Pro's and Con's of Super Singles

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Blackducati750, May 29, 2009.

  1. JR OTR

    JR OTR Light Load Member

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    If it is the truck you want, buy it and ride on the super singles. I've spent all but two months of the past four years using them and they save me money, save weight, last a long time and ride great. There are entire companies that use them on fleets (Conway Truckload and Mesilla Valley spring to mind) and don't seem to find the issues that some drivers here post about.
     
    slow.rider Thanks this.
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  3. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

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    If you will see no benefit from the weight savings they are not worth it. They are more expensive, the do not last as long and the traction isn't as good. (This is from personal experience)

    If you don't want them see if the dealer with swap with another truck on the lot. Or call a local truck tire dealer and see if they want them. We actually bought 4 used wide base Alcoa rims with tires from our tire shop that came from someone in your situation.

    Some guys claim they last longer than duals which I find amazing since even the tire MFG won't make that claim. We have 2 trucks\trailers with them, one set of drives only made it 88k and the other is still going strong at 100k. But those trucks actually benefit from the added lightweight. But most people like the dry van guys hardly ever run at max weight so if they were say 300# lighter it wouldn't make any difference.
     
  4. Rug_Trucker

    Rug_Trucker Road Train Member

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    Conway TL has not totally converted.
     
  5. JR OTR

    JR OTR Light Load Member

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    You're obviously mistreating any set of drive tires if you only get 88k on them, period. The lowest number of miles I've had out of a set of Michelin drives is 279k, and most of the loads I haul put me at 75k-80k gross.

    When I turned in my company truck at CFI back in 2008 I had 292k on it and two of its drives were still at 5/32 and 6/32 (the other two were newer due to an accident a year or so before).

    Jim
     
  6. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

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    oh the 88k mile tires were abused tread life wise. The tractor they're on has a dead axle and would spin them on even damp pavement. We put a dump valve on it since which has helped a lot. However they wouldn't have made it any longer due to rocks boring into the casings. They were so bad none of the casings were any good for caps.

    Like I said they work good for certain applications but most will see zero benefit. A local tire rep just stopped by our shop yesterday and said most of the local fleets he services would switch all the trucks they have on SS's back to duals if the cost wasn't so high. Also none of their new equipment are being ordered with them. The costs are outweighing any benefits.
     
  7. Blackducati750

    Blackducati750 Light Load Member

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    Does anyone know of an (online) resource that I can price new rims and tires?
     
  8. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

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    Believe it or not Amazon has alcoa wheels. Doubt they're cheaper than a local tire shop or even truck dealer. The last new 24.5 wheel I bought was like $350.

    Chromewheel.com sells refurbished wheels, I know nothing about them other than they have them listed. I know there are a few wheel polishing shops that sell used wheels also. They buy junkyard wheels and shine them up.
     
  9. Polarbear

    Polarbear Light Load Member

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    After talking to numerous Mesilla Valley drivers and their shops as well as several other drivers who run S/S on their flatbeds, I have decided to give them a go.

    I went from 16 aluminum wheels to 8 S/S. I shed 365 lbs. when I did it and have a dump axle on my spread for going around tight turns so as not to drag the front axle.

    I am installing TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) on all wheels so I can instantly detect any tire pressure issues. I don't know why no one has mentioned this on here as the whole system is around $700 bucks and will go on any truck you will ever own for decades. A sound investment.

    I only run Michelin. I had 225,000 miles out of my last set of steers and would have gone to 300,000 if not for a large four legged creature with antlers commiting suicide in front of my truck in Ohio.

    My drives usually get around 450,000 miles on them. Only Michelins and I rotate them as well as constantly checking air pressure.

    Trailer tires usually last between 250,000 and 300,000 miles.

    I will post on here what my experience will be, but after driving over 2 million miles and 15 years (avg 2600/week for 15 consecutive years w/one vacation in 15 yrs.) I have always used duals and with my 2007 Coronado am currently averaging 6.2 mpg for the last 250,000 miles.

    I already drove empty in heavy rain and stomped on the brakes as hard as I could at 45 mph and the truck stopped on a dime. Well, that is just an expression, it stopped better than my duals though!

    I put 455/55 XDN2's on the drives and XZUS 455/55's on the trailer.

    So I am going to roll the dice and I will let yall know the outcome.
     
  10. walstib

    walstib Darkstar

    I know chaining up SS's is a breeze!!!!!
     
  11. JR OTR

    JR OTR Light Load Member

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    Great, looking forward to seeing more actual real-world reports on tire use! Particularly interested in how they function on your spread axle.

    Good luck,

    Jim
     
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