the Bandags,rivaled a new tire in performance
I’ve been a commercial driver for 30 years. My life depends on good tires. I trust recaps. I run 100,000 pound Tankers on them. The majority of seperated treads are from underinflation, whether new or recaps. My experience with failures on recaps is the sidewalls give out from age.
Super singles will throw off a tread due to underinflation also. The difference is with duals you can limp down the shoulder of the road if you have to, Super single gives out you are not going anywhere until the wheel is replaced.
Thanks for the good information, @Slowtalker - in your experience are many of the failed tires on the inside of the dual? Or is it pretty much either one? One advantage of the super singles might be that all the tires are visible at all times.
Any truckers using a TPMS?
@Slowtalker we use Bandag retreads in our fleet
Do you use those also?
Are you an owner operator?
Have you ever used, or heard, of Doublecoin tires?
I’ve heard of them a cheaper asian tire,that seems to be alright.we had good luck using repaired tires,we could often end up with an almost “new” pair of tires for 250$,I mentioned the Bandags previously,they were the standard for “recapped” tires and on the big,big boys,you can actually tear the huge tires down and replace belts and what have you,but I dont think they ever do that on a truck tire for economy and obvious reasons,I also know a few things about tires having been in construction and trucking all my life.
The Military has a system to monitor and inflate and deflate tires on their vehicles,for floatation and traction purposes,I believe most of the over the road trucks using the “Super Singles” have a system to monitor and keep the air pressure right in these donuts,dont know what one of those cost but you can bet the tire and rim assembly cost a nice chunk of change
@kmccune Yeah, I found the Doublecoin website, and while the company seems to be american, the tires are definitely made overseas
I never heard of that brand until a few weeks ago, when I mounted some. I’m not sure exactly who orders tires for our fleet, but somebody probably became aware of Doublecoin, and realized they’re cheaper than, say, Continental
On the other hand, they seem to keep many Michelin 11R22.5 in stock, and they’re undoubtedly much more expensive than Doublecoin
So cost can’t be the only criteria, I’m guessing
And as for retreads, they’re all Bandag
I am familiar with new tire construction and recapping and on a few occasions seen recaps that had rolled off the carcass carrying a great deal of belt and wondered if repeated capping was over vulcanizing the carcass rubber. The new tread is already cured(vulcanized) as is the carcass rubber but the layer of raw cushion gum rubber that bonds the two is heated to cure it between the tread and carcass. How many times can rubber be heated without deteriorating? I have seen new tires that have run through repeated cure cycles, usually about 20 minutes, and the rubber would be somewhat brittle and no longer have the smooth surface feel.
Rod Knox said: “… How many times can rubber be heated without deteriorating?..”
This is highly dependent on the rubber itself - and it varies considerably. Many truck tires come with a warranty that is valid through 3 retreads. Some warranties are more about time, than the number of retreads.
@Db-we have a retreader in this area that uses “Oliver” retreads,dont know if its a seperate deal or licensed by Bandag,I think a lot of the rubber quality has to do with the amount of natural rubber included in the manufacture of the tire,I suppose due to cost and performance most of our modern tires are a synthetic plastic fotmulae and I have seen some types of old rubber that seemed to hold up a heck of a lot better in the natural enviroment,some of this new stuff seems to crack after 6 months in the enviroment,different types of rubber are propeitary,WAtched a “Modern Marvels” show once that said that rubber was (I believe) No.4 in materials of strategic
importance,the rubber that is natural ,(like cellulose)has had millions of years of natural selection to get it right.
Just an FYI:
Natural rubber is mostly polyisoprene. There are contaminants in natural rubber, which is why there are grades of natural rubber. However, polyisoprene can be made from petroleum, and it will be more chemically pure - but it is also more expensive.
There are different types of rubber: Butyl, polybutadiene, nitrile, etc. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
So it isn’t a case of natural vs synthetic. It’s a matter of properties and cost.
Natural used to be the thing however,are the “synthetic” compounds the same “handedness” as the natural?(I have really developed a loathing .for cheap “plastic” materials as of late)
Plastics can be made super cheap and loathsome, but they can be tailor made to do a better job than anything else in some cases.
Remember when changing a toilet seat involved a hacksaw or chisel and some cussing?
"...are the "synthetic" compounds the same "handedness" as the natural?"
I think you’re confusing optical isomerism with cis/trans isomerism:
Good call,Insightful-I didnt know what they called the term,I was doing it a little simpler,but cis and trans suits the heck out of Me.One compound came to mind,the carbohydrate molecule called Sucrose,seems like righthanded sugar would make you fat,but left handed sugar,wouldnt be metabolized by the body,the same way(Its fascinating how our bodies are just groups of different cells and microorganisms,functioning symbiotically) thanks for the refresher.
But on the plastics,give me cast or forged metal most of the time please,one day I came across an aluminum Jeep grill from the 70s laying in the weeds(it was in perfect shape-had it been contempary plastic,it probaly would have been in bits and pieces,but on the other hand I can still come across some of the old plastics that have weathered extremely well,it seems the old PE pipe holds up well in the elements,while the standard PVC not so well,so it goes
Ah,Circutsmith you are so right(you dont make circut boards and the like by chance,do you?)
kmmcune said: “…Natural used to be the thing however,are the “synthetic” compounds the same “handedness” as the natural?..”
I think it would be better if you thought of rubber like you think of metals. There are many different kinds and each has its own properties - and each has its place where it performs the best. For example, butyls have excellent air retention, which is why they are used on the inside of tubeless tires (and tubes, obviously). By contrast, isoprene (natural) rubber isn’t as good, so you would need a layer on the order of twice as thick to get the same air retention.
CR,that is entirely reasonable,thanks.But for some reason I’m prejudice in the favor of metals,I just like the way they stand the test of time all else being equal or perhaps,I’m just going by the quality of old stuff that was designed to last.