Ok let me set the scene . I drive an low loader for an access hire company , we have 3 trucks based in our branch and run on a restricted liscence .
Thus we don’t need a transport manger etc . My manager is responsible for booking the 6 weekly inspections / mots etc but has very little knowledge about trucks etc
From time to time much to my annoyance the tyre company they use come round check depths etc
Anyway in my opinion these tyre salesmen/fitters are fitting new tyres prematurely for pretty much no reason apart from to gain there commission .
Basically I’m asking all you owner drivers at what tread depth do you change ■■
My truck had its mot a few weeks ago and now it seems there coming on sat to change a load of tyres .
Anyway I’ll be using my depth gauge tomorrow and gonna note down the depths off hand I know the lowest is about 5 or 6 mm at present .
Even tho its not my money it does really bother me or should I just chill out
Chill out how longs a string , my drive tyres are at 4 mm although they look bad 1 mm is the limit , my drive axle is 8 tonne empty and never ever spins but I know the rigid flats have the same Hancook Dh03 on have to be removed at 4 mm because they’re so much lighter they spin a lot and bits come out then they have no casing value not that hancooks have much value anyway ,hope this helps .
Ok I so I checked all the depths earlier And yes one or two do need changing soon . Well thedrive tyres are at about 4mm and they are retreads bandvulc anyway . They do spin regularly in the wet with no load on the trailer .
I got a couple of trailer tyres at 5mm so I’ll see how keen he is
Personally if it was my own money I’d get a couple more months out of them but we will see.
Anyway the suns shining and I’m chilled
Maybe a different story Monday when I see he’s fitted new ones all round
The last pre MOT Inspection report should have tyre depths recorded which will give an idea of the depths back then to compare. A low loader trailer on small wheels will wear out tyres remarkably quickly. They have a hard life because their running temperature is higher than for a larger wheel. With winter weather approaching and 4 to 5 mm on the unit and trailer it may well be convenient to change now rather than leave either until a busier period or an expensive failure.
There is also the planned trade-in life of the equipment to consider: the last thing one wants to do is fit new tyres the month before the thing comes off fleet, better to fit early and get some proper use out of them.
The trailers just 3 years old so not about to replaced anytime soon , we don’t really do many miles probably about 70,000 km a year but yea the trailer tyres do ware out pretty quickly although the rear axle does lift so that helps a bit .
The main issue I have is with this particular tyre company is they pay there fitters partly on commission so the more they fit the more ££ they make
( The one lad said they get 30% of the profit made on each tyre )
Previously I had a trailer tyre needed changed because of side wall damage on the outer one ,the matched pair were only a month old this particular fitter changed the inner one as well
I didn’t challenge him about it at the time , but just proves what a bunch of ■■■■■ that firm is
Tyre fitters are on pretty poor money and always have been, its abot of a ■■■■■ job, all weathers, hard manual labour, buggers their knees and back up.
This is why they tend to have creative means to make up the shortfall!
Many would dream to be on what truck drivers earn.
Bandvulcs at 4/5mm are a liability.
If you run them to low and shag them the carcass is then worthless
Dont forget 30 of not a lot still equals not a lot.
Thanks for all your replies ,
Well the guy came today and to be fair only changed the ones that needed doing no ■■■■ taken today .
He changed the pair of trailer tyres which were at 3 mm and the bandvulc drives which were about 4 mm,
hes used copper grease on the wheel/hub mating surfaces so you can tell he’s one of the better fitters .
So what’s the score with the old tyres ■■. The bandvulcs are retreads so can they be retreaded again ?
So presumably the worn but Un damaged tyres have some value ?
Whether the Bandvulcs can go through a retread process again will depend on the condition and age of the casing. The answer is probably no. All the retreading companies want Michelin casings because they are generally considered to be of superior quality.This may be out of date now, but it was always the case that the Michelin Remix tyre was considered to be the best available, but it is also the most expensive by a considerable margin. It is the most expensive because Michelin reject a very high proportion of casings because they don’t meet their inspection standards. Michelin Remix became less popular with hauliers because of this rejection ratio, because the casing credit offered depended upon acceptance , this brought about an increase in other companies remoulding/retreading casings.
I think bandvulc push the envelope a bit far at times, weve had a few of their tyres blow out and its quite common to see the sidewalls perishing on drive axle tyres, also had a faid few now where the bead is coming away from the main carcass.
New contis on the steers and everything else is bandvulc.
I’ve always been curious at to whether Bandvulc trucks run on Bandvulc tyres. I did ask once on the PDF but nobody had a definitive answer. Back in the day, they used to be known as “Bangvulc”.
Harry Monk:
I’ve always been curious at to whether Bandvulc trucks run on Bandvulc tyres. I did ask once on the PDF but nobody had a definitive answer. Back in the day, they used to be known as “Bangvulc”.
No they dont they run on conti tyres must have no faith in the bang bangs.
I’d say you were lucky to get the bandvulcs down to 4mm. Every one we’ve run has always gone bang before its anywhere near worn out, although i’ve only had experience with bandvulc trailer tyres. Someone did tell me the bandvulc drive tyres were good
boyesadabest:
I’d say you were lucky to get the bandvulcs down to 4mm. Every one we’ve run has always gone bang before its anywhere near worn out, although i’ve only had experience with bandvulc trailer tyres. Someone did tell me the bandvulc drive tyres were good
or should I just chill out 
how longs a string 
, my drive tyres are at 4 mm although they look bad 1 mm is the limit , my drive axle is 8 tonne empty and never ever spins but I know the rigid flats have the same Hancook Dh03 on have to be removed at 4 mm because they’re so much lighter they spin a lot and bits come out then they have no casing value not that hancooks have much value anyway ,hope this helps .
And yes one or two do need changing soon 
. Well thedrive tyres are at about 4mm and they are retreads bandvulc anyway . They do spin regularly in the wet with no load on the trailer .
this particular fitter changed the inner one as well 
