Tractor Agriculture demonstrates a significant topic which is called How to Extend the Tire Life by few years. I saw this question asked by many laborers working in our fields and is a major issue for people engaged in agricultural tasks. Tires influence the functioning on the field area considerably.
At that time, during my school days, I used to reach school late due to badly inflated tire tubes. The tips explained below will come in handy whether you are using cars, trucks, tractors or any automobile.
The tread life of tires is very important and you should have proper knowledge and can find using tire tread life expectancy chart.
The Average Life of Tires depends upon the amount of care we take. The life span of tire increases with regular care. The tyres have different sizes like Tractor Tires have big size and car tyres are relatively smaller. The life expectancy of a tire in buses can be 50-60 thousand kms and 20-30 thousand kms in case of cars. The tire lifetime expectancy is different for different vehicles like motorcycle, tractors etc.
Tips to improve Average Tire Life
To increase or extend the life expectancy of tires, let us follow some basic instructions which will improve the tyre life and age considerably.
- Overloading
The vehicle should only be loaded to the limits set by its manufacturer. If the vehicle is overloaded, the unnecessary wear and tear happens. This reduced the tyre life cycle and makes it useless within a short period of time.
- Loading at Right Positions
In case of heavy vehicles, like Trucks, Trailers etc, the load should be placed in the centre of the vehicle. The extra load should not be placed at either rear or front side as this will cause the excessive heating of tire and ultimately causes tire failure. The tire life reduces mostly due to wrong placement of extra load.
- Over Inflating Tyre
There is a misconception in the minds of people that extra pressure in the tyres allows to put extra weight on the vehicle. The reality is that extra inflate tyres do not get extra capacity to bear further load and neither they become stronger.
Eventually, the extra inflation and load makes the tyre useless.
Another disadvantage of having extra pressure is that tyres are not able to absorb road shocks and as a result the shocks are transmitted to the Chassis.
The major different between over inflated tyre and properly inflated tire is that the Tread Contact Area of over inflated tyre is lesser. The over inflation greatly reduce the tire life.
- Under Inflation Issues
To improve tire life, Under Inflation also has to be given proper attention. Most of the drivers do not get the tyres inflated regularly and keep using the vehicle or Agricultural Machine regularly. This results in premature failure.
Prevention of Under Inflation Failures
Regularity is the key i.e. tires should be regularly checked for proper pressure levels.
The valve caps should be screwed tightly as this helps in maintaining the tire life.
The slow leakage should be properly checked as this type of leakage hampers the tire life most of the times.
The tire life is an important parameter and it should not be ignored.
- Air Bleeding inside Tyres
This is a common observation and severely affects the average tire life. After a long journey, some drivers check the pressure of tyres and set it right by reducing the pressure levels. This is a wrong routine work. The pressure of tyre should never be checked while it is hot.
If air is bleeding from a hot tire, it will increase the temperature further. The best way is to allow the tyre to cool down and then check the pressure levels.
- Driving Habits
- The way of driving has a direct impact on the tire life. Follow these ways to improve the life of your tyre.
- Try to avoid taking sharp turns.
- Avoid careless driving i.e. driving above the rough stones.
- Avoid fast driving on rough road which can largely reduce the life span on tyres.
- Avoid fast driving on all types of roads.
- Do not start the vehicle with an immediate speed so that tyres can be rotated instantaneously.
- Avoid using Brakes again and again while driving.
- The unwanted things should be regularly removed from the tyre treads.
- Harsh Application of Brakes on the tyres should not be done. The harsh and sudden applying of brakes should not be done. These steps will improve the shelf tire life.
- Tires should be properly matched
In big vehicles like Buses, Trucks etc, the dual wheels are fitted on the rear axle. In such vehicles, the height of both the tyres should be same for the longevity of tire life. The immediate effect is running of the vehicle dominantly to the one side of the road.
This difference in heights of both tyres causes one tyre to carry most part of the load. This further causes hot running of bigger tyre and it automatically reduced tire life.
- Check Mechanical Faults
The vehicle should be checked for all types of mechanical faults. The Steering System is responsible for moving operations. If any defect is in steering system, then it accelerates wear and tear of tyre which decreases the tire life to a big extent.
Storage Tips to increase Tire Life
The tires of any vehicle i.e. tractor, car, or any automobile are sometimes not used much and should be properly stored. The best way is to jack the tires and reduce the air pressure.
If the vehicle is not going to be used for longer period of time, then the tires should be removed and stored inside a room, dark place which keeps the tires away from water and dust.
Tyre Rotation Tips to improve Tire Life
It has been observed that the rotation feature of any vehicle causes regular wear and tear of tyres. This wear and tear is not the same on all the tires. To overcome this issue, the positions of tires should be changed at each service to accommodate apt wear and tear.
If all the tips explained above are followed, Tractor Agriculture is sure that the tire life expectancy can be increased by few years.
