Need help with School Project

#1 a average pre trip around 15 mins however i typically "pre trip" my truck several times threw the day. any time im outside the truck i do a walk around inspection check tires breaks check for leaks ect.

#2out of a basic pre trip how much time is spent just on tires is kinda hard to determine as i basically start from one end of the truck and work my way to the other end checking everything along the way. about once a week i use a actual pressure gauge on all my tires vrs thumping them. this can take nearly 15 mins by itself. normally done after im shut down at the end of the day or on a day off.

#3 11r22.5

#4 that can varry on a lot of things, quality of tires purchased.(typicaly cheap tires don't last as long as higher end tires) road hazards (running something over damaging a tire) how many miles you run a year. a high quality tire running highway and light loads can probably see 2-3 years of service. depending on annual millage (240-260k mi total i would consider exceptionally good tire life) a low quality tire or a tire used in off road work ie logging dump truck work ect heavy uneven roads rocks ect. your doing good to get a 1-1.5 years out of a set of tires.

#5 i have a tire monitoring and inflation system on my trailer nothing on the tractor. and yes i find it very usefull

 

On average, how long does it take to perform the pre-trip checklist?
15 min, for a complete pretrip. Many do a good pretrip once a week and half donkey it the rest of the week. If you do your air breck check while walking around doing other inspections you can do a through one in 15 min.

Of that, how much time is spent inspecting the tires, lugs, and wheels?
3 min maybe. I norm visualy inspect lugs for rust or any signs, then kick um as i walk around to make sure none are loose. I then look over the tire to check tread depth and for any punctures and such. i also put an air gauge on every tire every day. I norm inspect the truck walking in a circle so its hard to say the exact time on just lugs and tires.

What are the sizes of your current drive tires and wheels?
I have supper single drives at 445 50R 22.5 rim (4 wide tires instead of 8 thin tires.) Steers are 275 80r 22.5 rim. Trailer varies since its not my trailer.

On average, how many tires do you replace or have retreaded a year?

i drive about 150,000 miles per year. My drives should last 300,000+. I just bought all new rubber. I'm not sure what to expect on my steers but i'm hoping at least 2 years on my drives. That is why i check air pressure daily.

Do you have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) installed on your wheels?

Some of my trailers have an auto inflation system. My only monitoring on my truck is a good gauge every morning.

If so, do you find it useful?

On the trailer yes....i dont have to worry about my trailer tire inflation if the system is on an works. They do sometime cause problems though if a tire goes flat. If you punch a hole in a tire, the auto inflate will keep it full untill you turn off the engine. You get loaded and are ready to go and then see the flat after you sat for an hour. It does how ever keep you rolling with small holes so you dont need to stop on the highway, but can get to the next safe spot to stop.

Throughout your career, have you experienced tread delamination or tire blow out?

Yes and Yes. In all cases it was on trailers with junky tires that the companies dont take care of. Recaps should only be used on tires that are still in good condition but out of tread. If the side wallas are damaged they should not be capped. many companies do anyway to get extra life. This makes the recaps a lot more likly to come off. IMO, recaps are a great idea if done responsibly and not done to tires that are past their use full casing life. Blow outs are sometimes caused by overloading, or temp differences. If the inner or outer tire heats up more based on outside temp, one tire will have more psi in it. If not on an auto inflate system, one tire gets bigger and takes a majority of the weight meant for 2 tires. This tire is now over loaded and may fail. This can be fixed by installing a regulating tube that keeps both inner and outer at same PSI or an auto inflate system. In most cases, tires dont fail if in good condition and you dont run over stuff.


If you choose to respond, I may PM you follow-up questions.
Thank you in advance for answering my questions. I appreciate it.

Feel free to PM, although tires are highly opinionated, so there may be others that completely disagree with me.

-Iggy