may2021 - 32

SPOTLIGHT ON UNDER VEHICLE

Retreading done right
For many fleets, a successful retread program
could offset initial new tire costs and boost
a fleet's overall return on investment.
By Cristina Commendatore

or commercial truck fleets, failure to maintain
proper tire pressure could lead to various safety
risks and violations while vehicles are in service,
costing them much more in the long term.
Improper tire inflation is the leading cause
of tires not reaching their full life expectancy.
Underinflation causes fleets to prematurely pull
tires out of service, while overinflated tires are
prone to irregular wear and compromised sidewall strength. Problems also arise when tread
depths are mismatched and when fleets mistakenly use the wrong tire for the application, which
leads to poor performance and potential hazards
on the road.
Keeping tires properly inflated, while also
maintaining minimum federal tread depth levels
- 4/32nds for steer tires, and 2/32nds for drive and
trailer tires - will not only help prevent roadside
safety events and violations, it will also extend a
tire's life to ensure the casing can be retreaded.
For many fleets, a successful retread program
is a way to maximize the bottom line. By properly utilizing a retread program, fleets can offset
initial new tire costs and spread that cost out over
multiple tread lifecycles.
" Retreading is a vital part of any fleet operation, "
explained Tom Clauer, senior manager of commercial product planning, Yokohama Tire. " There are
a few exceptions where fleets may choose to use
virgin tires exclusively. Even in these situations,
retread programs are beneficial for fleets because
by selling back the casing, they generate money
from a retreading dealer. This can easily offset
original tire purchase costs. "
Clauer added that premium new tires can be
retreaded multiple times, thus expanding the
usability of the casing.

Retread eligibility

It is important that fleets know when and if a
casing can in fact be retreaded. According to the
Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB),
no medium truck, heavy radial truck, or bus tire
casings should be accepted for retreading with
the following " conditions or injuries. "
External
Ply separation beyond repairable limits; tread
separations that cannot be removed during
buffing; broken, damaged, kinked, or exposed
bead wire; excessive oxidation (i.e., weather
checking) extending to the body plies or deeper

32 Fleet Maintenance | May 2021

than 2/32 " (1.5mm); tires worn to exposed belt
wires on more than 10 percent of the worn tire
circumference, unless a protector belt is to be
removed or damaged belts are to be replaced;
circumferential cracking; tires with rust or
corrosion beyond repairable limits; any signs
of weakness or non-repairable injury (softness
due to contamination from chemical/petroleum
products, ripples, bulges, porosity, etc.); crunching or popping sounds when flexed; surface cuts
that exceed the size of a repairable injury and
penetrate the cord body; radial ply cracking; or
improper labeling.

" ...retread programs
are beneficial for
fleets because by
selling back the casing,
they generate money
from a retreading
dealer. This can easily
offset original tire
purchase costs. "

Internal
Injuries to the body plies in the non-repairable
bead area; loose cords on the inside ply or evidence
of having been run underinflated or overloaded;
non-repairable damage to the inner liner or bead
area on tires identified as tubeless; open inner
liner splices which expose cord; flex breaks,
X-breaks, or impact breaks; porous, contaminated
from chemical degradation, or loose inner liners;
previously installed repairs found to be defective
and unrepairable; or suspected of potential zipper
damage, which include any signs of weakness or
non-repairable injury (e.g., ripples, bulges, porosity, softness, etc.) in the sidewall, particularly the
upper sidewall.
" Technicians and drivers need to know and
understand that just 'sticking' and measuring
tread depths is not enough, " Yokohama's Clauer
explained. " They need to do a complete 360-degree
visual inspection. There could be irregular wear
patterns in which lower tread depths could be
found. The lowest tread depth - not the average
tread depth - is the measurement that must be
used. Road inspections have set measurements
and will look for and use the lowest tread depth
they can find. "
According to Dustin Lancy, product marketing manager for North America Commercial,
Goodyear, most of the company's larger commercial fleet customers are retreading as an integral
part of their overall tire management program.
Goodyear offers a retread management system
called GTRACS that helps track the casing lifecycle of a tire. It tracks the health of the casing, how
many retreads it has had, and allows technicians
to add repair notes into the system.
" When that product comes back from the fleet
to be retreaded, we can do the proper inspections
to make sure that casing is eligible to be retreaded
again and to go back into the fleet for use once
again after it's been retreaded, " Lancy explained.
" A casing is like a $100 bill to a fleet if it hasn't
been retreaded, " Lancy added. " You want to take

Tom Clauer, senior manager
of commercial product
planning, Yokohama Tire

»Retreading is a process that must start
with a high-quality tire and casing.

»Quality new tires can eventually
be retreaded multiple times.
Photo courtesy of Cooper Tire

Photo courtesy of Cooper Tire

may2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of may2021