Talking truck tires: From mounting and balancing to alignment and tread depth | FE Unscripted

Walking through a fleet shop in eastern Michigan, a fleet service manager once told me that if he could just manage his tires--and nothing else, just tires--as efficiently and productively as possible, that shop operations would always be in the black and life would be good. Of course, the road, filled with potholes and debris, has other plans. A fleet needs to arm itself with as much tire maintenance artillery as possible.

The TMC show in New Orleans was the perfect place to proverbially and literally kick the tires on tire maintenance equipment and solutions. Hunter Engineering, for example, hosted its full range of heavy-duty tire-minded equipment. The HawkEye XL alignment system was front and center, touting three-dimensional targets that are scanned by cameras that capture measurements in a single rolling compensation and displaying live alignment readings for up to three axles at once. According to Hunter, the XL’s extended range allows it to align 53-ft. trailers, and the moveable cabinet and camera beam help technicians perform alignments on the floor or on a lift, in any bay.

And that's not to mention the wheel balancer and wheel mounting equipment that Hunter also showed off in its booth. Watch the video for all of the tire maintenance insight.