FleetOwner - Tires

Tire Longevity
Posted by Rommel from Quezon City, OT, PH on June 27, 2007

How long does a tire last with size 11R22.5 or 12R22.5 mounted in a tractor head carrying 40 tons of load. How many kilometers it can travel with that load before it will wear out?

People ask this question often. There is no simple answer because there are way to many factors that affect tire wear to predict when a tire will wear out. All of the following affect wear:
tire brand and type, size, vehicle brand and type, type of service, road surfaces, weather, style of driving, time of year and maintenance level of vehicle (especially axle alignment). I'm sure there are more but, I think you get the idea. Even identical vehicles in a fleet traveling the same roads day in and day out will have fairly wide ranges of tire wear due to driving styles and various states of axle alignment.

REPLACEMENT BECAUSE OF AGE?
Posted by STEVEN from PARKER, CO, US on June 21, 2007

I HAVE A 2002 MOTORHOME WITH ORIGINAL 245/70R19.5 GOODYEAR TIRES. STILL HAVE OVER 1/2 TREAD LEFT AND NO WEATHER CRACKS IN SIDEWALL. I HAVE BEEN TOLD I SHOULD REPLACE JUST BECAUSE THE TIRES ARE OVER 5 YEARS OLD.

SHOULD I?

If there are no signs of weathering on your tires, there is no reason to replace them. I suggest you have a tire professional take a look at them if you feel you may not know how a "weathered" look appears.

Irregular Tire Wear
Posted by Tony from Detroit, MI, US on June 16, 2007

I just replaced all six of the tires on my 2000 36S Bounder which is on the Ford F53 20,500lb chasisis. My old tires were Goodyear G670 245 70R 19.5 F rated and were 7 years old with 25,000 mile on them. My question is what would cause only the passenger tire to wear more on the outside edge? The rest of the tires wore evenly and my motorhome runs straight and true, I ‘ve had a alignment done when the motorhome was new. What is causing this wear pattern and what can I do to prevent this from happening to my new tires ?

Despite having an alignment job done when the motorhome was new, my guess is that something happened during the next 25,000 miles that may have created misalignment (probably a toe or camber problem). With new tires on the motorhome now, I would have the alignment checked and corrected if needed.

Nitrogen 1
Posted by Peter from Burton on Trent, OT, GB on June 14, 2007

ping!

http://expert.fleetowner.com/tires/2007/01/10/all-tires-nitrogen-gas/

How was it?

There are claims that filling tyre with damp air increases tyre pressure by 7psi.

Gas law says that N2 or dry air at 15°C increases pressure by 10.4psi when temperature rises to 80°C.

My calcs show 100%RH air at 15°C inflated to 32psi will rise by 12psi for a tyre running temp of 80°C.

Is the additional 1.6psi significant?

Is there some other factor that causes a higher pressure rise? Like do they not take care to remove liquid water when fitting the tyre?

How many shops don’t maintain the drier on the compressor?

Which is cheaper, compressor and maintain the drier or buy N2 equipment?

Wow, what a list of questions. First, I don't think that 1.6 psi is significant (5% of the total inflation pressure). Second, It is true that it is very common for the dryers on compressors to not work (or not work properly) so, moisture in the tire can be a problem (create greater pressure buildup). Last, I really don't know which is less expensive but, my guess is that it would be cheaper to maintain the dryer on the compressor than to buy the N2 equipment.

Retreaded Tires on Petroleum Haulers
Posted by Emerson from Makati City, OT, PH on June 12, 2007

Are retreaded tires recommended for use by tank trucks or fuel oil lorries? If yes, what standards should be met to allow its safe use.

I did a little research and found that there are no laws or restrictions on using retreaded tires on vehicles that haul gasoline or fuel of any kind. The standards for these retreads would be no different than those for tires on any other commercial vehicle.

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