Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/353300
August 2014 | EquipmentWorld.com 32 2. Off-center mounting Good mechanics know you don't tighten any series of bolts in linear fashion, but Johni Francis, global products manager for Titan Tires says he's seen it many times – some- body changes a tire and torques all the lug nuts by going around in a circle instead of cross tightening. "Then you have a wheel that's off camber," says Francis. "That plays havoc on the wear of the tire and transmits a lot of vibration to the ma- chine itself." When the tire isn't prop- erly mounted, the beads don't seat completely on the fl ange, he says. "That will cut the tire's life in half. You change the fl ex point of the tire on the sidewall. You get excess wear in the fl ange area and create extra heat in the shoul- der as well." "There is a process for mounting and it's not hard," says Walenga. "You have to put tire lubricant on both beads of the tire and both bead seats. It has to be tire lubricant. Not diesel fuel, not dishwashing liquid. Then get the tire mounted on the rim and throw a little air in there, just enough to get the beads to close up, maybe 5 pounds. Then roll that tire into a cage and air it up to its service pressure from inside a cage." Most people think that's it, says Walenga, but the next step is to inspect the tire. Look for what the industry calls the guide ring. This is a small concentric line, or two on the tire just above of the fl ange of the rim and that guide rib should ap- pear equidistant from the rim all the way around the tire. If it does not look equal all around, you are seeing a vari- ation of more than 1.5 mm or 2/32-inch, which is the maximum variance al- lowed. Some- times one bead will seat proper- ly and the other will get hung up resulting in an off-center tire and a guide ring that is not evenly spaced around the circumfer- ence of the rim. Check both sides of the tire for this concentric seating on the wheel. "If it's not concentric, air it down, relube the wheel and bead and try it again," says Walenga. "If it still isn't right, measure your wheel to make sure it's concentric and if it is, then call your tire guy." Walenga also recommends that you use new valve stems, grommets and valve cores and torque them correctly. "You can buy these by the carton for nickels and dimes," he says. "This is the stuff that keeps the air in that you're spending a lot of time doing deep knee bends to maintain it." 3. Bad alignment Proper alignment is another factor in stretching the longevity of your tires. It's best the check this periodically, say, every time you have a truck or vehicle in for PMs, and checking the alignment is not complicated or expensive, says Walenga. If you wait until you can see the wear in your tires you've likely already used up those tires prematurely and lost a percentage of their value. 4. No pressure monitoring As of 2008, tire pressure monitor- ing systems have been required by law on all new passenger cars in the United States. Off-road equipment isn't subject to the same laws but there are dozens of different factory installed and aftermarket systems at different prices available for these bigger tires. The Tire and Rim As- sociation is pushing for mandatory TPMS in off road equipment says Francis. The simplest TPMS simply tells an operator or driver when the tire pressure is out of spec. Other systems can monitor temperature. The most sophisticated systems use an RFID device that sends signals through a cellular service to a re- mote website. "I can turn on my computer at maintenance | continued Get productive: volvoce.com/Build/ew Whether it's a new office or the utilities that run to it, you get it done ahead of schedule. Smart works. Train your operators on how to inspect the tires as part of their daily walk-around.