Commercial Tires
All the Right Moves: Secrets to Success in Growing Commercial LT Tire Market

Commercial light truck tire buyers are everywhere – if you know where to look. They are plumbing, HVAC or electrical contractors, construction companies and pick-up-and-delivery companies. They are regional/local delivery companies, public utilities, municipalities and many small, service-oriented outfits. Some don’t work for a company – they’re self-employed. Their specific lines of work may differ,

Don’t Be Shorted

The old axiom of “supply and demand” is a long established and proven part of our free enterprise economy. The principle typically refers to pricing pressures, but there’s another, more basic, issue of product supply. Shortages – or in extreme cases, non-availability – of everyday components needed to replace worn or damaged parts can cripple

Hidden Heat Dangers

Even the most diligent technicians can be misled if component performance has been compromised by problems that are not culled out by normal inspections, not visually apparent or so rare that the offending condition is a first-time experience for the technician. Carefully inspecting used truck parts before placing them back into service is always good

Heavyweight Challenge: Understanding Customers’ Pain Points Can Boost Your Medium Truck Tire Sales

Turns out country singers are right ®“ a trucker’s life is hard. But we’re not talking about lonely stretches of highway. We’re talking business. “There will be a serious strain on the supply of medium truck tires available in 2004, and possibly through 2006, both at the OE and dealer levels,” says Ron Gilbert, director

Inside Information: RFID Technology Bolsters Tire Management

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology isn’t new. But when it comes to using RFID technology to track truck tires instead of a skid of laundry soap, what’s old is becoming new again. At his trailer yard in Moses Lake, Wash., Lee McGraw, equipment maintenance manager for regional carrier LTI, scans the tires on 21 tractors

Next Big Thing: Fleets Still Want Retreads But Prefer Greater Cost Efficiencies

Today, retreading is an integral part of most successful commercial tire servicing operations. The synergy gained from combining replacement tire sales with tire/wheel servicing and retreading makes good business sense from the viewpoints of both the fleet customer and the tire dealer. Truck fleet operators, both small and large, have precious little time and few

Fleets to Tire Dealers: Give Me Super Savings

He doesn’t like to talk about his experiences with super wide tires very much. “Gives me a competitive advantage over my competition,” he says. But Jimmy Ray, maintenance manager for Mesilla Valley Transportation in New Mexico, is one of a growing band of fleet converts. The 600 tractors and 1,500 trailers he oversees used to

Mutual Rewards: The Case for Outsourcing Has Never Been Stronger

“We hang on to our tire dealership relationships for dear life,” says Gary F. Petty, president and CEO of the National Private Truck Council (NPTC). Petty presumably speaks for most private fleets when he says, ®a lot of them rely on tire dealerships for servicing the tire function. They need that special expertise.® Without question,

Steel Makeover: There Are Savings, But Not Without Concerns

If you’re a tire dealer that currently provides steel wheel refinishing to your commercial truck tire customers, it may be to your benefit to take a close look at recent progress in new machinery and processes for inspecting and refinishing wheels. If you’re a fleet maintenance manager facing dozens of well-used steel wheels, it®™s a

Futuristic Fleets

Radial truck tires have come a long way in the last several decades. Initial tread mileage, resistance to irregular wear, fuel efficiency and casing durability/retreadability are some of the major areas of advancement. Over the long haul, gains in tire technology are impressive, but progress is historically slow and methodical, evolutionary in nature and not

Get Hitched!: Selling Specialized Trailer and RV Tires Easy Money for Dealers

Trailers and RVs are hot right now, and selling specialized tires for them can mean easy money for dealers Rick Coffey is feeling pretty good these days. As product manager for the high-speed division of Carlisle Tire and Wheel Co., which offers trailer tires, Coffey has watched his sales skyrocket. All high-speed tire plants are

The Big Question

 It happens a lot to tire people, sales people and engineers alike. It can happen at the end of a training class, in the middle of a presentation to a maintenance group, even in discussions with engineers of other truck components. And it especially happens face-to-face with a potential customer when trying to sell a