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Permalink Reply by Trainer on March 31, 2009 at 8:28am

Well I finally found a tire expert yesterday, only took 9 stops. He feels like I do and can not believe no one has done this yet. He has been placing them on single axle trucks and has only heard of one complaint, when empty and with so much tread on the pavement trucks exhibit tread roll, he also said when loaded this goes away. There is also some money savings as the single is about $200 cheaper then duels and it looks like we can convert for not much outlay, now I just need to convince the rest.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Hansen on April 4, 2009 at 8:36pm

Trainer

If your looking for arguments to convince the rest of the department to make the switch contact the OTR trucking companies that use them, bet their director of maintenance will be glad to give you the dollars and cents on making the switch. When I drove OTR we used them on the a few trucks that all made jobsite deliveries and dont remember hearing any complaints about them...to be fair I dont remember any glowing recommendations either. Sorry not much help but just a few ideas that might help

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on April 5, 2009 at 7:38am

I’ve hit another road block; seems Navistar requires the exact same RPM (revolutions per mile) on both the front and back since the truck is a 4 wheel drive, got my tire guy working on this, will have to replace fronts also, but it’s been a week and I’ve heard nothing. I’m about ready to give up on this project after talking with the truck dealer, he told me we have a Detroit locker on the rear, a real plus and the tires that are on it are very aggressive, he also told me I would be impressed with how it performs in the mud, but he is a salesman.

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Permalink Reply by Russ Griffith on April 5, 2009 at 10:11am

We run a late 70's Chevy stepside 4 wheel drive with duals and I have never seen it stuck. Our terrain here can run anywhere from flat ag fields to heavy timber and hills. It's not always about the make-up of the vehicle, no matter what you run, eventually you're bound to run into a situation where tire type and size wont matter. Also look at the maintenance/up keep cost factor, are these single super wides readily available,what's the average life expectancy, are you going to wind up paying more and more often? and so on. It's all about the homework and so far it looks like you're doing a good job.
Stay Safe

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Permalink Reply by Scott Lokker on April 5, 2009 at 10:38am

Not only am I a Captain in charge of vehicle maintenance, I am also a truck driver for 15 years. It is true that the new "super singles" have many advantages in highway use. I can take a tanker trailer that legally holds 10,000 gallons of liquid and it actually feels more stable goiing down the road with the "super singles" verses the standard duals. I talked with a friend of mine who works for a tire distrubutor and he could not find any tread pattern on the "super singles" that are more agressive than highway tread. In highway use I would recommend using them, however be cautioned it is very expensive to change one unit at a time over. (my trailers are 6-8 axles) I don't believe the technology in the "super singles" has advanced enough in the fire service to be very effective. In highway use they have improved not only ride stability but also fuel mileage. I don't believe that any fire department would be that critical on fuel mileage.

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on April 6, 2009 at 8:51am

Thanks guys, but I believe my venture into this is over, I have this fear if I do it and it does not work, I’ll never here the end of it. I know that the tires that are coming on it are very aggressive which makes me wonder if they will have side roll, and the super wides don’t have as aggressive a pattern as I like, I did find an A/T that would work, you need to remember this truck for us will spend more time on the highway then off-road. No fuel mileage was not an issue, and availability is getting better, but for floatation alone I would think someone would try this. Change is very slow in the fire service; maybe I have sparked someone else to pursue this one farther, as the whole idea only makes sense, at least to me.

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