Uniroyal Takes on Forest Tracks

Earlier this year Cumbrian operator John Miller Limited selected Uniroyal tyres for use in its general haulage fleet. The reason? The tyres stood up to real-life tests consisting of frequent journeys of up to 20 miles on unpaved forest tracks as part of the company’s timber fleet. Now they’re fitting them to steer axles on Mercedes-Benz Actros tractors on general haulage work and looking to achieve up to 180,000 kilometres of life before they go for regrooving.

The Carlisle firm, which has 30 trucks dedicated to timber haulage, used the Uniroyal FO 200 on/off road steer axle tyre on its tag-axle DAF CF85s for 18 months on its timber trucks carrying wood out of forests right across the Scottish borders to saw mills throughout the region. When they’re not on forest tracks, the trucks are mainly running on A roads, which can also put tyres to the test.

These demanding conditions make it essential that drivers check their tyres daily. At Miller’s this is also backed up with more thorough inspections carried out by the supplying dealer, Matthew Brewer Tyres (MBT), who provide a complete tyre management service to the company.

MBT will often check a truck’s tyres two or three times a week and always at least weekly to ensure that any sign of damage or under-inflation is quickly spotted and action taken. When tread depth approaches 3 mm the tyres come off the steer axle for regrooving and the FO 200s are then available for use on the lift axle, thus extending their life by several thousand more kilometres. Further life is gained by retreading, which can also later be followed by a second regrooving.

Davie Carson, a director at John Miller Limited, says that the arduous conditions of timber work are about as testing as it gets for truck tyres. “I’ve been very satisfied with the way the Uniroyal’s have performed in our timber fleet. Following that experience, and on the advice of MBT, we’re now using the DH 100 on the drive axles of our Actros Mega space tractors and so far they appear to be doing well.”

Uniroyal tyres are sold and distributed exclusively for Continental Tyre Group by Uniroyal Truck Tyres UK, a subsidiary of King Road Tyres, one of the largest tyre wholesalers in the UK and Ireland.