Recap separation?

Yep. No bus. No where does it say any other vehicle.

 

Did you read section (e)? It clearly states no regroved tire over or equal to 4920lbs on the front wheels of a truck or tractor. Not sure how else to interpret that. Seems pretty clear to me.

 

Re grooved is not a recap/retread.
Regroove is when original virgin tread is cut to be deeper or resiped after it has reached wear out point to get more mileage out of it. That is a no no on steers because it does not leave enough rubber cushion between tread and casing plys.
Totally different thing. That is what the “regroovable” stamp means molded on sidewall. The manufacturers add a little axtra thickness of rubber in the under tread ply for this feature.

 

That looks like filler to me. i dont see seperation

 

i only run caps on my lift axle anyway. one 315 tire on either side

 

There are videos on youtube free to watch on this. Tire Industry been doing it for 100years.

 

Either way. Legal or illegal, ive personally had recaps blow on trailers and drive positions. Way more often you see it happen to a recap than you do to a virgin tire. From a safety stand point, for the cost of a few bucks, I’ll stick to virgin tires on my steers and drives. Any dot or MTO Officer will lose their mind if they seen a recap on a steer position, legal or not. Do you really want that hassle? I know I don’t.

to save an argument here, when I say you, I’m not saying anyone in particular, just a general statement.

 

And furthermore, if it’s not safe on a bus, why should it be safe on a truck carrying 45000lbs? Or where I’m from, 90000lbs? That’s just ludicrous govt thinking as far as I’m concerned.

 

Your right! That is my main point. However, that regulation does not expressly state recaps are OK it is implied. This is another example of why these types of regulations frustrate the heck out of me. Most of the time to avoid arguments the language should be clear and not implied. To see a better example is question 3 of the regulatory guidance to part 393.75.

Question 3: May a vehicle transport HM when equipped with retreaded tires?

Guidance: Yes. The only Commercial Motor Carrier (CMV) that may not utilize retreaded tires is a bus, and then only on its front wheels.

This is how the FMCSA has interpreted 393.75. It is how the states are supposed to enforce 393.75.

This kind of crap is why there are so many debates on HOS rules. The FMCSA implies so much.

Personally I have no problems with recaps. I have problems with the way the recap shops save money by yanking them out of the matrixes too early. This shortens the life of the recap, and can lead to early failure. This is why I stopped buying recaps for my POV.

 

UPS and Fedex along with refuse and mixers use tons of retreads on steers. Always have. Michelin and Bridgestone also project that in the next 10 years 75-80% of the super single market is gonna be retreads do to cost reductions available with them. That is becoming a new focus area for them right now and they are finding in their testing that they are pulling higher mileage out of super single retreads.