Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/873881
September 2017 | EquipmentWorld.com 32 Gradual damage "There are different stages of heat damage," says Fish. "Slight over- heating can cause the rubber to wear faster than what would be considered normal. Heat causes the rubber to break down and causes separations in the tire. The rubber gets soft and spongy and breaks down. Steel cables can start to come out of the tire as it heats up, and the rubber turns to soft liquid." "Heat can damage the belt edges and bead areas, but they're not going to notice it," says Francis. "You won't have a catastrophic failure, but you might have a belt separation down the road. The belt will fray right at the edges, on the shoulder of the tires, and that can cause an air pocket. That can cause a bubble in the sidewall or bead separation." Correcting air pressure When asked about the percentage of earthmover tires that are improp- erly inflated, our tire experts gave varying opinions – everything from "half" to "almost all of them." But the consensus seemed to be "too many." In addition to the heat problems caused by under-inflation, overinfla- tion can cause ride problems, loss of traction, excessive wear in the center of the tire and make it more likely that the tire will suffer exces- sively from cuts and abrasions. The causes of under-inflation are numerous. Tires naturally lose some of their air pressure as the seasons change. There can also be small leaks from the valve stem or the bead, especially if it wasn't seated correctly. The takeaway here is that your tire pressure will change. Tire experts recommend you check the pressure in your earthmover tires at least once a week. Partnering with vendors "We love to talk to customers about better operator habits, better preventive maintenance practices, training, grooming of haul roads and housekeeping on the worksite," says Michael Dembe, executive director of the product manage- ment, construction business unit at Camso. "But we know a lot of times these things take a backseat to get- ting the job done. Contractors don't want to slow down production." For contractors who don't have time for these details, the best solu- tion is to build a closer relationship with their tire vendors. "The tires that get attention last and perform significantly longer than tires that are not paid attention to, whether they are a major brand or not," says Dembe. "Most contractors are focused on production, profitability and getting the job done on time," says Seibert. "Tires may be a big spend but may not be at the forefront of their thought process. The end user should be looking for a dealer who understands their equipment, who has the right tire for the job and can make the correct recommendations for maintenance practices." Software solutions Tire vendors can also set you up with tire management software pro- grams that let you track every dime you spend on tires and even do pro- active and predictive maintenance. "Every time you do a fleet check or tire pressure check, you can record it," Francis says. "You can create reports that tell you when to rotate. If you find out the wear rate on certain tires is too high, you can switch to a different com- pound and compare to see if you get more life out of a different type of tire." If you're not tracking and moni- toring, if you're not applying best practices, says Seibert, then you're losing money. maintenance | continued A close relationship with your tire vendor can take a lot off your plate and maximize value of your tire dollars.