Do you have an effective tire program? Your tractor tires are the workhorses of your company. They provide the rolling power to get your loads from point A to point B. This is what makes tire matching so important. Matching the tires to your application is critical for both safety and efficiency reasons. Once that is done, your most basic considerations should be traction, tread life and rolling resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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It really is all about tire selection. You must know how\nyour trucks workday in and day, then narrow down your choice of tires to meet\nas many of those operational criteria as possible. You may be running on-road\nand off-road applications. The environment is just as important as the tread\nthe vehicle is riding on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many things to evaluate when considering a tire\u2019s\noverall performance arc. Consider the following as you set up a comprehensive\ntire program. Tires must: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you are looking at the best cost per mile or best\ncost of ownership, considering the prior factors will help you decide. The fact\nis all trucking companies want to lower their operation costs. One of the best\nways to do this is through your tire program. By adjusting to the needs of the\nbusiness, you can find the right balance between toughness, long life, and\nlower fuel consumption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Find the Right Tires<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t feel cornered into making a big tire purchase based on\nprice alone. Cheap tires are cheap for a reason. You will often find that you\nsacrifice quality for quantity, you are also sacrificing safety along with it.\nCheap tires blow more often. The last thing you want is one of them blowing while\nyour rig is out there on the road. Take advantage of the tools companies have\nto offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We have talked a lot about big data, and it is very likely\nyou have data at your disposal, especially if you use telematics systems. Are\nyou taking advantage of your data? Many ttire maintenance software and tire\npressure monitoring apps can assist you. As they monitor tire installations,\nyou can assess in real-time the performance of tires in the field or on the\nroad. You can easily diagnose problems before they turn into accidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trucking companies of all sizes work with local dealers. Do\nyou work with yours when you acquire tires or set a strategy? Do not hesitate\nto work directly with your local tire dealer. They have the skills and tools\nnecessary to help you determine which tire is most appropriate for your\napplication, needs, and vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, have you tapped into the wellspring of knowledge\nput together by the American\nTrucking Associations\u2019 Technology & Maintenance Council<\/a> (TMC)? They\nhave a ton of excellent resources for those who need more information about\nwhat tires to choose. Fleet technicians can use TMC Recommended Practices to\nidentify test procedures to ensure the right tire is acquired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Look at Wide-Base Single Tires<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you ever considered wide-base single tires? It may be\nthat you think conventional duals work just fine for your application, but\nwide-base options might be worth a second look. Why? Because weight savings\nremains the primary benefit of using wide-base truck tires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When combined with an aluminum rim, wide-base tires can save up to 1,100 pounds. Of course, the market has seen an increase efficient dual combinations, but saving fuel is not the only benefit of wide-base tires. They also make the technician\u2019s job far easier and play a role in preventing the types of catastrophic damage associated with a blowout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, wide-base tires do not come without their own unique\nconsiderations. Some trucking companies report more irregular wear and shoulder\nwear. As a result, some trucking companies mix their options by utilizing\nnarrow- or mid-track axles. This way they can convert back to a dual\nconfiguration if running wide-base tires doesn\u2019t pan out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That also requires the use of offset wheels, which have been\nlinked to increased inside shoulder wear on the tires. These problems arise\nwhen there is excessive axle flexing. As the axles flex, a negative camber\ncondition forms at the wheel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can mitigate this irregular wear after moving to\nwide-track axles with zero-offset wheels. But this can cause problems in the\nevent of a failure or at the end of the vehicle\u2019s service life, since if you\nwanted to put duals back on the axle, you\u2019d be more than 102 inches wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proper inflation and maintenance are critical no matter what\ntires you use, but even more so with wide-base tires. You have a lot riding on\none tire when you operate in a wide-base configuration. Make sure you are\nbalancing your tires and checking your vehicles alignment on a regular basis.\nWhen conducting preventative maintenance, you may also want to do a bearing\nend-play check on every wheel. It may take more time than normal, but it is\nnecessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping Inflation in Mind<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Inflation pressure should be top of mind for your shop. This\nis a matter of safety, fuel efficiency, tire life, tread wear, and bottom line.\nFortunately, there are comprehensive systems on the market to help fleets\nmanage tire inflation in real-time. Whether you already use a fleet management\nsystem with them integrated in or use them separately, tire pressure monitoring\nand inflation systems should be in place across the fleet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tire pressure monitoring systems have come a long way in a\nshort period. The systems used to be nothing more than a light on the dash\nblinking on and off if there was a problem. Today\u2019s modern TPMS systems are\nleaps and bounds above their predecessors. Rigs can now link up their tire\npressure systems with other telematics systems and databases at play within the\nfleet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gone are the days when you couldn\u2019t put datapoints together\nwithout great effort. Now fleets can upload comprehensive tire performance\nprofiles and upload failure information into the fleet systems and on their\ndashboards. Connect these systems together to provide exceptions and update\nmaintenance logs on the fly. Telematic\nlinks to some systems mean reams of data can be streamed from the tires back to\nfleet headquarters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also consider automatic tire inflation systems. It wasn\u2019t\nlong ago that these systems were only available on trailers. Today, you can\nfind variations for use in drive axles, though they are not widely used across\nthe country. Trailer tire inflation systems have been in use for a long time,\nhowever. And there are many OEMs to choose from. But how do they work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Automatic tire inflation systems work by relieving more\nstress on the tires. There are no moving parts to speak of, a bare minimum\nelectrical components, and there are few modifications required to the\nequipment on hand. Neither do they require complex assembly. They can be\ninstalled on the assembly line or retrofitted just as easily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern-day systems should provide TPMS and ATIS-integrated\ntelematic capabilities. Fleet managers should have access to specific alerts provided\nwhen the system activates. The best part of these combo systems is that they\ntake a truck driver mistake out of the equation. Everyone benefits in such a\nscenario. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Industry is Changing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure, we are at an inflection point in trucking technology.\nAs good as current offerings are, new technology will soon transform tire\nmaintenance services in ways we can\u2019t imagine. As motor carriers become more\ncomplex, the need for accurate, real-time, actionable tire data will only. OEMs\nand the trucking companies who rely on them will need\nto innovate<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, we still live in a day when most tire\ntechnicians measure metrics such as inflation and tread depth levels with a\nmanual gauge, jot down the results on a piece of paper, and then manually enter\nthat data into the system. This entire process takes far too much time. Many\nfleets have turned to outsourcing tire maintenance programs, but there is value\nto managing them in-house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now the tire companies can supply the fleet technicians with\nspecial tools to take tire measurements. The information obtained can be\nuploaded into the fleet management system using a cellular, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi\nconnection. Web portals can be maintained so that technicians, truck drivers,\nand fleet managers can view necessary tire information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What does this mean for trucking companies? Even small fleets will have access to information critical to helping them maintain their tires well. All shop technicians and fleet managers should remember that maintaining a proper tire program is about safety, fuel efficiency, and a health bottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n With this level of real-time transparency in play, soon even\nsmall truck fleets will be able to see vital tire operational information right\naway, enabling them to immediately adjust their tire management programs if\nnecessary. Taken as a whole, these capabilities can help fleets make end-runs\naround manpower and time issues whiles improving uptime and tire asset\nutilization \u2014 all of which ultimately reduces fleet operating costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"