Impressive as hell-o!...big pieces of tire flying all over I-75 southbound at 4:30pm today...tire-rim-aluminum fender and cars windshield gone from the blowout....gee. i sure want a set of those on my truck to pop in heavy traffic! tractor didn't swerve at all just came to a stop......geofkaye

this may be a stupid question, but does the super single have anything to do with the tractor control? if so, please explain.

Thanks,
Doc Weaver

....have you experienced a rear blowout on a loaded truck....it kinda changes lanes and not slowly.....fun!....geofkaye

Posted August 21, 2008 11:43 PM Hide Post
....have you experienced a rear blowout on a loaded truck....it kinda changes lanes and not slowly.....fun!....geofkaye


So, wouldn't dual tires be safer than a super single?

Doc Weaver

yep--- i thnk that's what geof is sayin'--- mase

Thanks for the clarity. I was just making sure I understood the point. I've never driven a super single. In fact, I've always had tandems on my small utility trailers, because I wanted the extra protection.

I had some nut in Arkansas ram my trailer (in front of two cops) and one of the cops told me if it had had one axel, I would be dead.

I'll keep to the dualies.

Doc Weaver

Doc, I think you are misunderstanding what geofkaye is talking about. These "new" tires are to replace dual tires on one side. I've NEVER seen a "utility" trailer with duallys - (translated 4 tires per axle). Super Singles replace 4 tires per axle to 2 tires per axle and are mostly used to replace the rear tires on larger over-the-road trucks. I've not seen these tires on a trailer yet, but I'm sure there are dopes who have done it! https://www.moderntiredealer.com/imag...upersingle.jpg

I'm sorry to mislead. i do understand the super single vs dually vs tandems. I meant to say that even when I used to run small trailers behind a pickup, I would buy trailers with more tires (on separate axles) than they really needed, because of stability not weight. those single axle trailers are dangerous. one flat on that trailer and you have been demoted from driver to unhappy passenger.

That's scary

doc weaver

....check out the COWAN tractors with singles on the rear trailer and also tractor sometimes on individual axles and sometimes on both axles on both vehicles....i couldn't believe it till i saw it myself....they haul for Coke locally.....geofkaye

To clarify why some carriers are using the super single, I will try to explain. Fleets the size of Cowan and many others are placing them on the trucks and the trailers because they offer an overall weight reduction as well as less rolling resistance. The carrier will see increased payload capability as well as better overall fuel mileage. Some of the larger trucking companies think that they will see as much as 1/2 of a mile per gallon savings on fuel. Add that to the additional payload and they can realize a net gain in revenue in the millions annually. While a single super single tire costs close to $900.00 the life expectancy is longer than that of a dual set of tires which cost around $500.00 to $700.00 per set. There are of course the drawbacks as Geof has mentioned. 1 flat tire and you are sidelined until it is fixed. Safety is not one of the drawbacks as the stability of the unit if one blows out is not greatly affected. But the sheer size of the tire if it fails can make for some dramatic action with all that rubber and steel belt flailing around.
Although these tires have been around for 20+ years, they have only recently started becoming more popular. With the current fuel pricing a savings of 1/2 mile per gallon on a 2000 unit fleet can make a huge difference.

Wick

i had a blowout with dual tandems on a trailer on a big rig once and it didn't affect my vehicle control whatsoever?

......YOU are a better driver than I!....geofkaye