SAFETY NET FOR
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FYRE KICKERS
Kenning Tyres Services' tyre replacement network handles 5,000 emergency call-outs a year — many of them the result of insufficient basic maintenance. Brian Weatherley finds out how the service works
SWIFT kick up the sidewall is about as far as some operators Lgo when it comes to checking Small wonder then that Britain's ways are littered with shattered ses of truck tyres.
surprising that operators can to neglect their tyres. With the ;e new drive-axle tyre retailing at 3 £180 and a wide single trailer Dsting anything up to £400, it only two blow outs in a day to wipe e week's profit for many of them. ular pressure checks will certainly duce the risk of tyre failure. But ires can happen to any operator, er he religiously inspects his tyres ly hauliers nowadays do not carry — either to maximise payloads, ause in the past it has been stolen. atever the reasons, running at one guarantees that when a tyre ;o, the vehicle stops and stays it is until a new one is fitted. rphy's law being what it is, tyre usually occurs at the stroke of ght in the middle of a gale on the o, what do you do? Probably you ill out an emergency tyre .tment service. The chances are that it will be operated by Kenning Tyre Services.
KTS is the largest composite independent tyre distributor in rile UK. It operates its own 24-hour emergency service from 96 depots throughout the country. To find out how it works I spoke to general Service manager Bill Reid at the company's headquarters in Chesterfield before seeing one of its depots in action.
KTS has two types of regular customer — national and local account. National accounts are invariably large truck or van fleet operators which need 24-hour emergency tyre fitting facilities throughout the UK. Each K TS depot has a data book which lists every national account customer.. This is consulted whenever a national. account holder breakdown is referred to the depot. The data book contains details On vehicle tyre requirements and the operator's preference on individual tyre makes.
Within the national account agreement KTS maintains a special night store, in addition to its normal warehouse stock: at each of its depots. These hold a representative cross-section of all national account holders' tyres, ensuring that in most emergency cases the . operator gets the right tyre, even if the main depot is shut.
As KTS is totally independent from any tyre manufacturer, the company can "sell anybody's tyres without fear or favour," said Bill Reid.
Bill Reid freely acknowledges that for certain logistical and economic reasons it is not always possible to hold every single national account customer truck and trailer tyre — particularly the oddball ones — in the night store. "I'd hate to say an operator always gets what he wants, but we do our best."
If the prime tyre choice is not available in the night store a KTS fitter will either contact the customer direct for authorisation to use a different make or, alternatively, fit a second choice already nominated by the haulier acid listed in the data book.
Local account customers are, as their name suggests, served by one particular KTS depot which not only attends roadside breakdowns, but an also be responsible for all of the customer's normal tyre maintenance and fitting work.
While a local account customer may simply call his KIS depot direct, a national account customer relies on Kennings' Freephone 5959 service, which is currently controlled through a central communications centre in Birmingham run by BRS Rescue.
The Birmingham centre acts as a clearing house logging each call and taking all relevant details before passing them on to the nearest KTs depot. If a certain branch is fully committed, the call automatically passes on to the next closest depot or to a fellow National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) member who can carry out the work on behalf of Kennings Tyre Services.
So far, the Freephone emergency procedure has proved generally efficient although, according to Bill Reid, there have been cases where delays have been caused either by the British Telecom operator initially handling the call, or by the incoming call stacking system being choked with drivers waiting to be dealt with by the Birmingham centre.
To overcome these problems Kenning has revised its emergency call system. It will shortly be changing over to a new toll-free number in September. This will cut out the Telecom operator link and place the driver in direct contact with the Birmingham breakdown control.
Bill Reid explained that few operators unknown to Kennings call up out of the blue demanding tyres for a vehicle. Most are existing local or national account customers whose creditworthiness is already established.
If a driver of a non-account customer calls KTS his credit must be established before any tyres are fitted. "If we can't trace him, then we can't take a chance on his breakdown,says Bill Reid.
The non-account operator, however, may be on the books of another NTDA member who can confirm his credit standing.
