Make Recap Tires Illegal

I drive a dump truck and will not run a recap. They are junk they cant take tight turns worth a crap. The cap rolls right off them. Backing over curbs is a no no with a recap all you will do is rip big chunks out of them causing them to blow. I've had my fair share of problems with recaps. I swear by virgins. lol

 

The only tires I can remember grenading all over the hiway have been recaps.

I'm with TireGuy in that lack of inflation is #1 in cause for grenading a tire.
I think #2 would be an underinflated recap.

You would think anyone having to cruise the hot states like Az, NM, TX etc
would have enough common sense to check & keep their tires at proper pressures.
Actually it applies to everywhere else as well.

The problem is...ya just can't legislate stoopidity out of the process.
Whether it's the driver or the owner, stoopidity can ulitimately ruin your day.

The co I used to run for used nothing but recaps.. old, tired, ready for the recycler recaps on their trailers.
The tractors all had new tires & the co. had only started with experimenting with recaps on the drives.

On each trip out of Florida, I could count on having at least one & usually
two blowouts by the time I made a round to the left coast & back.

Before each run, I'd go thru all the tires on the trailer & air them up.
Most of the time I found at least 6 out of the 8 were between 50-70lbs & the rest were close but not right.

On top of that, the tires were not equal in height or brand/model amongst the pairs.

My experience was shared by several others in the fleet.
It is what eventually caused me to quit.
That and the other poor maintenance practices of the company.

 

Don't want to be accused of beating this thread to death but..
Has anyone had a blow out on the steer axles and if so was it virigin or recap?
I ask cause it got me thinking of all the blowouts I have seen, none were the fronts.

 

i havent had a steer go out on me, but i do know it is illegal to run a recap on the steer axle , unless its intrastate (in state)

thats just for montana, im sure you can do it in other states as well

but i like the rest of the recaps on my truck, had the drives and trailer tires all redone about 3 months ago, haven't had a single issue yet

 

Don't be too quick to blame the tire. This very subject was a topic at one of our industry meetings a few weeks ago. I run both. But I won't run treads on any heavyhaul equipment. What the research presented at oor similar our meeting implied was this; the guys that won't run treads (retreads) are the same guys/owners that require thier drivers to check pressure regularly, or run a psi, catseye, type system. The companies that that don't check pressures or invest in these monitoring systems usually cut corners everywhere they can. i.e ... tires, trucks, even drivers. There are tons of companies using treads (me included) and in the right applications, monitored properly will do a great job.

If you're running the proper pressures your tire will never see 130 psi. NEVER! I use to have a regular run to Elpaso, you could run hard for several hours, and still lay your hand on the tire. Warm, yes. Hot, no.

Under inflate that same tire (say, 255/70R22.5) by 5-10 psi and it won't last 45 minutes in those conditions. Underinflated tires build heat, fast.
The heat breaks down the tire. If I inflate my tires to 110 psi in IL on a 65 degree day and drive to your neck of the woods (loaded and fast) they won't be 130 psi. Check yours sometime! It wasn't 118 degrees at 6:00 in the morning.....

If I had a driver that blew 2 tires in 2 months I would dbl checking his tire pressures. I bet I would find a driver that is not doing his job. And he would be employed somewhere else very quickly.

Lessons learned the hard way are never foregotten.

Boom

 

when i bought my truck it had caps on it in less that 2 weeks i had blown 2 caps about 10 days later the inside drives on the left side blue out blowiny the outer side it sounded like a plane had just crashed beside me and was threon up in my seat from the power of them going off .caps suck my 16 years on the road ive had mor than 10 tires go out on trailers and drives .ill never drive a truck with them on if it my truck .a recap is about 60%of what a new tire coast .being low on money thats what i had to get but never a agin .if you blow out on the road and haft to have some one come out to you the time you lose and the the coast is high there going to charge you a lot more than at a truck stop. ive been there .

 

its not always how you mange your tires on a trailer .unless you pull the same trailer every day out here. you don't no how old the tires are on the trailers you pull you have no control over who has driven those trailers for your company how much loads weighs how hot the roads are you travel on all these play in to the factor .I've seen tires that look just like brand new and blow you never no un les you see the casing star ten to com UN glueded.you may have had some good luck but I'm telling you they OT to be banded for sure .hell i was up in Winchester looking to buy a truck on the way back a truck blue a cap on the side of my car and i did a 360 right then and there if i hadn't hit my brakes it wood of killed the passenger in my car we just missed it so i no what I'm talking about ,the summer time the temps can get 150 degrees on the roads and a cap at high speed like 70 75 are more wont take them .

 

OK I have been in the semi tire industry for 12 years just to verify that I know a little what I'm talking about.

First recaps are perfectly good to run. The number one reason a recap blows out is Air pressure. Now heat can be a factor as well as well the company that recaps for you is is a factor. I worked for a tire company that was a numrus award winning cap plant, and we still had problems where the recaps would blow out.

Now our adjustment rate was 99% meaning any recaps that cap in that was blow out or something were the recap could not continue to stay in service 99% of them was ethier driver air or road hazard and other stuff along those lines.

Now their is one guy on here said recaps are junks I think he drove a dump truck. The most like senrio there is wrong aplcation. Every line of hauling that is done has certain tires built for that aplaction.

Also their was a post here that talked about a study being done on virgin vs recap blow outs. I belive it was the state of Florida did a study and found out that 60% or 70% of all the tires they collected off the highways were virgin that blew out.

Now time for my personal recommandation (TO ALL MODERATORS PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS AS PROMOTING A CERTIAN BRAND. AS I'M NOT IN THE TIRE INDUSTRY ANY MORE AND WILL BE A DRIVER MYSELF SHORTLY)

STEER: Michelin XZA3
DRIVES: (new) Michelin XDN2 (recap) Bandag megatek
TRAILER FOR VAN: (new) Michelin XT1 (recap) Bandag fcr trailer
TRALIER FOR FLATBED: (new) Contnintal HSR (recap) Bandag btl-sa

Now most of my choices are michelin the reason for that is I have sold a reviewed every brand out there and they for the most part make the best product.

 

i havent had any problems with my caps....not even leaking air

the only thing that concrens me about them is, the lead trailer axle...all four of those tires have flat spots...one set from me draggin an empty trailer without releasing the brakes ( yea, my fualt, but the roads were wet and i didnt feel it) and once from where i had to dynamite the brakes to keep from running over a moron

im sure when i go to replace those 4 tires....they will just get recapped