Are converted buses still subject to DOT regulations?

[Booyah45828]

I'd say we install roughly 50/50 retread vs virgin. No retreads on steer axles. My experience is that 3/4 of the failures we see are retreads, and less then 5% would be what I would consider a manufacturer's defect. Most failures are caused by the operator.

The 85% number I mentioned is found on page 42, under the results of the virginia DOT study of road casings. I quoted it here.

3.3.6 Results

Approximately 42,997 pounds of debris were collected from I-95; 42,475 pounds from I-81, and 42,050 pounds from I-295 and I-77. In total more than 127,000 pounds of tire debris were collected from 658 miles of interstate during the eight-week survey period. The Virginia report gives detailed findings for 27 tires only, which are summarized in Table 3.3.

Overall, the results indicated the dominance of radial tire types over bias-ply tires, which is to be expected (see section 2.18 ). Retread tires accounted for 67 percent of all tire debris tested and 85 percent of the non-passenger-vehicle/light-truck tires. Taking note of the COV study focus, there was only one case (Table 3.3, item #9) where the cause of the tire failure was directly linked to manufacturer or human error in the retread process. In the nine cases where probable failure could be determined for retread tires, failure due to road hazards accounted for approximately 90 percent of these cases.

I liked this study because it was over all debris found on the roadway in a certain time period, making it a very broad survey/sample.

There's no doubt there is a lot of data in that article.

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

Examination of tire fragments and tire casings (where the OE or retread status was known) found that road hazard was the most common cause of tire failure, at 38 percent and 36 percent respectively.

I wonder if the results are skewed because retreads are not on steer tires.


Seems if you run over a pot hole with front and back tires (on one side of the vehicle), I think the front tire will take more of a hit than the rear. Kind of like pushing that cart over a bump instead of pulling it over. It will resist more when the weight of the cart is behind the wheel, same for the car/bus/truck.


Just a guess.....

[rossvtaylor]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

I wonder if the results are skewed because retreads are not on steer tires.


Seems if you run over a pot hole with front and back tires (on one side of the vehicle), I think the front tire will take more of a hit than the rear. Kind of like pushing that cart over a bump instead of pulling it over. It will resist more when the weight of the cart is behind the wheel, same for the car/bus/truck.


Just a guess.....

A good guess, I think...

[1catlady]

Originally Posted by the7exp

I haven't had an issue which is why I asked, especially at high speeds.

And the reason why I'm contemplation is because I'm in the process of converting a bus to an RV and I'm on a really tight budget because of COVID, and the front tire was pointed out to me by a mechanic. I asked him how much it would cost to change it for a new tire and he told me $1600 for two. You can see why haha.

I just bought 2 new steer tires 900$

[s2mikon]

I just ordered 2 Continental HSR2 SA 295/80R 22.5 For my front steer axle. 407.00 each plus mounting and disposal. These are premium quality made in USA tires. With an 81 mph speed rating and 7830 pound load rating at 120 psi. These are also SmartWay certified to satisfy the California Air Resources Board requirements for low rolling resistance. That should keep me from offending any of my friends and family that haven’t left California yet. After I get them installed and put some miles on them I know more.

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

I wonder if the results are skewed because retreads are not on steer tires.


Seems if you run over a pot hole with front and back tires (on one side of the vehicle), I think the front tire will take more of a hit than the rear. Kind of like pushing that cart over a bump instead of pulling it over. It will resist more when the weight of the cart is behind the wheel, same for the car/bus/truck.


Just a guess.....

Another thing I was thinking late one night (forgot about this thread since then) is that steer tires are single, where rears are dual. The single tire will take all the impact of the pothole. With duals, one tire may still ride the pavement and miss the pothole, so the other won't drop down into it and be impacted as hard. But even if two go into the pothole, there is twice the rubber to absorb the impact and force against the spring holding it down as it tries to roll back up out of the hole.

