why do i sometimes see painted stripes on OTR trailer tires?

[BIGNASTY]

Well ive never been to planet kilifornia sounds like im not missin much. Mostly just country folk out here unless i happen to stray up towards the city almost 2 hours away which doesnt happen more than once or twice a year

Your right dont go out to Ca its a cesspool that needs to be cut off from the rest of the country. After we sell our last home to the border brothers or anyone that can come up with the $

 

[mwilson]

Mike



It took me awhile but I thought I seen those boys near you that have their TV TRUCKING SHOW ran some nasty old time wheels but they do run the others also. I like your answer better than mine but I do have enough experience with our south of the border *_&^()&&&%(()*&%^) friends ( aka compaws) to know that the WILL STEAL ANYTHING even if its WORTHLESS. I love them so much #ad

Those are 11R24. 5 tires on that Pelletier Mfg. trailer but they are Dayton for sure. Some of that stuff up there has 24" rubber which is larger than the 24. 5 versions.



20" tube tire = 22. 5" tubeless

22" tube tire = 24. 5" tubeless

24" is just plain big... ... .....



Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Didnt know the size but seen the wheels. They said they used them on the show because it makes off road changes easy.

 

[mwilson]

Also will stand more weight and abuse than a Budd or Unimount wheel. Plus brakes cool better, more airflow through the open rim.



Also that 4th trailer axle (Lifted in photo) can not be run touching the pavement on public roads in Maine. Only off road or in Canada (New Brunswick and Quebec).



Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Some of our more educated management types (that never drove a truck) decided to put on the Michelin roller skate wheels and tires (cant remember what size I think 19. 5) to get the center of gravity low. Along with the truck air tanks, fuel tanks, steps, off load pump, bumpers and a host of other kind of essential parts to running a truck safely. When all that needed to be done was to SLOW DOWN AROUND CURVES Imagine that!!!!!!!!! and some of us didn't have a degree in ANYTHING. Needless to say after spending all kinds of money they had to go back to what we had before their brain storm of course they had gotten rid of the ones they took off. No Problem JUST RAISE THE GAS PRICE PER GALLON FOR A WEEK AND THEIR PAID FOR :-laf at least it didnt bottom out going into a gas station making folks run for the hills

 

[Wingate]

Wow. . Im not even an OTR truck guy and even I know waht the paint on the tires is for.....

Its used as "bling" to attract the best lot lizards when stopping for the night. The guys that don't have paint only get seconds... I'm thinking about painting the tires on my service truck TONITE!!!

 

[mwilson]

The stripes are mostly for the winter time. When a driver stops overnight and there is snow and water in the brake drum it has a chance to freeze up or lock up. When you take off in the morning it is then easy to look in the mirrors to see if the tires and wheel are turning. I have seen trailers drug for a couple of miles before the tires pop. Next time you see a set of dual skid marks that go on forever check and see how many miles it took before the driver notices or the tires pop.



Casey

Up here we do run backing plates on trucks and trailers unlike other areas of the country. I would assume the IRT equipment has the backing plates as well.

They are doing drop and hooks, when they Ice Road guys back under the trailer it has been brought in and parked while the wheels are warm and the drums are wet. The colored blocks do help tell a driver if the duals are turning but still hard to see in the dark.

A real truckdriver (as opposed to a steering wheel holder) will apply slight pressure to the trailer brakes for a couple of miles before stopping by using the glad handle on the steering column. This dries the brake shoes and drums, also when you do park the rig you only set the truck maxi brakes and leave the trailer brakes released. They will apply later when the air pressure drops and any remaining moisture has already frozen and will not make the shoes stick.

Doing drops you don't have a choice, if the guy that brought the trailer in did not dry out the brakes and sets them by unhooking and dropping the trailer they will freeze to the drums. The parking brakes apply when you unhook, can't be helped on modern trailers equipped with air brakes and spring applied parking brakes.

