Market launch for Goodyear’s new generation trailer tyre
Goodyear has launched a successor to its Regional RHT range of trailer tyre and claims the new product outperforms the tyre it replaces in a number of key areas. Perhaps most importantly, the new Regional RHT II, which is intended mainly for use on vehicles operating in the regional haul sector, boasts up to 30 per cent better mileage than its predecessor. This greater mileage potential is said to be due to a new tread compound and 15 per cent more wearable rubber volume; the tread of the Goodyear Regional RHT II is 10 mm wider and has eight per cent more depth than that of the Regional RHT.
Other RHT II qualities Goodyear highlights are its “excellent wet skid performance and high robustness.” The range, which primarily caters for 22.5-inch fitments, complies with the future EU regulation 661/2009; Goodyear says the Regional RHT II achieves “excellent rolling resistance and noise levels.” The range includes a high-load tyre that can provide an axle weight capacity of ten tonnes.
Stated key design features of the Regional RHT II are an optimised multi radius cavity shape, strong shoulder ribs and zigzag-shaped tread grooves. These, Goodyear reports, provide the benefits of uniform and optimum wear, resistance against shoulder wear and robustness during manoeuvring. The groove shapes are designed to minimise stone-holding and improve wet braking. Goodyear’s Max Technology has also been utilised in the new range.
A prototype of the new range was displayed at last year’s IAA commercial vehicle show in Hannover, Germany in size 385/65 R 22.5. The production model of the ’10-tonne axle trailer tyre’ developed together with Schmitz Cargobull and shown at the 2010 exhibition has a load capacity that Goodyear says will serve as the basis for the development of a completely new generation of trailer tyres. A significant development is that the tyre’s weight capacity enables trailers to utilise a 20 tonne tandem bogie in place of the conventional 24 tonne tri-axle bogie, thus permitting 20 tonnes on a tandem bogie with single tyres, as the tyre has a load index of 164 = 5 tonnes instead of the normal 160 = 4.5 tonnes. The use of single tyres and a lighter tandem bogie lead to payload advantages and lower operating costs in comparison to many conventional trailers.
Between October 2009 and March 2011, Goodyear conducted trials with fleet customers; these trials placed the Regional RHT II head-to-head with its predecessor and a main premium competitor’s product. Amongst the participating fleets was Spanish transport company Penyafort, who tested the products using a tri-axle Spitzer powder tanker. Goodyear reports that the previous tyres, the Regional RHT, were the benchmark and an average of 129,000 kilometres was recorded on the third trailer axle before these tyres required replacement. The Regional RHT II recorded an average of 179,000 kilometres and the competitor 155,000 kilometres to the same level of wear. This translates into the Regional RHT II having 39 per cent better mileage than its predecessor and 19 per cent more than the competitor.
A similar trial with France’s Transports Coing used a Kaiser curtain-sider tri-axle trailer; the results were 115,000 kilometres average for the Regional RHT, 139,000 for the Regional RHT II and 125,000 for the competitor. This put the Regional RHT II 21 per cent better in mileage than its predecessor and 12 per cent better than a main competitor in the same segment. The trials were repeated using several sets of tyres to ensure consistency.
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