HAZMAT and overheated tires. Remove it?

Perhaps in his state Hazmat test book could be crap answer.
In Utah book same question have 4 or 3 answers, one is to remove hot tire. Last test I did it was wrong answer, the right one is to call police and get yourself and others away.

 

I worked on the new 1972 Macks coming into Chemical Leaman's fleet [still bias ply tires] and we were instructed to remove the lug wrench and pry bar, the lug wrench had a forged hole to insert the bar for leverage.

Everyone glommed those bars, nice mild steel about 15" long, 1001 uses in a mechanic's tool box.

Other than the determined owner driver with a tap in the air system and impact wrench, I doubt any driver even attempted to change a tire since the late 60's.

 

You'll be fine. You have the right mindset asking questions. Just try not to over think stuff or you'll go crazy and get yourself all worked up and have anxiety out the whazoo. Don't make it more complicated than it has to be. You'll do fine hand

How old are you?

 

One way is to get digital tire pressure monitors which also measure temperature. They give a readout on a little pager-looking thing that you stick on your dash, and sound an alarm at your predetermined threshholds.

But if you're doing hazmat regularly then you're theoretically also doing your 150 mile tire and securement checks regularly too, which should involve touching the tires. Note the "normal" tire temp, and you'll start to be able to recognize overheating before too long. As mentioned already, an overheated tire is over 195 degrees. A point of reference is the boiling temperature of water, 212 degrees. So 195 is basically hot enough to scald your hand within like a second or two, whereas decent quality virgin tires should not be a whole lot warmer than the asphalt.

My first time across the rockies west of Denver, I was still fairly new and I was taking the downhills a little too fast, riding the brakes a little too hard on a hot day, and some of my tires got up to like 240 degrees from the heat transfer. Luckily my handy dandy tire monitor kicked into action and there was a rest stop ahead where I stopped and let them cool for a couple of hours. It wasn't a hazmat load so I didn't need police or anything but they were only the medium quality tires that came on the truck when I bought it - Cooper Roadmasters - and they handled it good enough to where I went on to get over a couple hundred thousand miles out of them before replacing. If they'd have been el cheapo no-name brand or even worse, recaps, my guess is it could have been a big ugly mess.

 

I guess I’m “one”.

During my first CDL job, less than a year in the Eagle Ford oil field, I was dispatched on a job. After I notified dispatch I have a flat tire on my “assigned” vac truck, he told me the tire an is out and to get another truck.

Well I liked my truck, it was one of the few newer ones, my trailer had good hoses, my own fittings in the locked box and my personal stuff I’d have to transfer to use somebody else’s, so I decided to do it myself.

Having helped tire changers on my truck before, retreads with very hot summers means it happened a lot, so I had the ability. It was an outer-drive tire, not sure I would’ve attempted it, if it was an inner-tire.

Took me an hour and a half to change tires, but I had great satisfaction that I did it and was able to use my assigned vac truck.

 

I’ve been told ALL MY LIFE that I think too much.

And while I agree with Brettj that it has OFTEN caused me anxiety... I believe it has led me to be more knowledgeable by investigating the how’s and why’s of things. Just as FLANKENFURTER did in digging up that article on Truck Tires.

 

Me too. I agree with that