News You Can Use

RTA NEWS YOU CAN USE
October 19, 2016

EVERY MONTH WE WRITE AN ARTICLE FOR ONTARIO TRUCKING NEWS . THE SUBJECT IS ALWAYS ABOUT RETREADS. THIS MONTH WE WERE ASKED TO ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY THE EDITOR. OUR ANSWERS ARE SHOWN BELOW. WE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO SEE WHAT WILL APPEAR IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF ONTARIO TRUCKING NEWS. YOU MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH WHAT WE WROTE, AND IF YOU DON'T WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU.

Harvey Brodsky, Managing Director of the Retread Tire Association has been at the forefront of the retreading industry for the last 40 years. We asked him a few useful questions about today's tire industry and how truckers benefit from the use of retreaded tires.

Q: What should owner/operators and fleets be looking for to assess tire quality? Tread depth, compounds, heat resistant materials, etc.?

A: Those things are all important but the most important thing of all is the retreader who is going to be retreading your tires. You need to be certain that you are dealing with a top-quality retreader, and the best way to do that is to visit his plant, discuss his rejection rate and be certain that you're comfortable with the quality of the tire that he is retreading. Do not be hesitant to ask to see their adjustment rate (the rate of failure of their retreads). Don't let anybody kid you, all retreaders have an adjustment rate. If he doesn't want to show it to you, I would try another retreader. Also, if I were an owner/operator or a fleet manager, I would ask for the names of some of his customers. I would contact  few of them and ask, "how do you feel about the retreader?" Are you satisfied with the product that this retreader is delivering?

As for tread depth, compounds, heat resistant materials, they are all equally important. Your retreader or your tire dealer is your best friend. They will be able to tell you the best tire for your use.

Q: Is there a correlation between tire type and the freight being hauled?

A: Most definitely! Obviously, if you are hauling feathers you don't need as strong a tire as you do if hauling steel. Also, it depends on where you are driving. If you are on and off the road, then you need a particular tread design that will be suitable for use on the road and off, as opposed to a tread design that's going to be used on a straight shot, let's say from California to New York and never getting off a major highway. So the correlation is, where are you hauling the freight and what is the freight that's being hauled?

Q: Are there any recent developments in tire technology that truckers should be aware of?

A: Yes, and one of the most important development is low rolling resistance. You can learn more about it by going to any of the websites of the major new tire manufacturers, such as Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Sumitomo, Hankook or any of the other major manufacturers. They all have websites and they all discuss tire technology. Again, be aware of your needs and what it is that you'll be hauling.

Q: What are the main issues in the tire industry today?

A: In Canada, it would be the importation of certain low quality, low cost Chinese tires. Now this is not to say that all Chinese tires are low quality. There are some very good Chinese tires, but you need to be careful and know who you are dealing with regardless of where the tire is manufactured.

Q: Are there any significant difference in tire quality and durability among the major tire manufacturers?

A: Absolutely not. They are all performing beautifully. It's just a matter of personal preference. You may like tire A, and your fellow trucker may like tire B. The important thing is this: if you take care of your tires and you maintain a good tire maintenance program, keep air in your tires and check your tire pressure on a regular basis and not overload them or drive under-inflated, you can't lose for winning. There really are no significant differences among the major tire manufacturers.

Q: Any Future trends in tire research and development?

A: Not significantly outside of speculative research into different types of airless tires. There is of course ongoing research with all manufacturers, and possibly exploring the development of new raw materials from the growers and producers of raw rubber. These are of course environmental issues in keeping with sustainability.

Q: Now to your specialty Harvey - retreads: Can most commercial tires be retreaded? If so, what determines the number of retreads a tire can endure?

A: Emphatically yes! But how many times? This is situational. It depends on what the vehicle is carrying. Are the tires on and off the road? What is the maintenance history of the tire, etc. A good example is, if you have a perfectly maintained tire that is checked regularly, you may get three retreads, maybe even four. With the best new tire or retreaded tire in the world, if you don't take care of it, you're lucky if you get one retread out of it. Again, this is all dependent on how you're using it. For example, you could be a trash hauler, picking up, turning and twisting and putting tremendous wear and tear on those tires but they're not going long distances. Once you fill up the truck you have to go back to the yard and dump the load. When you get into the yard you're driving over nails, debris, all kinds of hazards and that tread is being damaged severely. But because you're not putting a lot of miles on the tire, for the trash hauling industry it's not uncommon to get as many as seven or eight retreads.

Q: Further, roughly what percentages of carriers actually retread their tires?

A: For fleets, whether it's a small or large fleet, well over 90% will use retreads and that's a fact. Owner/operators retread somewhat less than 90%, but that's really only because of a lack of knowledge about retreads. The more they know about the quality of retreads and what goes into a retreaded tire, the more likely it is that they will use retreads. Especially when they look at the cost savings associated with retreads.

Q: What are the advantages of retreading? Any disadvantages?

A: Advantages are significant cost savings, and they are very environmentally friendly. There are no disadvantages. In reality, using retreads can be a huge benefit across the board. As far as the economic and environmental benefits of retreads as compared to virgin tires, there's no comparison. Retreads beat the pants off new tires in that regard. Unless you're in business for a hobby, you want to keep all the money on your side of the table that you possibly can.

Q: Any other points of interest you feel the trucking industry should be aware of?

A: Yes. The quality and the life cycle of retreaded tires are improving every day. They are getting better and better every year. As good as it is now, there's better quality coming on the horizon and that is because there is a continual effort on behalf of the retreaders to improve their quality. So just like any other product they are continually trying to make a better quality end result, and that's it.

For all your readers who want more information, contact the Retread Tire Association at info@retreadtire.org or give us a call at (831) 646-5269 and we'll be happy to send you FREE info about retreads including a great DVD of a tour of a modern retread tire plant. We can also arrange for you to actually visit a modern retread plant in Canada.

YOUR COMMENTS REGARDING THE ABOVE WILL BE WELCOMED. The above is slightly edited from the actual article that will be printed in the next issue of Ontario Trucking News.

HARVEY

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Every time you subtract negative from your life,
you make room for more positive."
~ Author Unknown