Retreads are not the problem

This was when I was first starting out with my own truck, and I knew full and well that they took the tires the truck had off and put some old crappy caps on it. When the first one blew the tire guy I went to showed me how to read the date, this was in 2004, the tires were manufactured in 1996.

I had been driving for about 5 months at this point.

On the trailer where the brake cammed over, I had literally just bought the trailer days before, and knew it was going to need brakes. I as I said was just starting out, didnt have a lot of money, and needed to make a little before I replaced them, luckily I got 2 loads done before it happened and I was able to get the bakes replaced, and everything was good to go.

The guy I bought the trailer from was very up front with it, and if he was still alive today, we would still be friends, he was a good guy and he and his wife really helped me out.

You might even remember his truck, big Peter Car painted Purple with Flames on the front end and a 144" big house on it. Said Yellowstone Trucking on the door.

The issues I was refering to there happened with in my first 10 months of trucking. I can proudly say im a little older and wiser now, and had I known then what I know now, id have got the dealer to nock a couple of thousand off the truck because it had the old nasty caps on it.

 

Yea, I had a cheap one that I bought new, then came across a more expensive one in a pawn shop..never really compared the two and really in our application that there is going to be a critical difference. But yes, the heat from one tire sidewall will heat the opposing tire. Great tool for identifying building problems like you were saying by spotting your hubs, bearings ect.

 

I understand, nothing personal just an observation.

 

you can run them on steers. you can't run them on steers of a bus.

 

i doubt anyone who has had bad luck with recaps would waste there time.

recaps might be fine if you run short distances, or haul light loads or haul at low speeds in cool weather.

on a 100degree plus day a recap on my trailer blew just from the sun shining on it, trailer hadnt been moved in several days

most virgin tires last long enough to donate worn casings to recaps that usually last long enough to explode.

 

I would buy a used tire before I'd buy a cap any day. And I always check the Manufacturing date code on the sidewall. I haven't bought a cap in the last 25 years. Usually by new or used for the trailer. Just my 2 cents here...

 

Years ago I had a set mounted that I would only run in the cooler months of the year. Between regularly checking them for nails and putting a gauge on them every couple of days....I NEVER had a problem with them. They were MY casings from virgin tires, that had been taken care of.......to run them in the heat of the summer,....well in my mind, your just asking for trouble. Buying a cap on the road?....ever heard of Russian Roulette?

 

Your kidding right??

 

Having an Infrared temp gun is a great thing, you can do your own testing as to weather snubbing when braking or long steady preasure keeps the brakes cooler, You can measure hub and tire temperatures. Coolant and oil, in every case. If a gauge shows a reading you can confirm the gauge or tell if it is giving you a bad signal. I have had many different ones, I now have the Craftsman ones. The expensive ones went missing, they were about 50 dollars and well worth it.
The company I worked for use to buy new trailers, with Michelin steer tires on them use them for one trip, loaded, then remove them all and put on recaps, keeping them for steers.