With 5,000 emergency calls a year, what was the most common cause of Lyre failure? Bill Reid reckons the biggest contributing factor is under inflation — particularly on twin tyres. If one is under inflated an extra load is placed on the correctly inflated tyre which overheats and tails early.
For Bill Reid, part of the problem is getting to the inner wheel valves to check pressures. "Twin wheels are not always correctly fitted. so it leads to poor valve checking on the miser wheel. Even when the wheels are fitted correctly, the driver often can't get to the inner valve because it's jammed up against the brakedrum.
All side-wall damage should be carefully examined, says Bill Reid, particularly as surfice scuff marks often mean the tyre has suffered nt serious damage to the inner casing.
Kerbing tyres should also be avc — commonsense perhaps, but how many drivers do it?
Valve caps seem an ohy ous way maintaining tyre pressures but it is which many operators fail to consi says Bill Reid. If they don't fit va caps then the very act of checking pressures can create an air leak if ti valve-is-faulty — so always fit a cal
Bill Reid recommends the hexag headed valve cap which was devel( originally for the BL Hydrogas suspension system. The cap, when finger tight, can hold pressures of,
)ar (5(X) lb/sqin/, compared with the )ar (250 lb/sqin) usually maintained normal metal valve cap.
he hexagon valve cap is normally wiled with a pair of pliers, which Reid feels encourages their correct ag, unlike a normal valve cap which a finger-tight fitting allowing it to ,asily removed and forgotten.
arty pence for a hexagon cap is an ;nificant amount to pay, says Bill 1, and worth it at the end of the day_ allowing the advent of 38-tonnes and the recent changes in speed ts, had Bill Reid seen any discernible ds in commercial vehicle tyres? One that has shown growth is the use of ,nd 16.5 x 22.5 wide singles on ers on two-plus-three 38-tonne gross ibination weight work. But their lication is still relatively limited, .icularly as some operators are ing to their cost that replacement rvals are unacceptably short owing xcessive tyre scrub.
Some of the mileages reported are .edingly low. I know some operators ) have replaced wide singles after 10100 miles."
ifting axles can be a benefit, along air or fluid suspensions which are good at equalising tyre loads. Alloy !els are also growing in acceptance ough, says Bill Reid, "they can be -e easily damaged compared with I wheels and require extra care by tyrefitter. With their polished finish 7 can't just be thrown down on the and."
(ith many manufacturers now fitting -profile tyres, such as the Michelin te series, as standard, KTS has also eased its low-profile stock levels at each depot. Supplies from Michelin, however, are now always as regular as they could be, according to Bill Reid.
Inevitably, KTS has become involved in the problems of loose wheels. For Bill Reid these first became noticeable with the advent of DIN and ISO fixings and tubeless wheels. He feels, however, that there are many contributing factors to the problem, not least the strains brought about by increased road speeds and engine torque as yvell as higher payloads.
Spigot mounted wheels could be one way of easing the problems, although they create their own problems for the KTS fitters when the wheel takes a strong liking to the hub and will not come off. To overcome a sticking wheel all KTS fitters are now issued with wheel pullers. "They're useful," says Bill, 'but not the total answer."
Another piece of standard equipment for all KTS fitters is a torque wrench. This goes with a comprehensive list of manufacturers recommended torque settings for light vans right up to tractive units. Both are carried at all times in the breakdown vehicle.
Part of the wheelnut problem, says Bill Reid, "is that there is no standardisation of torque settings across the industry. You have the situation where two manufacturers use the same axles and wheels but recommend different torque settings."
Whenever KTS replaces a wheel the operator is advised to check it for tightness after 50 miles and then on a daily basis or until there is no sign of movement in the wheelnuts.
While many operators would question the practicality of checking wheelnut tightness after 50 miles — as has the Freight Transport Association, (CM, May 25, 1985) — KTS is only repeating an average of similar recommendations laid down by vehicle manufacturers.
By torquing wheel nuts to manufacturers' settings and insisting on an initial mileage check by the driver and subsequent operator rechecks KTS feels that it is doing everything within its power to prevent wheelnuts loosening.