Every year, thousands of truck drivers are affected by flat tires, and debris from burst tires can be a hazard to all vehicles.
Tires were responsible for 1,804 out-of-service (OOS) infractions during RoadCheck 2021, accounting for 18.6 percent of all trucks parked during the three-day enforcement event in May. As a cause, tires were second only to brakes.
Underinflated, worn out, or malfunctioning tires can cause problems, as can truck with debris wedged between twin tires.
When a truck’s tire blows out while on the road, the driver has numerous options, including replacing it alone, calling roadside assistance, or attempting to find the nearest service repair center.
Drivers are compelled by law to stop if they have a flat tire. It is an OOS violation to drive on a flat.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, there were 164,694 accidents involving heavy trucks in 2019 (the most recent full-year data available), with tire troubles accounting for around 2% of the total.
FreightWaves recently polled truck drivers about flat tires. Several people claimed that if a tire has a slow leak and they can still drive, they’ll “limp” to the nearest store where their firm has an account or the nearest service station.
“I limped my driver’s side rear outside tandem blow-out today from the 65 to the 42 on I-80 in Pennsylvania this morning, and the tire shop charged $400 to have me back on the road in about an hour,” one truck driver noted in a survey answer. “The difficulty is that if you’re limping too fast and heavy, it can start flying apart – you’ve got to slow your roll.”
If a vehicle has a flat tire, they try to find a safe spot to park, such as a highway ramp or rest area/truck stop, to work out a plan.
“I have a jack, etc., and a spare, but it isn’t yet placed on a rim, so I can’t conduct a real change.” “But at the very least, I can remove the defective tire and drive to a shop to have it repaired,” the motorist explained.
“If I’m really, very far out and it’s a small puncture on an outer dual, I’ll patch or replace the tire myself,” another respondent added.
Another survey respondent stated that he works as a service technician for a transportation firm and frequently encounters flat tires.
“Heavy-duty tires are a little trickier than vehicle tires,” the expert explained. “The prices vary greatly. Right now, recapped trailer service tires cost $210 each, but the wide load range H tires we use on our steers cost $650.”
According to the expert, changing tires isn’t difficult in general, but it is a lot of labor.
“To run the 1-inch cannon, you’ll need around $600 in specialized tools and a seriously dedicated air supply.” A dual-position tire assembly weighs around 200 pounds. “You’ll need a 20-ton jack capable of supporting the weight of a loaded vehicle,” the expert explained. “You can remove and reinstall rubber on outside position rims without removing the rim from the truck, but not on interior tires.” Dismounting them is simple, using only two large tire spoons and a special hammer to shatter the bead. They can be mended in the field, but we don’t have the time. We put repaired tires back into service and take punctured tires home to patch.”
