I don't know anything about truck tires, let me start there. My trucks needs a couple 11r22.5 steer tires. The tires on the truck maybe originals as the DOT date code on them is 1988, same as the year of the truck. Tires that are on it have good tread but there is cracking in the sidewalls and the rubber is starting to separate. I'm trying to understand what makes a steer tire a steer tire vs a drive tire. What would happen if I put a drive tire on the front? I'm shopping around marketplace looking for deals on used tires and finding mostly drive tires. Anything I'm finding new looks like 250-500 per tire. Seems excessive for a guy trying to haul some stone for himself. Do I have other options? Can my tires be rebuilt or ? Are there other sizes of tires I can run?
Don't use retreads on steer axle. Outside of that you can use whatever you are willing to spend the money on. Aggressive treads will make a lot of noise and some can feel like they float a bit
You might find a truck tire shop and ask if they have any used "take offs" that still have decent tread left. Sometimes guys will replace their steer tires earlier than needed for whatever reason. Sounds like you wont be using the truck that much. Check the date code on the tire. I wouldnt use one more than 5 years old but thats me..
Your right those tires are shot no they cant be repaired they are well past having any value Yes you can run a different size if you but 11-22.5 are the most common and cheapest A drive can be run on the front the truck may handle differently or wander you dont want a used recap on the front lots if not most drive tires that you find used will be recaps How can you tell look for a seam where the tread goes on and near the DOT date code will be another stamp with the cap plant and date I would definaty find a truck tire shop and see if they have any nice used ones or affordable new ones Yes new tires are very expensive one of the reasons running trucks costs a lot Not sure where to find a good tire shop ask one of the other small haulers in the pit where they get serviced at. Truck tires are one thing that I wont buy on the internet not only do I get better pricing talking to a tire salesman but even if you choose to buy a low dollar import tire they can guide you to one that at least seems to work for there other customers Blowing a steer will cost a few thousand extra if you are lucky enough to walk away is why people take extra care with them
I don’t know anything about tires either. All I know is if those wheels aren’t turnin’, you ain’t earning’.
Steer tires or any tires-you get what you pay for. Bridgestone, Firestone-Firestone is owned by Bridgestone and Firestone is their second line. Michelin is way over priced. Goodyear the same. The rest is off shore like Double Coin-DC doesn't make a steer tire worth a ****. Same with the rest. Most of those casings are not ounces out of balance more like lbs. Most are normally 3/8 on out of round runout. Toyo's are real soft compound like the 154 or 177 out of balance and wear fast. If you don't mind your teeth rattling buy the off shore but tariffs drove the price of those out of sight so your paying 35% more for a crap tire. * If you can find some 11-22.5 Yokohama RY023's those are not too bad for a short range business class truck on steer application, over the road no. Just expect to drop $500 per.
Lately, the over-priced Michelin’s are the only tire I can find that’s actually round enough to go on a steer. I’m on a Michelin XDS2 kick, lately. A decent all position winter tire, too. A National account # helps. My Michelin rep has a above average pair of mamories.
Whatever you do, be sure to torque the wheel nuts. Then, re-torque at 100 miles. I have a driver that will raw-dog Anchorage street prostitutes, but insists that I torque and re-torque his wheel nuts. My goodness. Talk about mis-placed safety priorities and a general self -preservation paradigm.
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for this post. I learned a lot.
You're welcome. Steer tires and brakes are no place to compromise with.
Don’t cheap out on steer tires, what is your life worth? On medium and heavy trucks if you blow a steer tire when loaded theres a high probability that you are going to crash. It’s a whole different ballgame than your family sedan or light truck. I personally only buy good name brand, made in USA, steer tires for my dump trucks. Last set of steer tires were right at $460 each. I run retreads on the rears that cost $230 ea.
That was fun, lets put a bald tire on and do it again. This time lets slam the brakes. Haven't had that much since Reagan was president.
One thing to really watch out for on steers especially, if wheels are aluminum and made within the last 10 years those could be Alcoa light weights. At my old job I don't know how many I caught with a crack running from stud hole to hand/vent holes, probably 30 or allot more. Always liked the look on the drivers face when in for service/repairs and I found one cracked, {I see you've been doing your pre-trips regularly}. DOT knows about it and they look. We always checked tire pressures when a truck/trailer hit the shop. Plus those same wheels will get a hairline crack in the drop center where you can't see it, something to check if tire keeps loosing air psi. If Tire Life is used/installed when mounted originally-you can find the crack because it's wet.
We ran Bridgestone 213's on steers and Firestone 591"s, the 213's averaged 110,000 miles some made 130,000, the 591's 90 to 100. The drive tire that lasts and real good in winter is Yokohama 527's, average mileage 190 to 200,000.
