Tire Case Study
A New Tread on Life
DuraSeal Technology allows Alabama Dumpster to dump Costs, extend tire life.
Before Alabama Dumpster Service began testing Goodyear DuraSeal Technology tires on one of its roll-off trucks in 2008, the Hope Hull, AL-based company was lucky if a tire lasted three months. And as far as having tires retreaded to get additional tread life—that was nearly impossible. However, today that’s all changed thanks to tire self-sealing technology from Goodyear. It’s a positive change that is saving the company time and money.
Losing Tires
Alabama Dumpster Service, which Earl Dansby and his son, Ladon Dansby, started in January of 2000, provides construction waste services using 20-, 30- and 40-yard roll-off containers. Ladon’s brother, Michael, later joined the company, which operates in Central Alabama near Montgomery.
The company’s construction waste service also provides 30-yard self-contained compactors and 40-yard stationary compactors. Plus, it offers construction firms and event organizers portable toilets for construction sites and special events. It operates a fleet of 13 Mack and Peterbilt trucks, with two front-end loading and eight roll-off trucks plus three trucks to haul and service portable toilets.
Ladon Dansby says the company’s trucks routinely visit construction sites, plus landfill sites and transfer stations, where tires can pick up all sorts of tire-puncturing debris. Flat tires were such a problem that hardly a day would go by before one or more of the company’s 13 trucks were down because of a flat tire, he adds.
For several years, the company tried different strategies to stretch its tire budget, to get more life out of tires and to reduce its cost per mile, including running retreaded tires on the drive positions. “We were losing tires so frequently, I decided to go with the cheapest retreaded tire I could get,” Dansby says. “But in the summertime, they ran hot and because they picked up nails and all sorts of other items that punctured the tire, they often would get air leaks. Routinely, we had tire problems out on the road that would require road service. Now that $200 tire, which needed to be replaced, easily turned into a $600 problem with the cost of the road service and possible damage to the truck from the failed tire. Plus, it was not unheard of for us to have upwards of 15 flat tires to fix on a Monday after the trucks had been sitting in our yard for two days.”
Dansby says the company tried changing strategies and began using all new tires and an aftermarket sealant, which was sprayed inside the tires. While that strategy worked at reducing its problems, Alabama Dumpster’s operation still suffered from flat tires, which required the company to pay for a tire repairman to visit up to three or four times a week to patch tires. With four or five tires to repair per visit, three to four times per week, and $32 per tire repair, plus the cost of replacing tires that could not be repaired, Dansby says his company easily spent upwards of $5,000 per month for tire service. Plus, company drivers still spent overtime hours at night and on Saturdays to make up for missed pickups when tire problems routinely delayed them.
A New Solution
At the recommendation of Goodyear and its local tire dealer, BestOne Tire of Montgomery, AL, Dansby says they decided to try the Goodyear G177 with DuraSeal Technology in size 11R22.5 on the drive positions of one of its roll-off trucks.
Akron, OH-based Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems offer complete products and services to the waste hauling industries, including a full range of original equipment and replacement tires. This includes the 24/7 fleetHQ Solution Center, national programs, tire management tools, online information access and business problem-solving for tomorrow’s waste haulers. Goodyear’s DuraSeal Technology is a gel-like, solvent-free compound built into the inner liner of the tire. It can instantly and consistently seal punctures up to ¼-inch in the tread area, without the need to repair the tire until it is retreaded. This allows truck drivers to continue operating after a tire is punctured.
“Before we started using DuraSeal Technology on that roll-off truck, the truck routinely got three to four flats per week,” Dansby says. “Then for the first six months, the truck didn’t get a single flat with the DuraSeal tires. Actually, that first set lasted an entire year before they had to be replaced. Before, we were lucky to get three months of use out of our tires before they were scrapped.”
Now, most wheel positions on the company’s trucks are equipped with DuraSeal Technology tires, including the steer position of its front-end loading trucks, which use Goodyear G289 WHA in size 315/80R22.5. Dansby estimates that as a result of equipping his trucks with DuraSeal Technology tires his annual tire repair bill has dropped more than 60 percent from $80,000 to about $30,000.
“Problems associated with flats are a thing of the past,” Dansby says. “Having drivers wait around in the morning to get their truck tires aired up or patched or having them sit on the side of the road waiting for the tire guy to come fix their tires, we don’t have those problems anymore. And that makes a huge difference in our operation.”
For more information about Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems and Goodyear DuraSeal Technology, contact Tim Miller, Marketing Communications Manager, at(330) 796-3258, e-mail[email protected]or visitwww.goodyeartrucktires.comor. For more information on the fleetHQ program, visit www.fleetHQ.com.