Dealer Training for a New Marketplace
Twenty years ago, a young non-profit professional was tasked with convincing the truck tire and wheel service industry that they needed to train their employees in order to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. It’s just as absurd as it sounds. Employee training has been required by OSHA for almost 40 years
Up to Bats
Keeping Your Eye on the Ball Will Keep Fleet Customers Rolling Trouble-Free Since fleets are beginning to recognize the importance of tire inflation pressure maintenance, the number of tractors and trailers inspected on a daily basis is probably as high as it’s ever been. Unfortunately, too many technicians just check the tread depth and the
Cause and Effect
Cause and Effect Finding Reasons For Irregular Wear Saves Downtime and Money What causes a tire to develop an irregular wear pattern? Often, the answer depends on axle position and the conditions under which the tire operates. Most uneven tread wear conditions on drive and trailer axle tires are usually attributed to improper inflation pressure.
Making It Stick: Getting the Patch to Stick is What Tire Repair is All About
People who insist on using the correct terminology for everything will probably not approve of the subtitle I’ve chosen. They would prefer something more proper like, “Achieving Repair Unit Vulcanization.” Many of them might admit that both titles send the same message, but they just can’t bring themselves to say the words “patch” and “stick”
Care and Caution: Few Ways to Predict Zipper Rupture; Here’s How to Keep Techs Safe
Care and Caution Few Ways to Predict Zipper Rupture; Here’s How to Keep Techs Safe A steel cord radial truck tire is an engineering marvel. It has to endure a wide range of temperatures in every imaginable environment. This flexible chamber enables large vehicles to ride on a virtual cushion of compressed air. In reality,
Looking For Trouble: Without a Torque Wrench, You’re Just Under the Gun
Looking For Trouble Without a Torque Wrench, You’re Just Under the Gun On Sept. 27, 2000, a tractor-trailer on I-70 outside of Columbus, Ohio, lost two wheels on the trailer. One of the wheels bounded across the interstate and struck another semi traveling in the opposite direction, causing the vehicle to lose control and jump
Not Cutting It
Not Cutting It There is a distinct difference between fixing something or repairing it. A “fix” is a temporary solution, while a ®repair® permanently restores the object to its original condition.When tires go flat as the result of a puncture, there is only one acceptable method for returning them to service. Repair.According to tire manufacturer
Easy As Popcorn
Easy As Popcorn I’m all for making things idiot proof. Just the other night I was cooking popcorn in the microwave, and I started thinking about what that particular appliance has done for food preparation. Twenty years ago, if I wanted popcorn I had to cook it on the stove or a special popping device.
Dealing With Nuts: Solve Frozen Nut Caps With Low-Tech Techniques
Dealing With Nuts Solve Frozen Nut Caps With Low-Tech Techniques We’ve all heard the speculations and read the stories: Computer chips in tires with handheld readers for commercial tire service technicians are just around the corner. Every truck will need a laptop and Internet access in-cab by 2010. The information age has finally arrived, and
Make the Right Turn: Don’t Underestimate the Impact of Proper Valve Stem Torque
Make the Right Turn Don’t Underestimate the Impact of Proper Valve Stem Torque When the ITRA’s Commercial Tire Service Program began in 1996, I thought I knew everything about truck tires and wheels. Years of experience on the road and in the shop made me an expert as far as I was concerned. I didn’t
Hot & Cold: Ambient Air Temps Have Great Impact on ‘Correct’ Tire Pressure
cause any flexing object will generate heat, proper inflation pressure also enables the tire to reach an equilibrium temperature where the amount of heat created is equal to the amount of heat dissipated through the sidewalls, shoulder and tread area.Even though the tire industry has long reminded fleets and tire dealers about the importance of