Tires: tires, rubber manufacturers association, fleet manager

Question
Barry,
I am a fleet manager of a trucking company. My trucks are maxed out at weight always, 80,000 lbs. We use recaps on the trailers. Do you think the recaps are just as good as virgin tires? I have found patches on a few blown tires, on the inside. Tire always blows around patch is this common?

Answer
Ruble,

No - and I think it is obvious - new tires are always better than retreads.

If by patches, you mean patch only type repairs, then, yes, it is common for tires to fail in this area, and that is why it is recommended that truck tires be repaired using patch / plug combinations, or if the injury is large enough, a section repair.

Here's the recommendation from the Rubber Manufacturers Association:

https://www.rma.org/publications/tire_service_professionals/index.cfm?PublicationID=11079