5 radial tire tips to maximize your aggregate and quarry productivity

October 22, 2024

5 radial tire tips to maximize your aggregate and quarry productivity

A tire isn’t just black and round, especially for aggregates and quarry operations. Knowing the type of tires that are appropriate for your earthmoving equipment and how to maintain them are equally important as maintaining your machines. By conducting a proper OTR (off-the-road) tire maintenance program, it’ll directly impact your overall safety, productivity and cost.

While OTR tires are built to withstand tough conditions, they also have their limit and knowing these factors will help you properly care for them:

  1. How fast they can travel
  2. How much load they can carry
  3. The amount of heat they can sustain
  4. How much impact they can absorb

Here are five things to consider when it comes to your quarry and aggregate equipment’s tires:

  1. Understand the functions of a tire and their limits
  2. The importance of air pressure, especially on radial tires
  3. How to minimize road hazards
  4. Know the common tire failures and how you can avoid them
  5. Conduct pre-shift daily tire check to extend tire life

 

I. Tire Awareness

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that tires have their limits once they’re mounted on. As we’ve shared their limits above, a reminder on the functions of a tire:

  1. Support the vehicle’s load by being that pressure vessel
  2. Provide traction and braking
  3. Control the direction of travel
  4. Absorb road shocks
  5. Overcome (most of the time) road hazards

Knowing tires’ functional attributes and limits will help you understand the importance of tire maintenance. As they’re a costly investment, particularly for mining operations, you don’t want to overlook the importance of maintaining your machine’s tires.

II. Air Pressure

The most important factors on maintaining your off-the-road tires, bias, or radial, is air pressure. Here are six reasons why air pressure maintenance is crucial for your OTR tires:

  1. Having the right air pressure reduces the amount of deflection
  2. Having the proper air pressure provide a better ride and added durability
  3. When inflated properly, the overall heat levels are kept to a minimum
  4. Having the proper air pressure provide the best traction and braking
  5. When inflated properly, you get a better control on your vehicle
  6. Proper air pressure allows the optimum level of road hazard absorption

The most asked questions we get: when do I check my tires then?

Try to check your tires’ air pressure daily, ideally before each shift, especially on a “cold” tire. Below is how a “cold” tire versus a “hot” tire is defined:

 Cold tire Hot tire
A cold tire is generally defined as one that has been sitting idle and not used for a minimum of 24 hours. From this point the pressure can be monitored more accurately. As a tire works, its internal temperature will increase, as will its air pressure. A hot tire must never be deflated.

– If the air pressure increases by 20% or more from the cold inflation reading, it’s a sign that the tire is overheating and should cool down or moved to an operation that is less demanding.

In addition to ensuring safety, having the proper air pressure allows your OTR tire to maintain its correct shape that’s engineered for its precise performance. Below is a reference on what a properly inflated, overinflated and underinflated OTR tire shape and tread look like:

III. Avoid road hazards

There are many road hazards that could occur at a quarry/aggregates site, but below are the top four to avoid:

  1. Spillage on haul roads: ensure to have your crew clean up the road, rocks and debris can create deep cuts in your tires.
  2. Avoid water: water acts as a lubricant and allows rocks to cut into tires easily.
  3. Avoid spillage: don’t ever overload your machine.
  4. Curved roads with super elevation: ensure curve roads have proper super elevation.

In addition, make sure to check the attributes below at the loading area:

  • Floor: is it smooth and clean?
  • Traffic patterns established: do you have clear traffic pattern for operators to travel?
  • Ensure your loader operator have controlled and minimize tire spin.
  • Ensure the bucket payloads match the conditions.
  • Are cycle times reasonable and matching the needs?
  • Does dust cause production and safety issues?

IV. Common tire failures and how to avoid them

We’ve shared the top ten most common OTR tire failures in this article. But here are some shocking tire failures and what they can cost your operation:

  1. Running flat tires (caused by low PSI)

Running flat tires that have low air pressure, below are some e2. xamples of how much it could cost your operation (keep in mind that this is based on a case study):

$26,000 loss

 

$11,000 loss
2. Zipper ruptures

Zipper ruptures due to low air pressure. Low PSI can cause tires to over flex in the sidewall and weakens the structural cables, causing the tire to have a rapid air loss.

3. Improper mounting

This can lead to a bead separation and potentially break the bead, due to the bead being hung up on the flange and not sitting properly. Tire fitters should always:

  1. Double inflate tire at the time of mounting.
  2. Check the GG ring to ensure it’s equal all around the tire. If the bead is hung up on the rim, deflate and lubricate both the rim and the tire bead.
  3. Take the time to inspect the rim parts to ensure proper seating, use the image below as reference:

V. Daily pre/post-shift inspection and why it matters

Tires should be visually inspected before every shift for cuts and impacts that could lead to tire failure. Routine maintenance inspections can lead to discovering deeper cuts that have exposed plies. In these cases, removing the tire and repairing it immediately can extend the life of the tire, increasing site’s profitability.

Below are the basic components on the tires you should always inspect before each shift daily:

  • Check the face of the tire

Check for cuts and tears on the face of the tire.  Is anything missing?  Has the lug torn off?

  • Check the bead

Run your hand all around where the tire meets the wheel.  Is it consistent all the way around.

  • Check the valve stem

Check the core.  Is it leaking?  Is there a cap on the valve stem?  Is it tight?  Is the valve stem properly seated on the wheel? All of this can be checked by spraying a little bit of soapy water on the stem.  If you see bubbles, you may have a leak.

  • Check the air pressure

Make sure the air pressure is at the recommended level.

 

By following these top five tips mentioned above, you will notice a significant difference in maximizing your operation cost-per-hour and having the best productivity. For more tire tips to maximize your operation, check out our technical bulletin.

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More Resources

MAXAM Tire is a global leader and manufacturer of specialty tires engineered and custom built specifically for you.

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