be caused by poor installation/mismount or mismatched pressures across duals. • Tread Damage. Trucking can be a rough business. Th e forces acting on a tire are severe and road surfaces vary. Some snags and chips can be expected, but if tread damage is consistently causing tires to be pulled from service, there may be better tire choices. Consider evaluating a tire with more damage resistance. • Separations. Tires are designed to stay in one piece throughout their service life. If separations are occurring, this usually points to a pressure maintenance problem. I once visited a fl eet that was battling lower sidewall separations. Th ey were very diligent to check tire pressures, but they checked the tires immediately upon arriving at the terminal, when they were still hot. Worse yet, they bled air out of the hot tires to reach the fl eets pressure spec. Th ey didn’t realize that their diligence was working against them. Every tire in the fl eet was 10 to 15 psi underinfl ated. Always check tire pressures when cold and use a calibrated pressure gauge. Never bleed air from a hot tire. If you’re not sure what pressure is best, talk to your service provider or check an online pressure calculator like the one at www.yokohamatruck. com. BE DILIGENT Th e best way to lower tire costs is to attack the top causes for removal. Th e top causes vary from fl eet-tofl eet, so the only way to plot a good course is to look at every tire being removed from service. If you’re new to tire conditions analysis and need help getting started, ask your tire dealer or manufacturer. Don’t let anything deter you from letting your tires “tell” you how to lower your costs. Th ose discarded tires may be more of a gold mine than a scrap pile. Tim Hume is a technical engineer with Yokohama Tire Corporation (www.yokohamatire.com). It is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Yokohama Rubber Co., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing an extensive sales network throughout the U.S., Yokohama Tire offers a complete product line that includes tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus and off-the-road mining and construction applications. PEOPLE do what you inspect, not expect. Hendrickson never stops driving to bring innovative ride solutions to the market. Hendrickson MAXX22T™ air disc brake system is optimized to enhance braking performance while saving, on average, 100 lbs. per tandem axle. MAXX22T features Hendrickson’s exclusive hubcap-tohubcap warranty coverage* for peace of mind from a recognized leader in the industry. *Contact your local Hendrickson representative for complete warranty terms, conditions and limitations. www.hendrickson-intl.com www.MAXX22T.com MAXX22T™ OPTIMIZED, LIGHTWEIGHT, PROVEN PERFORMANCE Understanding Your Brakes: Considerations When Specifying Air Disc Brakes DOWNLOAD OUR WHITE PAPER TODAY WWW.MAXX22T.COM VehicleServicePros.com/10121758 Heavy Duty |
FleetMaintenance_NovemberDecember_2016
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