That's funny how you say the DOT knows about it and they look. If my wheel is going to break and send me off the highway, do please tell me about it
Point is there's a issue-wrong wheel for application, DOT used that as part of the national 72 hour emphasis this spring and last. Most drivers do a ****** pre-trip so naturally those get caught. Plus a driver should find it first.
Tires have some identifying markings. Last 4 of the DOT # is the week of the year and the year it was made. So 0221 was made the second week of 2021. Every time a tire is recapped it is supposed to have a molded date stamp near the original DOT number. Same date code system and identification number for who capped it. It is legal to run caps on the steer. Very bad idea in my opinion but I got beat up really bad on another forum. Could not prove them wrong. Now why can I not start a new post?
You can run recaps as long as capacity, doesn't exceed 4,920 lbs. Otherwise recaps on a front axle are illegal--FMCSR-393.75. So any semi with 12,000 on the steer which is common recaps are a no-no.
Recaps are 100 % legal on steer always have been ONLY exception is a bus The weight restriction is for regroved big difference
Yes your correct-everyone is allowed to be brain dead. First though you won't find a tire shop in my area that will assume the liability. But the difference between a recap and a regrooved is about the same as a condom with a hole in it.
Maybe if we can figure out how to put an ejection seat in a truck . . .
Two of the managers for two different major tire dealers I dealt with, both on separate occasions said {if there was a law that needs to be re-written it's recaps on steer axles}. Les Schwab and Commercial Tire both do not allow any personnel to sell or install recaps on steer axles. AFAIK.
I have worked for, or been around some outfits that had a pretty cavalier attitude towards maintenance and safety, but the idea of recaps on steers was always so taboo I assumed it was illegal.
IMO one of the biggest problems of recaps is wrong application. Joe sez "we don't use that truck much, lets put recaps on it, they are cheaper". Then 10 years later, when one blows out after setting flat for a year, its the recap's fault. Recaps need to be run so they are worn out quickly, within a few years. They are absolutely the wrong tire for a truck or trailer that sets around. I don't think there is any such thing as a date code for 1988. In the 1900's, date codes were only 3 digits, week of year plus last digit of the year. Some codes from the 1990's may have a character such as a star plus the 3 digits. The 4 digit date code didn't start until 2000.
Come to think about it, our summer has been fairly cool this year. Haven’t been seeing many roadside recap alligators on the fog line. I think heat plays a role with recap success. Purcell built a new recap facility in my little community.
Here, recaps are NOT legal on steering axles
Interesting, code reads. DOT EM3T 3UK288 I'll attach a photo but from what Jonas said, I'm thinking these are recaps?
Post a photo of sidewall & tread .
The stupidity is abundant- it's not ok to chance garbage tires on a bus/mainly a school bus which might hit a top speed of lets say 55 to 60 on average that mainly runs Sept to May, leaving out the three hottest months. I get it ---it's peoples kids, and Greyhounds are full of adults and kids. * But the idea of a 80,000 lb average- travelling at 70 in the southwest in 115* heat on a set of recaps being broiled by asphalt temps of 170*-the psi in a tire under those conditions is on average 135 plus psi.
That's the original manufactures stamp like Terex said the old stamps don't call out the decade yours are built on the 8th year could be 88 or 98 past 2000 they will have a nice four digit year a recap stamp would be burned in nearby no matter as we have established yours are no good and the replacment your looking for should be newer and have the four digit number newer the better
Ok, so in your photo. That tire was made in 2019 and recapped in 2021? Yeah I totally agree, my tires are trash. I'm just trying to learn to avoid getting burned when I buy replacement tires. Thanks all!
20th week of 19, and 28th week of 21. If yours match the mileage of the truck, then they could have been made in 88, we weren't as concerned with old tires in those days so it wouldn't be unusual for a town or county truck to be sold with it's original tires after ten-twenty years and never replaced by another couple owners over the years. Your ideal situation would be to find a couple of young worn tires to run the rest of this trucks lifetime. Those are the tires that are valuable to recappers, so they don't turn up for sale as often as the old ones that are beyond recapping age. Sidewall cracks showing the plies are not allowed, obviously you don't want something that's out of round, flopping, thumping or showing other signs of coming apart. Otherwise, old tires are common, depending on how much you use the truck, how far from home, how fast, how hot, etc. I might run those.
We have 24.5 Firestone 591’s and find them a smooth, nice steering tire; the truck is used a lot on gravel/shale logging roads and the rubber compound is standing up really well with little to no cutting.