Super single tires on a coach

[chart1]

I have seeing these super single tires being used for the past couple years on semi's. It is one wide tire that is in place of the dual wheels. Has anyone tried these on a coach yet ? Just google super single tire.

[luvrbus]

Cory, couple of Eagles running around with extra wide on the front and boogie with single rears I'll see if I can find a photo for you they look good that is about all I know.
Rusty here on the board is installing that setup on his Eagle and some factory Prevost have the wide on the front and tag with single on the drivers it just doesn't look right on a bus lol 


good luck

[chart1]

What is the purpose of wide on the front?

[luvrbus]

45 ft buses can get heavy on the front Prevost have always been heavy on the front when converted

[Jriddle]

The front can get over weight in a hurry. The rear will be good but front could get close if not over the weight limit in a hurry. When you have a wider tire you will be allowed more weight up to a point depending on what state you are in.

My Take

John

[chart1]

wouldn't they be harder to steer in snowy weather.

[Busted Knuckle]

45' Setra's have the same issue about being heavy on the front! (wanna know how I know?)
 BK  

[artvonne]

  With the right wheels it could look very hot on a two axle Bus. Giant 22.5 Cragars lol. The spare could be a problem though.

[Tim Strommen]

It's not just the tires you need to worry about for weight, the axle rating is also a concern, and you need to look at your max weights...

Putting them in the front axle will require checking clearances and suspension tweaks, and may affect the steering geometry negatively.

Personally, I like them, and I'd like to find a way to get them put on, but I wouldn't want to do it unless all axles, wheels, and tires were matched (would let me carry just one spare).  It could be done, a 13K-lb front axle and a 26K-lb axle can be substituted with three 13K-lb axles by installing another rear axle, and replace the 26K existing rear axle with another 13K-lb axle. Michelin XZY (wb) tires mounted on 13" wheels...  Nice

-T

[TomC]

The original idea for running super single X-one's on the drive axle was that you could either use the 445/50R-22.5 to replace the 295/75 or 275/80R-22.5 and the 455/55R-22.5 to replace the 11R-22.5 tires.  To do so, the rims on the super singles had a 2" offset to the outside to put the outside of the tire at the same location as the duals outside edge.  The problem with this is that it put undue stress on the outer axle bearing causing many bearing failures.  So much so, that now, Freightliner will only install the X-one super singles on the drive axles only if the new 4" wider axles are ordered so that you can run a 0" offset wheel that distributes the weight equally to the two axle bearings-thus eliminating premature bearing failure.  You can still take the super singles off and replace them with duals as designed before, only now the duals will be very close to the 102" wide overall width-which may look a bit funny since the front truck power units are still being made at 96" width.  Personally-I would run them on the front axle for more weight carrying-but the 315/80R-22.5 is rated up to 18,000lbs at 75mph or the 20ply high weight version at 20,000lbs at 65mph.  Good Luck, TomC

[DMoedave]

I have heard you get a milage gain also. Thanks Tom for the bearing tutorial. had heard about bearing issues but never explained.

[buswarrior]

Tom, to put in perspective for a busnut, the shortened bearing life was how much less, and whether that would be an issue for a busnut and our usually paltry mileage?

Super Singles do have some improvement in fuel mileage due to the one tire having less rolling resistance than a pair of traditional dual tires, and some weight savings with a larger single rim, and the bigger single tire weighs less than two.

The resistance to switching to singles now for new equipment has more to do with emotion than science.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[robertglines1]

Blow a drive tire and your down on rims/and suspension really quick!. Out of controll? definite can't limp in on one tire. or out of traffic.  not like a semi with 2 drive axles.  Look cool!    Bob

[boxcarOkie]

Blow a drive tire and your down on rims/and suspension really quick!. Out of controll? definite can't limp in on one tire. or out of traffic.  not like a semi with 2 drive axles.  Look cool!    Bob

I have to agree, they look good, and in light weight situations I guess they do the job, lot of tankers are running them and Prime Inc has switched over to them also.  But I would be worried about the flat tire issue, once they go down, you are somewhat out of action.

BCO

[luvrbus]

In my travels I have never saw one with a flat have any of you guys ?


good luck