18 wheelers to become 10 wheelers
#1
18 wheelers to become 10 wheelers
Wide tires come to aid of the trucking industry
Larger size means that truckers need fewer wheels to carry the load on the conventional rig.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...512220368/1148
Larger size means that truckers need fewer wheels to carry the load on the conventional rig.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...512220368/1148
Take a closer look at some of the 18-wheelers rolling down the nation's roads lately and you might notice something missing: eight wheels.
Some truckers are converting to wider tires that let them replace dual tires with single tires, turning their rigs into 10-wheelers to reap fuel and weight savings.
The new tires are wide enough to make a hot-rodder happy. And they're drawing stares on and off the highway.
People ask Jim Smith questions about the expensive, Hulk-sized tires all the time at his showroom at Exit 11 Truck Tire Service Inc. near Interstates 80 and 77 in Richfield, Ohio.
"I tell them it's the future," Smith says. "It seems to be where truck tires are heading."
Each tire alone weighs close to 200 pounds. That future isn't cheap. Mounted on an aluminum rim, the tires can run $1,250 or more, Smith said. That's twice a traditional tire's cost.
It's worth the expense, said Luc Minguet, chief operating officer of Michelin America's truck tire unit. The tires can save 4 percent to 10 percent on fuel. That's a big consideration for transportation companies weathering diesel prices that soared from a U.S. average of just under $2 a gallon a year ago to a post-Hurricane Katrina peak of $3.16 a gallon in October.
"That 10 percent fuel savings -- that's huge," Smith said.
While Michelin may push fuel savings as a sales point, that can be elusive, said Robert Braswell, technical director of Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations. Fuel consumption can vary as much as 35 percent depending on whether a leadfoot or lightfoot is behind the wheel, he said.
Minguet also notes the tires are lighter. A 10-wheeler saves 730 pounds and lets trucking companies haul more cargo, he says.
The weight savings, however, is a big factor, particularly for tanker-truck companies, Braswell said.
Carl Smith, owner of 3J Fuels Inc. in Champlain, N.Y., has been using Michelin's tires on his tanker trucks for about a year. His trucks don't haul fuel long distances, so he said he hasn't seen much in the way of fuel savings. But the wider tires are helping him stay within legal weight limits and "seem to ride better," he said.
The big tires are still only a small part of the more than 17 million truck tires shipped in the U.S. this year. Competitor Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. decided not to introduce its own line after the company found a variety of problems in testing its version, said spokesman Dave Wilkins.
A key issue was the reliability of retreaded tires, said Wilkins. That's a huge consideration for trucking companies accustomed to sending worn tires off to be wrapped in new tread two or three times during their life spans.
Michelin spokeswoman Lynn Mann said that's not a worry for Michelin. The company says some of its tires can last more than 800,000 miles with its retreading process.
Contract Freighters Inc., one of the nation's 50-largest trucking outfits, has become a big believer in the tires. By next year, its fleet of 2,300 tractors will be using Michelin's wide tires and the company has ordered them for 1,000 new trailers it will buy next year, Michelin said.
The tires have downsides. For instance, a flat puts the truck on the side of the road, while trucks with dual wheels blow by on the Interstate. Before tire dealers like Exit 11's Smith stocked the tires, that could mean more downtime while a driver sought repairs or a replacement, Braswell said.
That will be less of a problem as trucking companies embrace technology that monitors tire pressure, Braswell said.
Some truckers are converting to wider tires that let them replace dual tires with single tires, turning their rigs into 10-wheelers to reap fuel and weight savings.
The new tires are wide enough to make a hot-rodder happy. And they're drawing stares on and off the highway.
People ask Jim Smith questions about the expensive, Hulk-sized tires all the time at his showroom at Exit 11 Truck Tire Service Inc. near Interstates 80 and 77 in Richfield, Ohio.
"I tell them it's the future," Smith says. "It seems to be where truck tires are heading."
Each tire alone weighs close to 200 pounds. That future isn't cheap. Mounted on an aluminum rim, the tires can run $1,250 or more, Smith said. That's twice a traditional tire's cost.
It's worth the expense, said Luc Minguet, chief operating officer of Michelin America's truck tire unit. The tires can save 4 percent to 10 percent on fuel. That's a big consideration for transportation companies weathering diesel prices that soared from a U.S. average of just under $2 a gallon a year ago to a post-Hurricane Katrina peak of $3.16 a gallon in October.
"That 10 percent fuel savings -- that's huge," Smith said.
While Michelin may push fuel savings as a sales point, that can be elusive, said Robert Braswell, technical director of Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations. Fuel consumption can vary as much as 35 percent depending on whether a leadfoot or lightfoot is behind the wheel, he said.
