Muswell Hill

Random question: after almost hitting a large chunk of tyre on the interstate, does anyone know why American truck tyres fall apart so frequently on the roads?
I never used to see this in the UK.

Cheers,
MH

fatbrit

Extremes of weather.

Jerseygirl

We had a thread about this a few years ago in The Lounge forum...I'll see if I can locate it. At the time we had several truckers posting.

Mummy in the foothills

Those tires on the freeway are usually retreads that have peeled off from big rig trailers.

Jerseygirl

Yes and a few months ago a 6 ft piece came hurtling at us on I-80. I ducked under the dashboard...fortunately my hubby was driving...he didn't flinch an inch. It just missed the windowscreen...hit the roof of the car and I reported it to the state police. A couple of miles down the interstate a bicycle came flying off the roof of a car in front of us. Again...someone was looking out for us that day...and again I reported it to 911.

Michael

Where in the UK can an 18 wheeler come barreling down the road at 70 mph on retread tires?

Tarkak9

(.... and a couple of miles after that??) -

Mummy in the foothills

not a good day driving

Muswell Hill

Excuse my ignorance on such matters, but what are retreads?

Bink

70?! Most of them here seem to do 80 It scares the bejesus out of me, especially in the wet.

Mummy in the foothills

I think they call them remoulds in UK or was I dreaming that?

Jerseygirl

Here is the old thread I mentioned. It seems the extremes in temperatures here in the US may have something to do with the retreads being shredded all over the roads.


No you are not dreaming...we call them remoulds.

Mummy in the foothills

You know I've been here so long I say stuff and then wonder why I'm getting blank stares. I don't know what is British and what is American anymore. I'm so confused

Jerseygirl

I have the same problem...sometimes I can't even tell if it's an American or British accent.

Michael

Many truckers don't purchase new tires but instead purchase tires that have a new tread molded on a used tire to save money. In theory, a retreaded tire is supposed to be as good as a new tire but in my opinion they aren't and the tread can come lose from the tire.

Also since a company may retread many different brands of tires, it is unknown if their process will hold the tread equally well to all the different brands of tires.