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Beth
New Member
2 Posts |
 Posted - 01/09/2001 : 06:28:03 AM
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I am doing research on retreaded tires and have read that a lot of school buses use retread tires. Is this true? What is your opinion of these tires? Can you tell me the name of the retread company most schools use? Thanks for any information.
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John Farr
Top Member
USA
642 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2001 : 2:04:40 PM
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There are many good recappers, most notably Bandag and Oliver. Recaps are effective on the rear axle(s), but NEVER on the steering axle.
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larrym
Active Member
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - 01/10/2001 : 2:16:10 PM
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I have used retreads on my trucks and busses for over 30 years. Retreads are much better now than in the past. The bonding methods have improved and base tires are compounded of better materials.
As John Farr replied NEVER use retreads on the steering axel of anything. There are Federal Laws that prohibit there use on trucks and buses. One accident with retreads on the steering axel and good by your lifes work.
The key to good retreads is not to wear tires down to no tread left on the casing. 3/32 is about what you need left on tire. This gives the retreader a good base to work with. If you have had several flats on a tire
don't try to cap it. Use only good solid casings, the casing will already have several miles on it and a weak casing will just cause you trouble.
I never cap a casing more than one time. You can and some retailer will, but I find casing get to weak and again problems start.
Nothing any worse than to go out in 10 degree weather and find a flat tire.
Before you have a tire capped by a retailer, ask other drivers or owners who they have used in your area. This is the best way to find out if a retreader is doing a good job.
It doesn't take long for bad work to show up.
The tread design is important also. You will have the choice of design. Again ask around.
Bar lugs use to be the norm for trucks and buses. Thsy usually wore uneven and caused viberations in buses. The flat pad lug tire
wear better and last longer on buses.
Good luck with you research!!
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John Farr
Top Member
USA
642 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2001 : 08:55:07 AM
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Another observation: Casings used on over-the-road trucks tend to be recapped frequently, because they put a lot of miles on them in a relatively short time. A school bus application will not put the miles on as fast, so by the time a casing has been recapped once it will often show signs of dry rot/sun damage on the tire shoulder. Anyway, by then we will have purchased enough new steering axle tires to provide nice, new casings for the rear axles.
Old, dry rotted casings are only good for holding up storage trailers.
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wagonmaster
Top Member
USA
2298 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2001 : 06:22:40 AM
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Hi Beth,
Recaps can be a real source of savings to a school district. We remove the new tires from all new buses as they are put in service (rear axle only) and replace them with recaps. This gives us about $800 worth of tires for stock to use on front axles (at no charge!) for an investment of approx.$250.! The recaps will run as far as the new original tread tires @ a little more that 1/4 the cost!! Its a no brainer!The key as Larry mentioned is to ensure that your casings are good before they are capped, and a good recapper will do that for you. The majority of the failures you see by the roadside are failures of the tire casing and NOT the recap itself. We've been doing this for 15 years + with great results and savings! We throw out casings older than 3 years as unreliable for recap purposes, and still manage to get 2 to 3 recaps on most casings. Hope this helps your research.
Joe
Edited by - wagonmaster on 01/19/2001 06:24:09 AM |
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KareBear
New Member
Canada
1 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2001 : 06:46:00 AM
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We use retreat on rear and new tires on the front. Not sure what the company is. Although we haven't had any problems with them my opinion is we shouldn't use them. We are talking about precious cargo here!
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Ed Allandar
Active Member
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2001 : 1:15:43 PM
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Recap tire are very popular on school buses. They are very cost effective. Most use either Oliver or Bandag and more recently Michelin. Caps may only be used on the rear (drive) axle NEVER on the steering axle. The casings for school bus tire hold up very well as typically school buses do not carry heavy loads or run high speeds for sustained periods of time, this means less heat is generated. Heat is the major cause of casing and recap failure.
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Admin
Administrator
USA
1662 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2001 : 08:01:55 AM
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I'd just like to add a comment on the use of retreads on school buses.
I've heard stories that school districts (and probably contractors) put their worst retreads on buses (steering axle, too) before turning them into the dealer as trade-ins.
If that's true, I think there could be a liability concern if a front tire-related accident occurs as the bus is en route to the dealer. Although bus operators should try to squeeze their costs down as much as possible, I think they need to be careful in how far they go to save a few bucks.
Steve Hirano
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wagonmaster
Top Member
USA
2298 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2001 : 5:43:10 PM
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Steve,
I'd like to comment on your observation/concern. I always sell our buses at public auction, as required by Florida statute. We tell everybody before the auction begins that some of the units have poor tires, and recaps at all wheel positions! We make it clear that they are not safe to operate in that manner,and in no circumstances could passengers be transported with tires such as these!!!!!! Most will take the units back to their facility to swap them out, some drove them as far away as Kentucky without incident. Taxpayers can't afford, nor should they be required, to provide quality tires on privately owned buses. We keep those tires for use on our buses as we need them. That doesn't mean that we never sell a bus with decent tires on it, because we do. We pull the best off and use our "take-offs" on the auction units with a clear conscience. Now, our "take-offs" are a darn site better than some private operators line tires, but we have sold buses with them on the steer axle as needed, and will continue to do so with our "disclaimer" announcement. They are free to swap the tires with their own before they leave our yard, but very few will. Hope this explains one point of view.
Joe
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cowlitzcoach
Advanced Member
USA
325 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2001 : 8:51:59 PM
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Most school buses don't run as many miles in the life of the bus as an over the road truck will put on in 12 months. School buses also never put as much weight onto a tire as an over the road truck will put on their tires. Making comparisons between the two is sort of an apples and oranges equation.
As it has been noted before, the number one killer of tires is heat which is most often a function of low air pressure.
In the last 25 years I have only lost one recap and that was on a truck that I had allowed the tire pressure to get lower than it should have been.
I have used Bandags very effectively for many years. Choosing the correct tread pattern can extend tire life, smooth out the ride, and reduce the noise level.
I never cap a tire more than once. The tire casing usually dies of old age before the tread wears out.
If you have good casings (3/32 of tread or better with no side wall problems) the core on a good casing is usually high enough that purchasing new tires is not much more than capping. And no matter how good a recap is, a new tire will always ride smoother than a cap.
Thumping is not much a of problem in school buses on route but can become an annoying aggravation at speed on the highway.
Mark O.
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Topic |
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Retread tires
