Recapped tires

[ilyafish]

Pros & Cons, and how much does it run?

[Lin]

I am sure that there are good quality, durable retreads out there, but I would wonder whether they can give the same ride as new ones. 

[JohnEd]

Might be obvious to some:  I would think that the ride qualities of the "original" casing would figure greatly in the ride quality of the cap. and that without mentioning the number of plies and weight rating.

John

[Eagle78550]

Never on the front ...but I have ran them on the drive and bogie ....my personal opinion is to keep peace of mind and run new tires ....FWIW

[TomC]

Retreads are good-especially if you can have your own tires recapped.  Then you know what the history of the tire carcasses are.  Run them on the drive and tag.  Most don't know the 50% of the big hunks of tires you see on the road (referred to as alligators by the truckers), are new tire treads.  So the old wives tale of recaps only being responsible for tire separation is just not true.  Good Luck, TomC

[belfert]

I doubt too many of us will be in the position of recapping our own casings.  In RV use, most folks suffer cracking of the casings long before the tread is worn out.

I suppose those who are doing band tours and the like might actually wear out tires before the casing is junk.

[Chopper Scott]

I don't know about the "alligators" on the road as being 50 percent virgin tires versus recaps. I do know several things however. Truckers don't run caps on the steering axles for safety reasons and generally try and run caps on the trailers only. There is a reason why. I've also repaired a lot of damage on the trailer fenders, light bars and bumpers after they throw a cap. You would be amazed at how much damage can result from a tire flying apart. I don't want to ever think about what it could do to a bus structure. I'll ever run a recap on my bus. But as stated, most of our carcasses will be weather checked long before the tread is gone. Invest in some wheel covers. Later

[busnut104]

On my tri-axle and tandem dump trucks I have only run the cold caps on the drive axles for many of years, I have not lost one cap. Now when the caps where the hot caps that was a different story, I also know a lot of owner operators that run the 18 wheelers are running caps on the drives. I would not be afraid to run caps on my bus on the rear. First of all we are not carrying that much weight, usually less then 40,000 and are not running long distance at high speeds ( 80 to 90 ).   

[RJ]

Truckers don't run caps on the steering axles for safety reasons and generally try and run caps on the trailers only.

IIRC, running recaps on the steer axle is also against Federal regulations. . .

For RV use, running good quality (Bandag, for example) caps on the drive and tags could be a cost-effective solution for some folk.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[belfert]

I thought I read somewhere (here maybe) that recaps are now legal on the steers.  If it would be a good idea is another question all together.

[JohnEd]

Now the only thing I can see that is different about steering axles is that the contact patch changes with steering input and they have a lot more side loading.  from what my limited vision can see, the steers carry LESS weight. 

If reliability is so good these days BUT they aren't a really safe bet, WHY did the gummint relax the safety spec.  Now don't say that it is because the pols got paid off with contribs and industry, generally speaking, is getting a free ride at the expense of public safety.  There is a new team in town that will prevent that sort of thing....they have stopped torture, right?  This ain't Reagan with his "you can't intimidate me...fire all the experienced Air Traffic Controllers and to hell with safety for air travelers" or his lets eliminate the gummint controls on Savings and Loans or B#! with his timely reduction on bank regulation or B#2 with his remap of GREEN laws and trillions in #$@@#&^%......don't get me started.  Caps must be getting safer is the only answer.


John....I think?

[Lin]

Yeah, you're right.  We should not get you started.

[RJ]

Belfert, JohnEd, Lin and others -

Straight from the horse's mouth, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.  Read 393.75(d)

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.asp?rule_toc=762&section=393.75&section_toc=1905


Let's not get into the argument that we're no longer a "bus" because we've converted our coach into an RV.  Come accident time, law enforcement and liars-for-hire are going to consider it a bus.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Gary '79 5C]

RJ,
Thanks I got my NJ CDL book out, but it is not the most recent. It is not just a good idea, it is the law. If any one has had to compare a steer vs rear-tag tire failure will be cured for life.

JohnEd,
Best to leave this with the OT subjects and not here. "There is a new team in town that will prevent that sort of thing....they have stopped torture, right?"

BTW What a joke if you think this team is not the back pocket of Big Labor, UAW, CardCheck, Solar & Wind=GE, Bailout Banks who lent to low lifes who cannot payback & do not intend to, Franks & Dodd all are not a new team...
Oooh Baby as out spent the first 43 presidents in 8 Weeks.
Yeah Good Job?

[happycamperbrat]

I wont ever run recaps. The reasons are once I did have the misfortune of a front tire blow out in a car and you lose control FAST when this happens, compared to rear tire blow outs which somewhat disable the moving vehicle but not to the point that the front end starts jumping around all over the place while you're trying to steer it to the side for safety. Also I had a recap on rear tires of a corvette and once while racing down a hill (trying to keep up with my dad in another vette who was racing a porche). When that tire exploded it literally tore up the side of my vette from the middle of the driver's door all the way to the end of the back of the vette on that side. There is NO WAY I would risk any of that happening in a big bus. And I read in this thread about the damage the recaps do to the trailer when a trucker uses them, but can you just imagine what would happen with 36" of rubber hitting another car who had the misfortune of being behind the truck it exploded on? Sounds like a killer to me! There is no preparing for an exploding recap, no warning or anything. Mostly the buses/RVs are driving on hwys and freeways at fast speeds and mostly that is when they will go because the tires get hot and the glue melts and, of course, that is a recipe for disaster and tragedy.