Wildland Truck Tires?

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Permalink Reply by Bull on March 23, 2009 at 6:39pm

downside is when the tire blows,,your done untill a rig can come out and replace it for you,
if you had 2 tires you can limp it back to a garage

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on March 23, 2009 at 7:05pm

Everyone says the same thing, what about flats, well what if a front goes flat. I’ve been on this department for well a long time and can only remember 1 flat tire.

I did a little more research and found out these tires are call “super wide”

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Permalink Reply by Paul Young on March 23, 2009 at 6:46pm

If you have any fertilizer companies around....CO-OP, feed mills....ask who they use for their fertilizer trucks. They may also have some run flat versions that would work for the fire service.

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on March 26, 2009 at 7:48am

I pulled this back to the front, still looking for anyone that has seen super wide tires on the rear instead of duels, come-on you wildland guy’s, Tony, LT, Mike, if you have never seen them used OK, knowing the characteristics of duels in loose footing, these only make sense. I would think someone would have at least tried them, but I guess they are “new” and we all know how that relates to the fire service. :)

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Permalink Reply by Jim Holm on March 26, 2009 at 10:52am

Trainer, when my unit speced out latest type 6, we looked into the super singles and decided to stay away from them. Mostly as you stated they are new and not every tire shop has a set sitting in the back. los i'm in the mountains not a lot of sany loose soil here.

Another problem I found as an inspector was people putting these on and stating that the gvwr of the unit is now higher. But thats a whole different discussion.

Stay safe.
Homey

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Benton on March 26, 2009 at 11:15am

YOUR RIGHT ABOUT THE BIGGER FOOTPRINT, BUT WHAT IF YOU GET A FLAT? THERE ARE PROS AND CONS TO EACH. ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR AREA ON WHICH WILL BE A BETTER CHOICE FOR YOU.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon "Gopher" Runer on March 26, 2009 at 12:25pm

What kind of terrain do you have? That would be my main question. Down where I am at we have a lot of rock and mesquite and cactus which are all pretty hard on tires. We consider it a good fire if we do not end up with a flat tire. Check your local tire stores to see if and what they carry. I haven't seen many high traction super singles out there. Most are a very highway friendly tread and not meant for off highway use. Its not if you end up ruining a tire it is when and when you do the super singles are a lot more expensive. If you happen to have a blow out most times the rim has to be replaced also. I hope this helps.

Gopher

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on March 26, 2009 at 12:39pm

As I stated above I don’t care about the flat issues and Jim I’ll give you the mountains, duels would be better. Maybe I have not been clear, there are “super singles” and there are “super wides” 2 different tires. The first is a single tire, more GVW, takes a different axle combination, the 2nd is a direct replacement for duels, different rim but able to go on the same axle; some pros are less weight, cheaper, more stability, better roll ability, improved fuel mileage (2% clamed) and according to the testimonials better on ice and snow. However this is from OTR truckers and not the fire service, I can’t find a tread pattern that looks aggressive enough to me but it’s hard to tell from pictures. Michelin is one of only a very few MFG’s.

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Permalink Reply by Eng10Squad on March 26, 2009 at 1:45pm

This is our Urban Interface Unit for wildland fires/ mountain fires and it has a tendency of getting stuck. It has oversized single tires on the front and dual tires on the back. It's been getting a lot of calls recently due to being dry in the area but usually only run 5-10 calls a year. Amazing what a company will buy when FEMA hands you a grant to buy a wildland truck.

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on March 26, 2009 at 3:07pm

That’s pretty much what we have coming, not quite but close. This will be an all purpose engine, running fire and MVA’s. The terrain around here is flat , corn and beans for miles but our soil can be a bit tricky, USDA calls most of it silty loam, we call it mud and once the rear duels fill the gap between them they become like a big slick, unable to clean themselves out.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Koontz on March 28, 2009 at 2:37pm

I've only heard stories about them, none good. I've never actually seen or used them myself.

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on March 29, 2009 at 7:23am

Jason please, what stories?
At this point I’m looking for anything for or against, well besides the flat issues. The only real problem I’ve run across is tire pressure, it needs to be spot-on or they build to much heat, but again this is an over the road thing and not a big deal for us as 15 miles of interstate would be about as far as we drive.

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