any opinions on running retreads on the rear of my mc9 ? pro or con ? which ones would be best ? thanks Pete
Hi Pete, I would prefer used over retread, lvmci...
A good retread like Bandag will give you good results every bus nut should stop at the Bridgestone testing grounds outside Ft Stockton Tx off I 10 I spent a day there Bridgestone the owners of Bandag puts the recaps through some tough testing that will never be seen in the real world
Believe it or not, 50% of the big rubber pieces in the road-alligators-are from new tires blowing. Nothing wrong with a name brand retread. Like any other tire, keeping the tire pressure up is the main concern. UPS runs recaps on all positions on their delivery cars (step vans). Personally, I'd rather run a recap then a used tire-you don't know where that tire has been. A recap has been carefully inspected before capping. Then it is put in the oven to cure again. Should go to Bandag and see all what they do to recap a tire. Good Luck, TomC
Goodyear,Michelin and Bridgestone all have recapping plants I just read on the internet of all places that the Goodyear capping plant in Ft Smith AR was rated the # 1 in the US
thanks for all the responses,,recaps it will be ,,,especially at less than half the price of new ones ,,Pete
I cannot imagine a retread or a used tire being much value on a coach only driven a few miles annually.
No matter how you look at it the casing is junk after 6 to 10 years depending on your risk tolerance.
So unless you get a retread or used tire with a nearly new date code your half price is a crap shoot. A trucker who puts 120,000 miles a year on his tires will wear out a 5 year old casing in one year and his money was well spent. An RV owner runs the risk of getting a casing at the limit of its age and it times out long before it wears out.
But to be honest a lot of people on here roll the dice by heading down the road with old tires and dodge a bullet every day so if you are lucky it makes sense. If you are risk averse try to figure out how you can get your half priced tires with year old date codes.
We just got back from a 4500 mile trip I saw more alligators from tires in Texas than anywhere 5 of the super singles I don't think they like the 80 mph speed limit on I 10
I saw a new H-45 throw 2 rear Michelin's in New Mexico it was one of the Nascar people new bus it made a mess on the rear the panel it was laying in the road
Like Jon says, casing life can be an issue with retreads. Hardly any of us will wear a new tire out. If a casing in bus conversion use will last 7 to 10 years do you really want to start with a 5 year old casing? Maybe I'm wrong and casings used for retreads will last longer than I expect. I choose not to us retreads when I got new drives last year.
I wonder if you could use recaps on the front axle of a converted bus since it is no longer a passenger carrier,a bus is the only vehicle not allowed to use recaps on the front axle truckers run caps on the front axle not that I would just asking the ?
Commercial big rig trucks are NOT allowed to run recaps on the front axles. I personally would only run the best new tires on the steer axle at all times. Good Luck, TomC
The Feds say you can TomC it is in the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Regulations some states say no but very few of those
Would hope today's recaps are much improved vs 40 yrs ago. I have not had an issue with caps on trailers, but alwaysran 110-115 psi, very light heating and no issues. Maybe just lucky, just glad to get away from the tube tire, yikes !!
Dave M
I just talked to my tire guy who is also a Bandag recapper. Let me restate-if you are running a truck across state lines you cannot use recaps on the front axle. If you are carrying passengers, hazmat, petroleum, chemicals, etc you cannot run recaps on the front-even though you can if you are an intra state (inside the state) carrier.
About the only two companies that my recapper knows that runs recaps on the front are UPS on their delivery cars (step vans) and trash trucks. But-the only way you can run a recap on the front is if it only has one casing repair, and it is stamped on the side approved for steer axle. Of which my tire guy will not do.
Some of the trash trucks will have their tires recapped 8 times. Since the trash trucks don't go very fast or don't go long distances, cost of operation is much more important then a tire blowing.
I would run a recap on the drive and tag axles of a motorhome. Good Luck, TomC
Ok just read the book it states you can I just ask the question as I see recaps on the front of about all of the Mexicans trucks running our highways but not on the Mexican buses I am not going to run caps on the front of anything
For the life of me I cannot see how the math works to make caps work unless there is assurance the casings are almost new. Any other scenario and recaps are just a poor investment.
Where recaps make sense is with long distance truck drivers. New tires on the steers and drive axles, then recap the drive axle tires to run on the trailers. On my own motorhome, new tires. Good luck, TomC
Hi All, I run used tires that are just acouple years old and no less than 50%, that seems to get me thru a few years, for the price of a car tire. From wiens commercial off blue diamond road here in LV. The busses going south in the summer thru the desert heat and north to utah in the winter storms, drop their tires off in LV, my tires always dryout, checker, dryrot before wearing low,
I only use a new tire a 1/4 way down at most, Tom how do the recaps show drying out with two different age rubber compounds melted together like that? Do you still look for dry checking in the same places? lvmci...
Tom (LVMCI), give Ralph's tire pro's a call here in BC very reasonable prices
702-294-8473 ;) even cheaper than ted weins
Interesting that my tire guy said that exterior side wall cracking doesn't mean much. It is the age of the belts that hold the tire together. Good Luck, TomC
The Michelin people told me those were Ozone cracks on my year old tires not to worry about unless they were over 2/32 in depth guess what I blew one out coming from Texas still waiting on warranty results from Michelin I have a feeling what they will say since they made me pay for a new tire lol
Michelin has charts on their web site that show both acceptable and non-acceptable side wall cracking and then they go on to say after 6 years in service tires have to be inspected.
None of the recappers in my area will touch a tire with a 6 year date code regardless of how nice the sidewalls look.
LOL you guys that don't believe in recapping when I done the hanger for American Air Lines in Ft Worth they sure used a lot of recaps some had been capped many times they kept tires coming and going to the recap place makes one wonder what he is landing on
How does one tell the difference in dry rot or Ozone cracks that is what I asked the Michelin all he could say is dry rot comes with age
I think all the tire co's could make a better tire you see tires on equipment 20+ years old with no cracks a operator gets the dozer blade into one pushing a scraper they cut the section out install another section and you are good to go jmo but I think the tire co's rip us off
Since Michelin is known for early sidewall cracking, it is no surprise that they have come up with this good crack/bad crack thing. I find it a bit suspicious but will use the same logic when explaining my gray hair to my grandkids.
I have heard that the Japanese tires are more resistant to smog cracking. My tire guy likes Hankook tires. Good luck, TomC
I agree with you guys, there is sun damage, hardening of the rubber, weakening and loosening of the belts, plus all the hazards that are faced by all tires, my thinking is if a used tire has just traveled 1/3 to 1/2 of its thread under loads far beyond what I will put on it, and was taken car e of, my little ole bus can use a proven tire for a few years. My wife said I was well worn when she got me, and my belts were expanding, but I seem to have a little more time left after the warentee! Lvmci...
We get sold on tires here the military doesn't change tires every 6 years and they don't have the cracking problem or in the mid east least I never saw it there and they have plenty of heat and sun
Our tire compounds continually release agents to prevent cracking as they are used. It is when a tire is not routinely used that it gets damaged.
That is the problem with buses that sit in someone's back yard for months at a time and undoubtedly contributes to shortened tire life.
According to tire manufacturers regular use is the best thing we can do for our tires.
I ended up replacing four tires last year that were seven years old. I wasn't expecting it, but I got $100 each in casing credits for seven year old casings. I only really needed one new tire last year, but after no luck finding a decent used tire I ended replacing four tires because they would have needed it in a year or two anyhow.
I always used Toyos on my buses never much cracking I always had HWH jacks on every bus when we came in from a trip the bus was in the shop with the jacks down and no weight on the tires it was JMW