Then the schmuck that hooks on to it the next morning inherits the problem. .



That's truckin'





Mike.

 

[JR]

Wow. . Im not even an OTR truck guy and even I know waht the paint on the tires is for.....



Its used as "bling" to attract the best lot lizards when stopping for the night. The guys that don't have paint only get seconds... I'm thinking about painting the tires on my service truck TONITE!!!

Lot lizards :-laf. Now thats a new one for me ill have to file that in the vocabulary bank

 

[NIsaacs]

Good write up Mike. If I had to paint my tires to make sure they were turning, I might as well not even get in the drivers seat. If the Ice Road Truckers use paint, my guess is, it is more for affect/excitement of the show than a real need... ...

Nick

 

[mwilson]

Just came to me...



First time I recall seeing marked tires on big rigs was during the ABS testing in the late '70s, early '80s. Made it very easy with the video equipment of the day to see if the wheels were locking or not on wet skidpad testing. They also had bracing / struts on the frame of the power unit connected to the trailer to keep the unit from doing the dirty jack-knife while testing.



That's back there a ways... ...



Mike.

 

[mwilson]

Mike



It took me awhile but I thought I seen those boys near you that have their TV TRUCKING SHOW ran some nasty old time wheels but they do run the others also. I like your answer better than mine but I do have enough experience with our south of the border *_&^()&&&%(()*&%^) friends ( aka compaws) to know that the WILL STEAL ANYTHING even if its WORTHLESS. I love them so much #ad

How come you didn't use this picture???



This is a 14' wide off road "Golden Road" special.

By the way, if you meet one of these loaded or empty THEY DO NOT MOVE OVER. Many an out-a-state-a has learned this the hard way... ... :-laf



Mike.

 

[mwilson]

Built for this... ...

The only thing that they will stop for...

Mike.

 

[NIsaacs]

Dang! Thats a crazy huge load. It is cool how they loaded the long logs butt forward and the short logs butt back, they fit good. I would not want the job loading those little suckers. Is that a Mack or a Brockway?



Nick

 

[mwilson]

Dang! Thats a crazy huge load. It is cool how they loaded the long logs butt forward and the short logs butt back, they fit good. I would not want the job loading those little suckers. Is that a Mack or a Brockway?



Nick

Mack DM800 6X6 as I recall. Those pictures are older, from when Gerald himself was still with us. He was a hard working and well respected man.



Mike.

 

[mwilson]

Another shot of the wide off road trailers, this gives a little better perspective as to how wide 14' really is on 102" axles...

 

[mwilson]

A little trivia nugget, then I gotta' go back to work...

I remember this truck when it was brand new, it was brought to Bangor to be shown to St. Regis Paper Company who was running off road equipment on what is called the "Stud Mill Road". That runs from Costigan (just north of Bangor) cross country to the Calais area.



They tried it out, I remember it coming into the Costigan mill to be unloaded. St. Regis did not buy it, then was sent up to Gerald to try out.



He bought it but did not like the "F" cab that was on it. He ordered a complete DM cab and fenders, etc. and proceeded to change it to a DM. That may be the truck with the triple trailers above, but can't remember 100%. If not, it looked just like that one when they got it changed over.

I don't think that there are many people that remember that nowadays. Makes me feel old:{... ... This would have been in the late '70s.

Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Those boys know what BIG LOADS ARE!!!!!!! 2 things in my trucking career that I never got to do was HEAVY HAUL and Reefer. Oh well to late to go back and re-do now.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Lot lizards :-laf. Now thats a new one for me ill have to file that in the vocabulary bank

Sleeper Creepers

Recreational Reptiles



And a few others that MAKE ME sick to think of.

 

[SnoKing]

OK, sometimes drivers that have to descent steep gravel roads do that so that they can see that they have not locked up trailer wheels. I use to haul diesel into the NW woods and the guy that hauled heavy equipment out of the woods would put sticks in the wheels sticking out as an indicators!

Snoking