Alliance Tire Americas Inc. (ATA) has launched a new line of truck and bus radial (TBR) tires under its Galaxy brand, including 10 designs and more than 40 sizes of 16-ply, all-steel radials, with plans for continued expansion. Testing this new line is Appalachian Freight, an Edinburg, Va.-based trucking company, that runs 100 Mack trucks and 425 trailers. Jeff Pence, vice president at Appalachian Freight explains his experience with the line.
“We have trucks that run over 20 hours a day, up to seven days a week, back and forward seven miles from a processing facility to a distribution center,” said Pence of the 2010 Mack day cabs he used to test 16-ply Galaxy DR271-G regional drive tires. “There’s two drivers that work two shifts and they run those trucks back and forth all day long and half the night. They back one in, open the door and jump in the next truck.”
That arrangement set the stage for a perfect test of the tires’ durability, he noted.
“You look at the data and those tires are getting used,” he added. “They’re not parked in somebody’s garage somewhere. Every day, those tires are getting used, and they’re performing. And that’s what we’re after. We watch tires really close, and those tires have done really well. They’ve exceeded our expectations, and we have data to back that up.”
According to ATA, the line is made of carefully formulated compounds to sophisticated tread designs to rock ejectors, decoupling grooves and sipes, stating that it is optimized for the challenges encountered in each application. Several of the tires feature special chip-resistant compound for use in construction zones and on/off-road use while others have specially engineered tread designs to minimize wear on the highway. All feature special bead packages for easy mounting and secure contact with rims.
"For generations, the Galaxy brand has represented the best of durability and tire technology in off-road tires," said Dhaval Nanavati, president of ATA. "Now we're bringing that performance and reliability to the highway with our Galaxy TBR line.”
Pence’s philosophy is to invest in good tires, then maintain them well to get the best possible performance throughout the life of the tire.
“Really, it’s all about your cost per mile or cost per hour,” said Pence. “We don’t pinch pennies when it comes to buying tires, we run the best you can get. Every time they come in, we look them over. You’ve got to keep your pressure straight, and your alignment is critical. We do an alignment on every service, we check the bogie alignment, we check the camber and the caster and the toe-in, and we rotate the tires when they start to wear."
Pence said he’s happy to find tires he can trust to help keep his business moving.
“I mean, we’re here to put bread on the table and be successful,” Pence added. “These tires have helped us do that.”
