Tires Archives

School Bus Fleet Winterizing

Keeping a school bus fleet maintained is important but making sure they start in the cold weather is a priority. All of our buses come with a 1500 watt block heater from the factory. Since 2006 we have been ordering them with diesel coolant heaters that run on diesel from the fuel tank (They use… Continue reading School Bus Fleet Winterizing

Timely Tips: NG Oil Selection, Piston Ring Identification, Tire Inflation

Using diesel engine oil in a natural gas engine will cause valve torching, piston scuffing and a reduction of spark plug life. Additionally, oils with high ash content may cause valve and/or piston damage that leads to excessive oil consumption and catalyst degradation. You can avoid this by following all engine OEM recommendations and requirements… Continue reading Timely Tips: NG Oil Selection, Piston Ring Identification, Tire Inflation

Are you Putting Enough Air in your Steer Tires?

If you are not running at least 105 psi in your steer tires, you’re running underinflated. In some cases, those tires may be in run-flat condition. Most fleet maintenance managers know exactly why they spec a certain drive-axle ratio. That number is one part of a series of inputs that will get them to a… Continue reading Are you Putting Enough Air in your Steer Tires?

Wheel-End Maintenance Saves Tires, Brakes

Bearing adjustment is a tricky procedure. Unless you’re using preset hubs, you should check to be sure your techs are doing the job properly. The difference between good and bad in the wheel bearing world is a very fine line — about the width of a couple of human hairs to be imprecise. That’s not… Continue reading Wheel-End Maintenance Saves Tires, Brakes

How to Evaluate Performance of Improved Tire Designs

For commercial truck tires, just because a particular tire make/model runs well on one model tractor or trailer does not guarantee that the same tire performs equally as well on another make model vehicle. Tire companies continue to make improvements to existing products on an ongoing basis. New materials in combination with new and improved… Continue reading How to Evaluate Performance of Improved Tire Designs

What to Do About Fifth Wheel Grease

At some point in your life you’ve likely seen the column “Hints from Heloise.” These “lifestyle” hints (now being penned by a second generation) are still one of the most widely syndicated newspaper columns. But I wonder if Heloise ever answered this question, posted recently on the Women in Trucking Facebook group: How do you… Continue reading What to Do About Fifth Wheel Grease

Frequent Inspections Save Tires

You can’t tell much about a tire simply by kicking it. Drivers would disagree, but you can’t even tell with any degree of certainty how much air is in the tire. It seems the best you can expect from many drivers is a quick visual check that the tire is where it should be. Whether… Continue reading Frequent Inspections Save Tires

Tech Tip: Seasonal Preventive Maintenance for Fifth Wheels

This Tech Tip is the fourth in a series to be issued by SAF-Holland. The following steps are recommended by SAF-Holland for seasonal preventive maintenance on your fifth wheel. The company recommends the following intervals for cleaning, inspecting and lubricating your fifth wheel. However, since every fifth wheel manufacturer uses different locking systems, it is… Continue reading Tech Tip: Seasonal Preventive Maintenance for Fifth Wheels

Expert Tips To Keep Your Car Shining This Spring

With gloomy weather and poor driving conditions in the rear view mirror, now is the perfect time to give your vehicle a thorough spring cleaning. To help maintain that new car shine through spring and summer, Meguiar’s, the century-old leader in vehicle appearance care, presents the top five car care tips for keeping your vehicle… Continue reading Expert Tips To Keep Your Car Shining This Spring