Make Recap Tires Illegal

What exactly is your position? Recapping is good as long as you X-ray the tire casing and do it yourself, or have only reputable companies due so you can (skimp) I mean, save coin.

Are you implying that X-raying a tire, will verify that the tire is ok for recaping? Only someone who is ignorant would do that. You're not ignorant, are you?

 

My position is that there is an appropriate process for recapping casings that results in a finished product that is just as safe and reliable as a virgin tire. In fact, a high-quality recapped casing can be a better tire than many low-quality virgin tires and just as good as a high-quality one. X-raying casings is part of that process. As is knowing the history of the casing. And it isn't about skimping, it is about proper utilization of both equipment and resources. Remanufactured products of many different types are used on a daily basis without issue. Cheap new crap fails on a daily basis.



And I wasn't attributing statements or postions to you.

 

Really! In your opinion anyway. My idea of skimping is buying a tire made in China. A tire that they copied from a quality tire co. and may have used forced/slave labor to build. No thanks.
I will buy a good tire that may cost more but has made in the USA on the sidewall. Then I will hopefully run it down to about 3/32 and pull it off and have it capped. Its not uncommon to get more miles out of it the second time than the first for half the cost. I will spend more money the first go round less the second and in the long run be alot more money ahead. All the while using companies that pay a good wage to thier employees. They in turn will buy products that you might be hauling. Smart buisness practices is you ask me and its not skimping.
I am going to guess you are a co. driver and if your not you think like one. There is nothing wrong or bad about running caps. Yes you have to be picky about who you get to cap your tires but in its smart money.

 

Caps are great wonderfull things, enjoy them.

I will never fit one, not even my spares are caps but that's my way and I'm entitled to it.

You like them and that's great I don't have a problem with others using caps.

 

It isn't a "felony" to run a recap on the steer axle. The ONLY vehicles which it is illegal in ANY way to run a recap on the steer is on a bus.

Only if you are driving a bus.

Do you stop each time you see rubber laying on the road to visually verify whether it is a recap or a virgin? Or do you just assume it is a cap because it justifies the belief which you wish to cling to?

I've got 2 virgins and 6 caps (3 once-capped, 3 twice-capped) on my drives right now. Virgins cost me $570/ea. It only cost me $220/ea to cap my own casings this last go-around. In other words, I can cap 5 tires for the price of 2 new tires. Michelin tires, sent to a Michelin retread facility, having Michelin treads wrapped around them again. Zero problems. The 6 caps are actually wearing BETTER than the 2 virgins. Same truck, same conditions, same miles.

I've had 2 cases rejected. One had picked up a bolt and had been patched (damaged belts)...the other I have no clue why it was rejected, but it was. They have some strict quality control standards at their recap facilities, which in turn leads to a higher quality product.

Manufacturer defects can and do exist in virgin tires. Sometimes those defects cause catastrophic failure, sometimes they don't. If they don't, a quality retread facility will find those defects prior to recapping and will reject the case before it has the opportunity to cause a catastrophic failure after capping.






In looking around for some of these phantom laws everyone "claims" exist about running caps on steer tires, I did run across an interesting lawsuit in regards to a Montana ready-mix company running a recapped tire on their mixer. The tire blew, the mixer crossed the center line, and crashed into another vehicle killing a couple people. In the facts of the case, you'll see

Tire originally manufactured = 1987
Tire originally recapped = 1995, when the tire was 8 years old
Tire recapped the second time = 1998, when the tire was 11 years old
Tire placed in service = 1999, when tire was 12 years old
Wreck occurred in 1999, when tire was 12 years old


Tires, like anything else, have a shelf life. 8 years is the recommended out-of-service age, however there is no law or regulation actually enforcing any expiration date. Even if they are sitting in a warehouse, the tire rubber is breaking down...the tire is getting weaker and more prone to failure.

This video has been around for a while....an ABC news report:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mu2jMJedLw[/ame]

Learn how to read the date code, and don't run old tires...that right there will cut down on tire problems you encounter. Keep a sharp eye on the pressure, and that will cut your problems even further. Take care not to run over curbs or road debris and your tire problems will diminish even further. It doesn't matter if the tire is a virgin or a recap, take care of it and it'll take care of you...abuse it, and it'll let you know.