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

Another thing I was thinking late one night (forgot about this thread since then) is that steer tires are single, where rears are dual. The single tire will take all the impact of the pothole. With duals, one tire may still ride the pavement and miss the pothole, so the other won't drop down into it and be impacted as hard. But even if two go into the pothole, there is twice the rubber to absorb the impact and force against the spring holding it down as it tries to roll back up out of the hole.

Very valid point! Maybe much less impact with a dual tire?

[vintageracer]

All this talk about "Investment" in tires or your bus is BS!

Git in the REAL WORLD!

An "Investment" has an expectation of return and/or appreciation.

ANYTHING you buy for your bus such as tires is an EXPENDITURE! Your forkin out Moohlah!

Investment and a Skoolie bus are will never be associated with each other.

SPEND away and understand you will NEVER git all the money back you SPEND on your Skoolie when you decide to SELL!!!

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by vintageracer

All this talk about "Investment" in tires or your bus is BS!

Git in the REAL WORLD!

An "Investment" has an expectation of return and/or appreciation.

ANYTHING you buy for your bus such as tires is an EXPENDITURE! Your forkin out Moohlah!

Investment and a Skoolie bus are will never be associated with each other.

SPEND away and understand you will NEVER git all the money back you SPEND on your Skoolie when you decide to SELL!!!

100% agree with you on this one Mike!
We spend it because it’s what we want to do for fun. if you’re thinking of this like an investment/return you’re in for a rude awakening.
Cheers

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by ewo1

It is really a great idea to learn the laws. Don’t make a difference if it legally applies to you or not. Knowledge is power and with good knowledge I’m sure you can make some good smart and safe decisions.


This is about safety, NOT EGO !!!

And that's exactly why I just finished reading that entire tire study. Sure I skimmed a few parts about how they went about it once I established that they did indeed use the scientific method and try to correct for various factors that could skew things.
Highly interesting reading and went mostly along what I thought woudl be the answer.

Over 40 years ago I was driving a 1 ton flat bed pulling a 6 horse gooseneck. I was 17. The left outside dual started throwing a cap and I will never forget teh look on the bikers face when a big chunk hit him right in the chest as he went by.
Today's recaps appear to be just as sturdy as the virgins but I'll never run one on a steer unless I'm in the middle of no where with no other options.
We're hoping to do the AlCan and we'll be bringing two mounted spares....and they'll be virgins. We probably won't buy anything buy virgins.....they're only $650 for Bridgestones on Amazon.
And we have the gold plated AAA RV PREMIUM you can't even buy any more. Four tows a year with three up to a hundred miles and one up to 200 miles. But waiting for AAA or doing a change on the road (while we will have the capability) is something I'd much rather someone else was doing.

[Timeline]

I bought my bus from a used bus company, they had a bunch of used tires in like new condition. I bought 2 virgin for the steer @175. and 4 mud and snow re-caps @125. Also bought 6 new powder coated rims. I've got some tire peace of mind on the cheap.



It's one way to save some $ hope that helps someone.

John

[HamSkoolie]

Did you check the DATE CODE on those "like new" tires? That's a VERY important factor in the viability of tires.

[Sehnsucht]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

Did you check the DATE CODE on those "like new" tires? That's a VERY important factor in the viability of tires.

Agreed. I have 6 'like new' tires on my Winnie but one look at the date code and they're all over 10 years old even if they look good and have nearly new tread. One blew on the way home from the purchase! I'm not driving it right now as its being gutted but I plan on putting new tires all the way around before it goes anywhere!

[Timeline]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

Did you check the DATE CODE on those "like new" tires? That's a VERY important factor in the viability of tires.

Yes I did, all 6 made in 2018. I have seen dry rot tires with like new tread in the past and knew how to check dates.


Thank You!
John

[Timeline]

Thank you for the warning!
John

[Timeline]

Originally Posted by Sehnsucht

Agreed. I have 6 'like new' tires on my Winnie but one look at the date code and they're all over 10 years old even if they look good and have nearly new tread. One blew on the way home from the purchase! I'm not driving it right now as its being gutted but I plan on putting new tires all the way around before it goes anywhere!

Thank you for the good advice!
John