Heavy Duty Trucking

MAY 2014

The Fleet Business Authority

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first time for drive positions; drive tires are retreaded first time for drive position and second time for trailer position. • The company runs spread-axle flatdecks, which are hard on tires because of the dragging that occurs in turns. That's what makes retreading difficult. • Wide-base single tires are re- treaded once for drive positions. • The company runs mostly 11R22.5 dual tires, though it recently purchased some used equipment on low-profile 22.5 tires, so it's starting to move in that direction. Sixty power units are currently running 455-size wide-base single tires because of weight sensitivity. South Shore runs 100 psi in all tires except wide-base singles, which are 125 psi. • Currently using automatic tire inflation on 50% of the fleet and installing on all new equipment. Major challenges: Trying to get drivers to check tire pressure and condition during pre- and post-trip inspections and avoid curbing the trailer tires. Exploring ways of lower- ing tire cost per mile. Batesville Logistics Inc. Batesville, Ind. Randy Obermeyer, terminal manager • Fleet: 82 tandem tractors, 311 pup trailers, 117 53-foot trailers run- ning low-profile 22.5 low-rolling-re- sistance dual tires. Very few wide-base singles in fleet. Not weight sensitive. • Tires are retreaded up to 5 years of age with no more than two repairs (with no shoulder or section repairs) for drives, and casing up to 6 years of age for trailers with a maximum of two shoulder and one section repairs. The fleet runs all tires down to DOT minimum of 4/32 tread depth. • Inflation pressures are 100 psi in the steer, dolly and trailer positions, 95 psi in the drive tires. • Currently testing automatic infla- tion systems on 24 new pup trailers. Major challenges: Trying to get drivers to participate in tire mainte- nance, with regular gauged pressure checks and condition reports. Fleet priorities Each of these four fleets has dif- ferent priorities and strategies for improving tire life and lowering costs. FedEx Ground, for example, is experi- menting with tire pressure. "We have been at 85 psi on all tires for 10 years now," Ricapito said. "We're now trying to see if wear im- proves or worsens at 95 psi. We're also testing steer tires on our dollies rather than trailer tires." At Crete Carriers, the ongoing struggle is early detection of wear and conditions that could cause problems out on the road. "We try to identify irregular wear before it becomes serious enough to cause permanent damage to a tire and we try to stay on top of inflation www.truckinginfo.com MAY 2014 • HDT 65 Circle 152 on Reader Action Card "There are two schools of thought on driver in- volvement. One says get the driver involved as an early warning system. Other fleets say, 'Forget it, I don't want my drivers touching anything.' " – Al Cohn, Pressure Systems International t i r e s & w h e e l s _ m a y . i n d d 6 5 4 / 2 9 / 1 4 5 : 0 9 P M 4/29/14 5:09 PM

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