Constant flat tires

i have a side dump as well. i just patched two tires today one had a nail the other had a pole barn screw in it. i think that makes about 7 flat repairs for this year. it happens.

a few things to watch out for. the shoulder of the road, its full of debris from the normal tire tracks off to the ditch is where everything ends up.

when they are grading the gravel roads (going in and out of the pit ect) try your best to not run over any wind rows left by the grader they typically blade the gravel from the edge of the road (where debris ends up) to the center. this is prime time for picking up crap in your tires.

also try to stay away from the edges of the road on the gravel roads as much as you can. along the grass line esp again this is where all the road debris ends up.

also try to catch any low tires early, a low tire will puncture more easily than a full tire. also look for anything in your tires on a regular basis a lot of times if you catch them quick enough you can pull them out before they work there way in to the tire far enough to leak.

so basicly to sum up try to keep your tires in the heaviest trafficked section of your lanes. to avoid picking up crap in your tires. keep your eyes peeled for road debris but it will still happen any way. but maybe not quite as often. i would still drive around pot holes and bad spots in the road but yeah.

as far as sabotage not likely may feel like it some days but unless you have made a lot of enemys i doubt it.

 

Ok... so I didn't read everyone's responses to this but I can help. I drive alot of dirt roads, construction sites, mines, etc. I can tell you the problem you are experiencing is normal. Heavily treaded tires will dig up "undesirables" and the tires directly behind them will pick them up. You will rarely if ever find something in a steer tire. Normally, it will be in a rear drive or rear trailer tire. Get an old screwdriver, grind it to a point. Check your tires regularly for nails,etc. Use the screwdriver to pry them out. If they are below the surface, run the screwdriver in a circular motion around whatever is in your tire. This will work it to the surface. Use a pair of sidecutters to finish removeing it from the tire. The longer something is in your tires the more likely it is going deeper in. Catch it before it punctures a hole. Problem solved. You should make sure that whatever is in your tire has not already punctured through before doing this by wetting it and watching for bubbles. This will cut down on flats drastically.

 

My company has 2 divisions, landscape supply and construction. I can go months without issue but once I start moving loads around for the construction side the flats start showing, we just go in stupid spots at every stop and it's always something, nails, screws, hunks of metal, you name it. I gots 5 flats in a month not that long ago. No way to avoid it unless your superhuman and can see that crap from the windshield.

 

Please don't use retreads. Please.

12 flats? I might have had maybe 4 flats in my life with a heavy truck and god knows Ive been off road a bunch.

When people start blaming or treating you like a child with the daggone tires, shifting, truck etc It's time to beat em black and blue or look for another outfit.

Im going to pray that you are buying quality tires and taking a walk around with a crowbar to remove stones etc. Metal in particularity.

 

That sounds like sabotage. No way you could pick up that many screws/nails from driving normally... even on jobsites.

 

I had one of my drivers pick up 8 punctures after a drop on one farm with construction. Some showed up immediately, some took a while. 12 sounds like a lot, but you can pick up a bunch from one place at one time, and it sometimes takes a while to show up.

 

HOW ARE THEY NOT GETTING FLATS?

Im #### suspicious and paranoid now. Too #### many flats. Frankly if it was that bad all will have flats right?