk tipping (so 44t all the time) and it is running about 25-30% less (more wear) than this.
Its all in the set up 
. . and not having a loony behind the wheel. 
But back to the original question - Tyre contracts are based on an average of what other people use. If you have a simple account with ATS for example the breakdown cover comes with it (with call out fee) but free callouts to your base.
I’ve just realised my tyre calculations were wrong –
I moved my half worn steer tyres on my 13 plate to the 2nd steer at 290,000km (2nd steer not worn much) so the 2 steer tyres would/should also do 290k on the front and then be half worn - and then be able to do another 290k or so.
So I think I’m looking at 6 years and almost a million km from the steer tyres. Not 4 years and 600k as stated above
I would think that you are doing very well with your steering axle tyres. 2nd steers normally knock the kingpins and spring pins out pretty quickly then the tyres go all lumpy as a result.
I’ve seen that kind of wear cav551 but it can’t be the kingpins and shackle pins at 3 years old?
If the 2nd steer is not carrying much weight a lot of the time then it is surprising how quickly this happens. It is not just the spring anchor pins that suffer radius rods and panhard rods suffer as well.
Not sure what radius rods and panhard rods are but it seems to me there is an underlying issue here like tracking, axle block packing or the fact UK twin steers are not built for the UK and never have been.
Any wear pattern on the steer tyres will only get worse when you transfer the tyre to the 2nd steer axle, or any axle for that matter as the shape of the tyre itself dictates how it will wear.
For example, if you have shoulder wear it will continue to wear and it will do so a lot faster as time goes by. This is because once you get that wear the worn part of the tyre is actually wheel spinning down the road as it is smaller in diameter than the rest of the tyre. You can combat this a little by reducing pressure as the stiff sidewall will hold the shoulder and allow the centre of the tyre to flex to the same diameter as the worn shoulder, but then it will run hot, so it’s by no means a guaranteed cure.
Thats right newmercman but not sure reducing pressure is good for anything.
I have been looking at tyre wear and steering geometry on Scanias for many years now and I have learnt a lot. I would be interested in hearing from any other Scania owners that can share some data.
Even I am amazed by the tyre wear I have acheived with my latest settings and I actually can’t believe that the changes I’ve made have had such a big effect.