Yo, truckers.......

[Guder]

For those of you who don’t know, I’m in commercial tire development and performance benchmarking for one of the big manufacturers. I notice from a recent post that there are quite a few truckers on-site. Mind if I ask some questions?

What drive tires are you running?

How often do you actually check your air pressure, and is it always checked cold?
- What pressure do you run, and how close does it tend to be when checked?

Day-to-day how many pounds are you typically running per drive position, what speed, and how long/far?
- How much does that vary load-to-load, and do you (or others, in your opinion) change your inflation to accommodate it?

I’m pretty much just looking for a no-bullshit opinion on whether typical drive tires (specifically deep-lugs, which are getting beyond 32/32nds in some cases) are always being run below speed restrictions, below weight restrictions, and at proper inflation. And if not, how common you might think it would be that they are being exceeded or ignored (by everybody else, on average)?

From my end, of course I always hear that tires are checked every stop, loads are never over 80%, and even though typical drive tires sit at 90-100psi, they are always at 120 for heavy loads.

Can I get some opinions? PMs are good with me, also.

Hat pins available

[deaconblooz]

Guder -

I know the new breed CDL licensed drivers are on top of things ...but back when I was a gear jammer - we'd grab 'hold of the trailer with our back to the tire and kick the flat of our heels into the sidewall. If it gave much - tire was low or flat. Never carried a pressure guage.

Guess its good there are CDL's now. Ha. I'm sure the others will give much more responsible answers.

d

[problemaddict]

"tires are checked at every stop" pretty much means they are kicked or hit w/ a mallet to see if they are low/flat. I don't know any drivers that carry a pressure gauge.

Our shop says 100psi, regardless of load weight.

And i'm not sure what you mean by "loads are never over 80%"

Also, keep in mind that i work for a company, i'm not the one buying the tires, so there's not much motivation for myself or my co-workers to be 100% on top of tires and other maint. issues (not that we're negligent, as we don't want to be stuck somewhere w/ a blowout, but we're not real concerned w/ wear or frequency of replacements). Owner Operators are probably much more concerned than company drivers....

[Zim]

Drives - Retreads.

Pressure Check Procedure:
Kick. *Thoomp*, no wiggle - good.
Kick. *Thud*, wiggle - bad.

"Checked" during pre-trip (cold), occasionally throughout the day.

Guage-checked when suspicious, or at 10,000 mile service. (Should be more often, I know)

120psi Steer, 110psi drive & trailer. Posted speed limit (I get paid hourly... why should I speed?). 100-375miles per day usually.

Pressure never changed to accomodate loads. Loads typically do not vary. Around 78,000lbs normally. My opinion: A tiny minority might change tire pressure to accomodate loads.

[bullfrog]

I run 12-14 hrs/day, 6-8 loads/day, 200-375 miles/day hauling crude oil out of the oilfields of SE NM/W TX. Federal law requires hazmat drivers to perform a "tire check" every 100 miles or 2 hours, whichever comes first. We bump our tires with a hammer every time we load or unload, plus pre and post trip. 14-18 tire checks per day. I use an actual tire gauge for peace of mind on the first and last days of my week. The company requires a formal monthly tire report on which we record all cold tire pressures and tread depth under the supervision of a bossman. Standard tire pressure for us is 100psi cold. Our mileage consists of roughly 50% unloaded/50% @ 80k gross.

All of the virgin tires are Yokohama for steer and drive. The trailers have Bandag caps on Yokohama carcasses.

I typically run the speed limit which is 65mph on the 4 laners, 55mph on the 2 laners, and as fast as I can go without breaking something on the dirt ( in some cases 5mph is too fast, in other cases 60mph is just right.)

I do not have archives of all of my formal tire reports so there is a lot of information that I can not share with you. When I go back on duty, I will do a report and also write down the model numbers of the virgin rubber if it will help you.

[bullfrog]

I should also mention that the upper management in our organization is VERY motivated in making sure we keep our jobs. They meet with the CEO types quarterly to show that hauling our own oil to feed our refineries is more cost effective than outsourcing to common carriers. Behind driver wages and fuel costs, tires are our highest operating expense. Our tire program ensures that we are able to run virgin rubber down to 4/32nds without premature failure, It is not uncommon for us to recap a tire 2 or 3 times. Of course, due to the environment in which we run, there is the occasional tire that gets shredded due to jagged rock outcroppings or cattle guards, but all in all, we keep up with our rubber pretty well.

[problemaddict]

Federal law requires hazmat drivers to perform a "tire check" every 100 miles or 2 hours, whichever comes first.

O.T., but i thought they did away w/ this rule after 9/11? Changed it from "Every 100mi/2hr" to "every stop". Something about not wanting hazmat loads stopped on the side of the highway, sitting ducks for terrorists...

I'll have to look into it....

-Mike

[Guder]

Excellent info, I appreciate it.

I can't really be specific about why I'm asking (in a public forum... it's a very proprietary and tight-lipped industry), but I'm always glad to hear what drivers are thinking and I can take what you guys say at face value.

Actually, yeah... I kinda can say, now that I think about it.

I have gradually aquired pretty much unquestioned access to a pulleywheel (two huge steel drums with four hydraulic wheel positions that run tires at any speed/load/pressure combo), and recently discovered a steady source of tires out of the audit trail (headed for scrap for cosmetic or uniformity flaws). I spent three years in warranty (field returns) and non-destructive testing, so I have some theories to test.

I set about breaking stuff and taking measurements, and had very quick success at duplicating relatively rare field failures (my philosophy is that if you can't control it, you can't be sure you understand it). The trouble is that I'm getting some resistance for deviating from "official" test conditions.

Anyway... 'nuff said. I wanted to get some solid feedback to sanity check my opinions from the "ivory tower" before arguing about it.

BTW- by 80% load I just mean 80% of max load by pressure, somthing like the "2 beers" every drunk has had when the cop stops. Every failed tire was at least 20% below spec.

And Bullfrog.. you sound like a commercial salesman. They must keep you guys pretty informed.

So, what are you guys doing at work lately? Anybody else feeling chatty?

[bullfrog]

They feed us all the same info. When other drivers see hassle in new policies, I see improved efficiency. I like what I do and have some respect for the brass in our department. I would not make a good commercial salesman as I am a wee bit too antisocial to knock on those cold doors. If you need other tire info let us know.

[bullfrog]

Where in Southern Illinois are you. I have an old college friend in Dixon. This summer, I bought a kidnapper van in Minnesota and did a scenic by pass to pay him a visit. I didn't get to the southern chunk of your state as Iowa was next door and I expedited my trip home. The midwest is beautiful country.

[problemaddict]

for what its worth, the hazmat-tire-check rule has been changed. I got curious and looked it up:

http://hazmat.dot.gov/regs/rules/67fr/67fr-62191.pdf
(center of page one)

[deaconblooz]

Wow, Bullfrog..."midwest is beautiful country". I think that may be the first complement I've seen about the old homestead. Most folks don't appreciate the land in the midwest. I lived in PA for about 10 years and loved the rolling mountains...but strangely enough moved back to IL - secretly I missed the sunrise/sunsets. Couldn't see the damned sun cuz the mountains were in the way.

That being said...most places are dependent on yr state of mind anyway. Just pays to appreciate whacha got.

D

[Guder]

I'm right at the intersection of I-57 and I-64.

[bullfrog]

Mt. Vernon?

[Guder]

That's the one.