Super Singles

I'd be willing to bet money the air pressure on those tires were very low, and the last time they checked them was a serious while back. That being said, I'd also bet that keeping your air pressure up is more critical with wide singles.

Bright side... you only have to check six tires on a 6x4 tractor... not ten!

 

The best thing about them is, you can ignore all those "18 Wheelers Not Allowed" signs!

 

Never thought of it that way

 

Wrong. You've got options available to you with duals...perfectly legal options.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regu...mcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=393.75&guidence=Y

Outside tires are easy to remove if you have any issues with them....beats the heck out of risking an OOS or having to pay for a service truck to come out to you.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=396.7

I blew out a trailer tire about a month ago. I was on the interstate...coming into a work zone, where the speed limit was dropping and lanes were ending. Changing a tire on the side of the interstate is dangerous enough WITHOUT all of the extra hazards in that particular location. If I had super singles, I would have been dead in the water waiting on the shoulder while a mechanic risked his life changing the tire. Because I had duals, though, I was able to limp it the 1 mile to the next exit ramp, and the 1 block further to the company's shop to have the tire changed in a safe location away from traffic....all perfectly legal under §396.7(b)

 

Its a matter of interpretation. Don't have the time at the moment, but there's another reg that places operation on any flat as illegal. Allows the officer to choose how he wants to screw you.

 

Reads to me that he is suggesting to actually remove the rim and tire (if it's an outside one) with the flat and hence you're not "operating on a flat".

 

That would be §393.75...but it still does not change the fact that §396.7(b) allows you to continue driving a vehicle that develops a problem while it is in operation to be driven to a safe location for repairs to be made. That doesn't mean that you can run 300 miles back to the terminal chucking rubber off a tire carcass, but DOES provide the legal means to get the truck off of a busy highway and either to a parking lot away from traffic or to a nearby tire shop to have the repairs made in a SAFE location. Even §393.75 allows you to remove a damaged tire and continue driving with only 3 tires on the axle provided you are not exceeding the weight limit of the tires...but even if you ARE exceeding the weight limit of the tire there are STILL situations where you can continue on your way to a safe location for a new tire to be mounted. In fact, some situations might REQUIRE you to remove the damaged tire before utilizing the exemption under §396.7(b)...such as if the tire was an outside tire and no longer on the bead (might come off the rim on its own while going down the road) or if it is coming apart and throwing debris, or even if it already came apart and the steel cords are throwing sparks on the road (fire hazard)....all of which would present a situation where it might be more hazardous to the public to proceed as-is than to sit and wait. Once the bad tire has been removed, now it is safer to the public to move the vehicle to a safer location away from traffic.

 

There is no question duals preform better on ICE than wide singles ever will assuming the same tread design and compound. It's a pressure per square inch of tread contact patch thing. Not really a debatable argument.

 

As a company driver I'd prefer duals all day everyday. If I owned the truck I'd probably choose wide singles but you can bet your bottom $$$ I'd have a spare mounted on the truck somewhere!!!