Since I work nights, tires are the single biggest repair catagory I deal with (reefer units being #2). So, I was wondering whether the tires we use over here in the US are different than yours, or if the way you get then repaired/replaced is different?
My fleet has mostly “Low Profile” 295/75R22.5 tires, with a few low pro 24.5s, and even fewer hi profile 11R22.5s.
We have outr units delivered with Goodyear tires, and we have national accounts with Goodyear/Kelly. I buy more Kelly tires than Goodyear, because the T/A truckstop chain carries them. We will also try to find Bandag recaps for trailers, but at night, I don’t waste much time on this.
When there are no Goodyear/Kelly vendors around, I often buy Toyo tires, sometimes Kuomo tires. Once in a long while, only Bridgestone is available.
Only about 5% of flats or blowouts result in a tire callout, most drivers can go slowly with a bad tire to the nearest truckstop for repair. I once had to send a callout to a driver with 2 blowouts in the desert of Idaho, and that was quite expensive.
So, what are you guys riding on? What brands, what sizes? When you flat, do you automatically call a service truck? Are all trailers now on singles? What do you do on the continent? What if you don’t speak the local language?
I know it’s been 4 years since I drove a truck back there Alex , but maybe I can answer one or two things from what I recall.
The most common and in my opinion the best truck tyre (tire LOL) are ‘Continental’ brand and most companies use them, they seem to be the toughest and longer lasting. I would say that 75% of trailers are fitted with ‘Super Singles’ which save on tyre wear and costs.
Trucks back in the UK have a gross of more than 30% heavier than here and the regulations are tougher. I have often pulled trailers here with less tread than is legaly allowed in the UK and passed a DOT inspection.
No company I ever knew back there would put re-caps anywhere on a tractor, and no driver would take a tractor out if fitted with them, ‘Re-cut’s’ are a different story because they have not been re-moulded so the tread will not lift.
Maybe someone else can help you with the rest of your questions.
It’s actually illegal to use any refurbished tyre of any sort on a steer axle. You CAN use them for drives or trailer tyres tho.
Most but by no means all trailers are on singles. Quite a few trailers who bulk out way before they hit gross weight actually have even smaller tyres than usual, so they can have lowered floors to fit more in, and those are almost always twin tyres. We have a lot of older trailers here which are twin tyre, and rigids and tractors have twins on drive axles. But almost all new trailers have single tyres on. And remember, we run at up to 44t (96,000lb)instead of 36t (80,000lb).
My truck runs on Michelins I find them to be a good tyre, I keep each truck for three years and the last two went back still with the original tyres on the rear axle. The front axle had had one change during the three years I had each truck. The trailers I pull are not down to me to source the tyres and the one I had today had a mixture of 3 x Bridgestone, 2 x Michelin and 1 x Continental on it.
For tyre assistance abroad we have Michelin Euro Assist and I’ve had to call them on three or four occasions for blow outs or punctures on the trailer. You get connected to an English speaking operator, they contact a local tyre fitter and then call you back with an ETA, at which point you make a coffee and wait. I’ve never waited more than about 90 minutes. In Germany they can be reluctant to change the tyre at the side of the road and prefer to remove the wheel, take it back to their workshop and return with the tyre changed and refit it to the trailer.
I think you may have miss calculated somewhere Alli, A British ton is over 3,300lb’s (Can’t remember exactly off hand ) but A US ton is only 2,000lb’s.
A UK 44 ton truck is 44,000 Kgs and a kilo is a little over 2.20 pounds so a 44 tonner is 96,800 pounds approx. A British ton is 2,240 pounds which I believe is known as a ‘long ton’ in the USA.
A metric tonne is 1000 kilograms or 2,200 lbs. I’ve no idea what an imperial ton is (if there is such a thing). I first started school in September 1971, at the age of 5 and we were taught the metric system because everything had changed to decimalisation.
Couldn’t tell you anything about the imperial money system either (pounds, shillings, farthings, crowns, sixpence, pence, etc.), never used them !!!
US measures Length - Area - Capacity & Volume - Weight - Temperature
1 US dry pint = 33.6 cu in = 0.5506 l
1 US liquid pint = 0.8327 imperial pint = 0.4732 l
1 US gallon = 0.8327 imperial gallon = 3.785 l
1 short cwt = 100 LB = 45.359 kg
1 short ton = 2000 LB = 907.19 kg
they have as you can see a short ton which is smaller than ours
Weight and mass: US to metric 1 grain = 0.06479891 grammes
1 ounce = 28.35 grammes
1 troy ounce = 31.1035 grammes
1 apothecaries’ ounce = 31.1035 grammes
1 pound = 0.45359237 kg *
1 hundredweight = 45.3592 kg
1 ton = 0.907185 tonnes
The abbreviation for hundredweight is “cwt” because “C” is the Roman symbol for 100. It is called a hundredweight because it is 112 lb (well, it’s close!). It can also be called the long hundredweight to distinguish it from what the Americans call the short hundredweight, which is 100 lbs. So the long ton or UK ton is 2240 lbs, and the short ton is 2000 lbs. The metric tonne is 1000 kg (about 2205 lbs). The word “ton” is derived from the same source as that of a tunne of wine, a cask which held about 250 gallons. Tons were in use in the late 15C.
Pat Hasler:
, A British ton is over 3,300lb’s (Can’t remember exactly off hand ) .
it’s 2240 lbs to a ton
Then my conversion table here is wrong, because a ‘TONNE’ is 2240lbs by that, not a British ‘TON’ which weighs 0.907 ‘TONNE’s’
Maybe this US conversion table I have needs tossing
One Imperial ton = 2,240 lbs.
One Imperial ton = 1.02 metric tonnes.
One US Ton = 1.10 metric tonnes.
One metric tonne = 1000 kilograms.
One metric tonne = 0.984 Imperial tons.
One metric tonne = 0.91 US tons.
AlexxInNY:
Now, what sizes do you all run? Most of our stuff is 295/75R22.5, some 285/80R24.5. Do any trucks there use smaller rims??
Hi Alex,
295/80R22.5 is still probably the most common size for full weight trucks over here, although 315/70R22.5 is becoming more popular. For guys on European work where the official international height limit is 4m/13’3" lower profile 60 series tyres are in widespread use on both trucks and trailers, as it gives a useful increase in cubic capacity (ideal for work where you cube out before hitting max weight). You’ll see these especially on curtainsiders and box vans, less often on tipper or reefer trailers.
In some cases, particularly truck and trailer drawbar combinations, 19" rims are a common sight, and many car parts transporters fit them on their semi trailers, used in conjunction with a tractor on 60 series tyres. If you run 19" wheels on your tractor unit the axle rating is lower, which unless you are on very light work isn’t very useful.
In UK they don’t have such strict height limits as here on the mainland, (someone more knowledgable than me will tell you exactly how high you can run) so low profile tyres are slightly less common.
Smaller rims are generally restricted to smaller trucks, such as 7.5 or 12 tonners. The 7.5 tonne market is huge in the UK as until recently every car driver could drive one, making it popular with rental companies.
I’ve never waited more than about 90 minutes. In Germany they can be reluctant to change the tyre at the side of the road and prefer to remove the wheel, take it back to their workshop and return with the tyre changed and refit it to the trailer.
