With growing competition in the truck tire and retread industry, fleets have more choices than ever when selecting the rubber that meets the road. From name brands that have been around for decades to newcomers that are utilizing the advances in technology, the overall performance and value has never been better. That being said, there is always room for improvement, so fleets need to insulate themselves from sales pitches, special pricing and tire tests that are designed to entice fleet managers to make a change. Since margins are tighter than ever, it’s easy to get caught up in offers that are too good to pass up. The key to long-term success is recognizing the difference between the steak and the sizzle.
Given the current state of the industry, most fleets run several different types of tires and retreads. Some are proven performers that have delivered for years while others are either new brands or tread designs. In most cases, the suppliers track the performance in order to create the necessary data to demonstrate how their product is superior and/or the most cost-effective.
But I’ve always felt that the most valuable report that a fleet manager can use to determine the value of tires and retreads comes from the scrap pile. Between the casings that are returned as received (RAR) from the retreader to the failed tires from emergency road service, every tire that is removed from service has a story to tell that can serve as a road map for future purchases.
Perhaps the best place to start is the age of the casing. Most truck tires come with a six- to seven-year casing warranty that includes a limited number of retreads. The path of least resistance is to just scrap the casing before it approaches the warranty or retread limit, but that may or may not be the best practice. Without any data that supports the decision to retread a casing or remove it from service based solely on age, fleets may be losing assets or taking unnecessary risks as tires age.
Another tire cost and performance factor that can be defined through detailed scrap tire analysis is the effectiveness of the inflation pressure maintenance program. The increasing usage of shearography in retreading identifies casings with hidden conditions like the onset of belt edge separations. By tracking the general life cycle of each tire with this condition, fleets can more easily determine if the problems are related to underinflation or linked directly to a particular brand or model of tire. But without the data, fleets are just guessing.
While the quality of today’s retreads is comparatively better than ever, there is still a certain degree of craftsmanship that goes into retreading or repairing a tire. Again, it’s easy to just accept every scrap tire or RAR casing as the nature of the business, but the reasons for the removal from service might say a lot about the companies that are responsible for retreading or repairing the tires. Comparing the data from one region to another may identify trends or similarities that might indicate a supplier that is either too quick to RAR a casing or too slow.
Every tire or casing will eventually be removed from service. When fleets have detailed reports regarding the age, brand, number of retreads, and reasons for removal, the decisions regarding the purchase of tires and tread designs that deliver the best value are based on data, so the subjective nature of opinions are removed from the equation. It definitely takes time to collect and analyze the information from scrap tire surveys, but the payoff is usually worth its weight in gold.
Kevin Rohlwing can be reached at [email protected]