 

I saw another O/O at the terminal one day...had just bought 8 brand new "bargain" drive tires....still had the rubber nipples on 'em. 2 of them were different. Turns out, he hadn't made it 100 miles before he had 2 of these bargain virgin drive tires blow out. So, he's now bought 10 drive tires and he's not even had them for a day. Some bargain, eh?

By the time he runs them a year, he'll have more money tied up in those "bargain" virgin drive tires than I have in a set of new Michelins. His cases (if they survived the year) would be useless, so he'll have to buy another set of virgin tires....whereas my cases can be recapped for less than his next set of cheap virgin bargain tires.

You won't "save" money being cheap, just like you won't ever get rich throwing money away.

 

No it doesn't help buying cheap virgins either.
Expensive virgins are way cheaper and last way longer and then I get paid for my casings and I put new again that's it.
I'm stuck in my ways, I've recaped my own casings, I've paid top dollar to various dealers for stock recaps and as I said the good 1's allways do well but there is allways 1 or 2 in there that fail and normally in the 1st couple hundred miles and then do damage to my eqiupment. I'd rather stick to my virgins and the peace of mind they give me.
And if you think I'll put those yamahasazukikawasaki brands on my rig then you mistaken.

Michelin is exceptional but I once put a set of BF goodridge on my drives and they nearly out lasted ME! Any one else find them good?

 

I've had 2 recaps blow in 2 nights. I had one blow last thursday night, i had a 4 day weekend, and had one blow tonight. Both nights it was cool and raining, I was fully loaded, probably 78,000 lbs, and going about 65. The first tire blew on the right side of the truck, tonight was the left side of the truck.

They put a set of 8 caps on the drives about a year ago and 5 of them have blown, in about 60,000 miles of driving. My truck is a 10 car transporter, with low profile tires, 255/70 22.5 is the size. 1 blew last spring, 2 over the summer when it was hot, and now 2 in the cold rainy winter. Up until last summer, after the 3rd one blew, I ran 100 psi in my drives, the company told me to pump them up to 120, but I refused, and we settled on 110 psi. I check them once a week and I air them up when needed.

I've never had any tire issues like I've had with these caps. I don't see how my company figures they're saving any money by buying cheap tires. The math is pretty simple, 5 roadside service calls x $100 each, plus tonight was after hours, so add another $100, that's $600 so far. One of those tires caused damage to a car that was following me, and was not considered a road hazard because the tire tread was still flopping down the road when the car hit it. That was an $800 bill. So far that's $1400 added to the original cost of the tires. They paid $250 each for the caps, that's $2,000, plus the $1,400, for a total of $3,400, and there's 3 caps left to blow on my truck. They could have bought a nice set of Michelins instead, with much less hassle.

Also consider that each time a tire blows they bring out whatever they have at the store in my size, which is never the same as the other tires on my truck, so now I have a mismatched set of drive tires, of various brands and tread designs, which probably isn't a big deal, but it looks kinda goofy. The tire they brought tonight was a steer tire, they claimed it was all they had, which I think is a common scam, but that's another topic. They charge full price for these tires and then some when they do a service call, whereas when you buy a set of 4 or 8 they can work with you on the price. Replacing one tire at a time on the side of the road is not the most economic way of doing things.

I'm not saying that virgin tires don't have their share of problems, they do, but I think most of the time it's from neglect and abuse. My last set of 8 drive tires were virgin, I checked the air once a week, same as I do now, and I never had one issue, other than picking up a nail or two. They lasted a long time, if they would have rotated them, they would have lasted even longer.

But these caps are a joke, I don't know what the issue is, maybe because of their short height they turn more rpm, and build more heat? Other car haulers I've talked to that run low profile tires complain of the same problem, so there's something to that. But anyway, I'll keep having them replaced one at a time until they're all gone.

 

I have virgins on my tractor and a mixture of caps and virgin tires on the trailer and since I check my pressures regularly, I have not has a blowout in a long time and I run 68+ mph mostly between Texas and Arizona.

 

People forget that most of these tires are only factory rated to 55mph.