Minguet also notes the tires are lighter. A 10-wheeler saves 730 pounds and lets trucking companies haul more cargo, he says.
The weight savings, however, is a big factor, particularly for tanker-truck companies, Braswell said.
Carl Smith, owner of 3J Fuels Inc. in Champlain, N.Y., has been using Michelin's tires on his tanker trucks for about a year. His trucks don't haul fuel long distances, so he said he hasn't seen much in the way of fuel savings. But the wider tires are helping him stay within legal weight limits and "seem to ride better," he said.
The big tires are still only a small part of the more than 17 million truck tires shipped in the U.S. this year. Competitor Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. decided not to introduce its own line after the company found a variety of problems in testing its version, said spokesman Dave Wilkins.
A key issue was the reliability of retreaded tires, said Wilkins. That's a huge consideration for trucking companies accustomed to sending worn tires off to be wrapped in new tread two or three times during their life spans.
Michelin spokeswoman Lynn Mann said that's not a worry for Michelin. The company says some of its tires can last more than 800,000 miles with its retreading process.
Contract Freighters Inc., one of the nation's 50-largest trucking outfits, has become a big believer in the tires. By next year, its fleet of 2,300 tractors will be using Michelin's wide tires and the company has ordered them for 1,000 new trailers it will buy next year, Michelin said.
The tires have downsides. For instance, a flat puts the truck on the side of the road, while trucks with dual wheels blow by on the Interstate. Before tire dealers like Exit 11's Smith stocked the tires, that could mean more downtime while a driver sought repairs or a replacement, Braswell said.
That will be less of a problem as trucking companies embrace technology that monitors tire pressure, Braswell said.
#3
Originally Posted by magneto112
Wide tires come to aid of the trucking industry
Larger size means that truckers need fewer wheels to carry the load on the conventional rig.
Larger size means that truckers need fewer wheels to carry the load on the conventional rig.
As I see it, there is good news and bad news converting to tires like this. The good news, which the article DID mention, of course is the efficiency. The good news which the article did NOT mention, is the fact that, hopefully, with only 10 tires to each truck instead of 18, there will be fewer big tires and wheels littering the roadways for vehicles to hit....those things blow and fall off with amazing regularity.
Now...the bad news. The article DID mention that a flat could temporarily disable a truck while the driver got repairs....and did NOT mention the fact that the wider the tire, the more likely it is to hydroplane on wet roads........companies could end up trading for a more efficient tire in some ways but also a tire that will slide all over a wet road like a hockey puck.....trucks may have to slow WAY down, which will, of course, increase freighthauling times between cities.
I find it hard to believe, even with Michelin's excellent reputation in the tire industry, that retreads can last up to 800,000 miles. The tread will, sure, if you keep re-capping it, but, to me at least, it seems that other parts of the tire, like the bead, cords, and critically important...the belts, will wear out or become dangerous by then. Maybe that is one reason why we see so many of those big truck tires blown out and lying all over the place.
#4
Originally Posted by mmarshall
Maybe that is one reason why we see so many of those big truck tires blown out and lying all over the place.
#5
Originally Posted by Lil4X
Imagine finding one of THOSE carcasses lying in the middle of the lane ahead of you - several hundred pounds of rubber! It'd be like hitting a pig!
#6
Originally Posted by mmarshall
That's some new avitar you got there, mag.............looks like Mexican bandit with a big Afro?
thats cleveland from family guy. most of us on TLN now have family guy avatars, we're each a character.
</slightly off topic>
#7
Originally Posted by adidosc
<slightly off topic>
thats cleveland from family guy. most of us on TLN now have family guy avatars, we're each a character.
</slightly off topic>
thats cleveland from family guy. most of us on TLN now have family guy avatars, we're each a character.
</slightly off topic>
But....I'll take your word for it on the cleveland-family guy. ......I'm not much into newer cartoons except for South Park.
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#9
Originally Posted by G35_TX
To me and the design of the tread, I would say less chance of hydroplane than with the older tires. The older ones just had groves they didn;'t have any design in them to kick the water out.
#10
Originally Posted by mmarshall
I have not only seen a number of them but once actually saw one come right off a big dump truck...it went rolling down the road in front of me. When the inner one blows it can exert such force that it sometimes shears the lug nuts right off the outer one next to it and the outer one goes rolling down the road.
I drove a large motorhome for several years and you learn very quickly to inspect and maintain those inside duals. They are largely out of sight and therefore don't get the attention they should. If you've ever had to change one at the side of the road with only a 7-ton bottle jack and a lot of 2" X 8" boards, you'll spend more time checking pressure and tread condition. I did.
#12
Actually, I have seen these types of WIDE tires on heavy duty cement mixers. I started to notice that they didnt have dual tires, but one LARGE tire. I thought it was kinda strange at first, but now it all makes sense...
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