The Elements to Consider When Evaluating the Lifetime Cost of Commercial Truck Tires

By analyzing the total lifetime cost of your commercial truck tires and reviewing each of the options across the market carefully you can pinpoint products that will reduce your lifetime cost considerably. Our team at STTC has decades of experience in supplying clients with commercial truck tires, and we have a clear understanding of the financial considerations companies face when choosing new tires for their fleet. In this newest post, we’re highlighting the elements to consider when evaluating the lifetime cost of commercial truck tires.

Acquisition Cost

The first and most obvious consideration when evaluating lifetime tire cost is the cost to buy the tire in the first place. Many tire suppliers across the marketplace are now offering very affordable options; while these are cheap up front they will increase lifetime ownership costs due to poor run out mileage and reusability. However if you can only afford a certain level of quality, then utilize these options. , Companies also offer retread tires designed to perform far more effectively over their lifetime than lower-cost foreign-sourced products.

Lifetime Performance

One of the key metrics when evaluating the cost of a tire over its lifetime is optimal performance. The cost to maintain the tire should be included within this lifetime performance cost and should be discussed when speaking directly with the tire supplier.

The supplier should provide you information on the maximum life of the tread as well as on the casing. For example, most treads can last up to 250,000 miles before the tread has to be replaced. If a quality casing was purchased and is able to be retreaded, then the tire and casing will continue to have value. For example, Michelin offers a warranty that consists of 3 retreads,  7 years and 700,000 miles.  However, cheap Chinese imported tires and casings will get drastically less wear and may only get one retread, which increases the cost per mile significantly. Granted a Michelin tire is not for everyone, but you can contact a local tire dealer for a less expensive offer that still provides lasting value.

Your Retread Program

Having access to a dynamic retread program is critical to getting the maximum life from your commercial truck tires. The team running the retread program can analyze the performance of your vehicles tire set and detail when the retreading work must take place, so that you can save money in maintaining the tire over the years ahead.  Each retread used on your own casing will cost less than any new tire and will get comparable wear and performance.

The Costs in Detail

The cost of buying and maintaining your fleet’s tires might look something like the following on a per tire basis:

• Acquisition cost: $400
• First retread: $200
• Second retread: $200
• Miles driven on the original casing: 600,000

This gives you a cost per mile of $0.00133. But you should also take into consideration the cost of maintaining your tires, which includes rotating, balancing, and repairing tires as needed. As shown, the retreads are less than a new tire, but provide new tire performance thus lowering your overall cost per mile.

With a proactive focus on tire costs, you can begin to find ways to consolidate your expenditure and capitalize on the innovation in the tire industry. To discover more, call our team at STTC today.