From the archives – Fork Truck – “A Flat Every 15 Minutes!”

April 29, 2011

According to Dave Snyder, shear foreman at a large scrapyard in Omaha, Nebraska- "If these tires weren't flatproofed, that fork truck would be down with a flat every 15 minutes". The yard draws scrap metal - 100,000 tons a year - from seven western states, compacting it and shipping it out again to steel plants within a 300-mile

Just the Facts, Mam!

April 26, 2011

Military Application – Tank Hauler

April 8, 2011

The M-1000 Heavy Duty Tank Hauler was losing an average of two tires daily due to extreme operating conditions.  After flatproofing these tires with RePneu,  it required over five months to experience the same two tire failures that were originally occurring each day!  Not only does foam filling increase productivity,  but significantly reduces costs as in just the first five months alone, this application realized an improvement of

TLC Challenge – Easier dismounting for 27.00 x 49′s

March 9, 2011

Upon a recent visit to a customer in the Midwest, I was approached by a energetic Tire Technician named Jake. It seems as though he remembered the challenge I gave him in March of 2010. You see, Jake, is the Technician responsible for changing large OTR tires in the field. I recall showing him a sample of TLC, (Tire Lube & Conditioner) and asking him to try the product and report back. He recently received a call to change out a couple of  2700 x 49's in which the product was installed. Jake said he was very impressed with the ease of the tire removal as well as the

Straddle Carrier

February 28, 2011

Tire Flatproofing can be used even if the tire does not receive punctures.  For safety reasons, sometimes the application requires tires that never lose air pressure. This Straddle Carrier was at a port in Sweden with 8 tires of size 18.00-33. The flatproofing volume of each tire was approximately 560kgs and required almost one hour to fill each tire with Arnco's RePneu and pressurized them to 10,0 bar (145 psi). Although tires had been pre-stretched thoroughly, the tire dealer had to return to add more poly fill as

What is Tire Flatproofing or Foam Fill?

February 27, 2011

If you have heard of Foam Fill or Poly Fill, Tire Flatproofing is the exact the same thing and can only be installed by an authorized tire dealer.  Whatever the product has been called during the past forty years, it is simply liquid polyurethane that is injected into the tire that then begins to solidify inside the tire until the polymer replaces all the air.  All suppliers offer different durometers of poly fill such as a soft, medium, and hard.  The vast majority of the market uses a medium hardness which usually equates to a 30 durometer. The result is a

OTR Tire Conference

February 23, 2011

I just returned from the 2011 Tire Association of America OTR Tire conference in Miami FL. The conference touched on many areas of our industry currently affecting the OTR dealer. Primary among them are the on-going limits to product availability along with historically high prices on natural rubber.

The Keynote Presentation by Shawn Racey, President of Bridgestone Americas Off Road Tires, addressed these very topics. In his talk Mr. Racey emphasized the need to adjust quickly to maket conditions, for as he said "shift happens".

One of the shifts OTR dealers will be looking at is the added value that flatproofing brings. By utilizing

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