Factors that Steer Smart Tire Buying

By Dan Calabrese
Special to L&MT

Outfitting a mixed vehicle fleet with the right tires is as much about strategy and dealer relationships as it is of tire technology or capacity.

For fleets that operate a wide variety of vehicles, with an even wider array of uses, one of the most underappreciated maintenance challenges may be to properly equip their vehicles with the right tires.

Municipalities and utilities with their typical array of light- and medium-duty trucks have to manage the variety of sizes and uses.

But is it really that complicated to procure or supply tires for a fleet with a broad mix of vehicles? Granted, different-size vehicles with different uses will use different-size tires and different wheel types. But surely any competent tire manufacturer or dealer can make, sell and install what they need, can’t they?

They can, which is why the challenge in meeting the tire needs of mixed-vehicle fleets is one of knowledge, strategy and even relationship-building, more so than of technology or capacity.

“Here’s the issue,” said Guy Walenga, director, engineering, commercial products and technologies, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC. “The com-mercial tires are not one-size-fits-all, and not even one type of tire fits all. You have different sizes for different applications for different wheel positions — steer drive and trailer, so you have multiples of traces in tire design, and then from vehicle to vehicle might be a tire-size issue. You can see how complicated it can be.

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Jim Thompson, manager of fleet techni-cal services for Alabama Power, handles a fleet of 4,300 vehicles, ranging from quarter-ton pickups to 6×6s. He sources most of his tires through a contract with Michelin Tires North America, but his crew reserves the right to go elsewhere if a specialized need calls for it.

“They’ll work with the Michelin group to determine if the tread is aggressive enough, and that aggressiveness request is coming from the crew,” Thompson said.

Alabama seeks more aggressive treads for vehicles that operate off-road the majority of the time, and goes less aggressive for those for vehicles that are off-road less than 20% of the time.

Thompson said speed limitations also are an issue.

“We got into a big program about two years ago where people were putting on tires and getting more aggressive [with treads], and weren’t paying close enough attention to the speed ratings on the tires,” Thompson said. “

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